More specifically Genshin or Honkai star rail, I haven't tried the others they don't seem interesting.
It is glorified gambling.
I appreciate that they're something I can play casually. When my kid was first born, I need something to do for a couple hours between feedings, and Genshin was great for that.
But there's definitely some things that I hate about them. Characters 'disappearing' after their story area is done sucks. Old characters not getting buffs/nerfs sucks. And the predatory nature of the games, where it feels like players are fighting the devs for resources, sucks.
As someone who has played several of these (including HSR), the games themselves can be very good, but it's always despite its gacha mechanics, not because of it. It should be obvious that gacha is a predatory monetization model that has unfortunately seen great success.
This has led to gacha games often leading the mobile market in terms of quality, marketing and development. I'd much prefer it if more games were sold for a one-time fee or even a subscription model for live-service games, but these types of games will continue to be rare in the mobile market due to the profitability of gacha.
On the positive side, most gacha games allow even f2p (free-to-play) players to keep up with the story and events. Many players even find playing these games as an f2p player more enjoyable because of the challenge. So for those who have self-control, I don't think they should be discouraged from at least trying these games.
I played Genshin Impact up until I explored the world and beat a couple of bosses. As soon as it asks me to grind dungeons and pulls I dipped out. Gacha games suck, it's always a massive time (or money) sink where you get almost nothing in return. Sure, I could spend a month grinding for that legendary character. Then what? I'll beat one DPS check before getting stuck again and having to grind for the next thing. It's surprising how many people pay money in these games and don't realize how pointless it is.
As a genshin player myself I can tell you that you dont have to pull for stuff. You can perfectly clear everything with the normal characters that you get in the game.
For sure its easier with the 5* banner characters but its not impossible or super hard without them
It is glorified gambling.
I appreciate that they're something I can play casually. When my kid was first born, I need something to do for a couple hours between feedings, and Genshin was great for that.
But there's definitely some things that I hate about them. Characters 'disappearing' after their story area is done sucks. Old characters not getting buffs/nerfs sucks. And the predatory nature of the games, where it feels like players are fighting the devs for resources, sucks.
As someone who has played several of these (including HSR), the games themselves can be very good, but it's always despite its gacha mechanics, not because of it. It should be obvious that gacha is a predatory monetization model that has unfortunately seen great success.
This has led to gacha games often leading the mobile market in terms of quality, marketing and development. I'd much prefer it if more games were sold for a one-time fee or even a subscription model for live-service games, but these types of games will continue to be rare in the mobile market due to the profitability of gacha.
On the positive side, most gacha games allow even f2p (free-to-play) players to keep up with the story and events. Many players even find playing these games as an f2p player more enjoyable because of the challenge. So for those who have self-control, I don't think they should be discouraged from at least trying these games.
I played Genshin Impact up until I explored the world and beat a couple of bosses. As soon as it asks me to grind dungeons and pulls I dipped out. Gacha games suck, it's always a massive time (or money) sink where you get almost nothing in return. Sure, I could spend a month grinding for that legendary character. Then what? I'll beat one DPS check before getting stuck again and having to grind for the next thing. It's surprising how many people pay money in these games and don't realize how pointless it is.
As a genshin player myself I can tell you that you dont have to pull for stuff. You can perfectly clear everything with the normal characters that you get in the game.
For sure its easier with the 5* banner characters but its not impossible or super hard without them