Breath of the Wild 2 needs to steal the best thing about Genshin Impact

Genshin Impact already emulates The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild in many ways. Yet it manages to stand out thanks to its unique approach to magic, combat, party, and gacha systems. While the resemblance is uncanny, Genshin Impact introduces some intriguing new mechanics to the same formula that Nintendo should consider for the Zelda sequel.

In particular, Genshin Impact's party system could infuse the franchise with a lot of energy if something similar were implemented into The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2, even if it were only for limited portions of the experience.

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First, you'll need to understand how the party system works in Genshin Impact, and how the Spiral Abyss takes advantage of it.

Thanks to the party system, Genshin Impact players have up to four different combat styles at their disposal. You can swap between party members at will. Therefore, strong party compositions have a mix of aggressive and ranged characters that all have unique abilities that combo well together.

This gives Genshin Impact much more combat depth than Breath of the Wild, which is fairly simple by comparison because it relies on a small set of abilities and a complex physic engine programmed to allow for many different interactions between objects. Still, a Breath of the Wild sequel has the potential to expand combat even further and to make it more lively.

Having party members you can swap to, even temporarily, is a novel way to do that.

Having a full party of characters with Link at all times would be unique, but Nintendo might not want to go that far with Breath of the Wild 2. Even if that is an issue, the Spiral Abyss dungeon in Genshin Impact shows how the Zelda game might adopt .

The Spiral Abyss is a multi-floored dungeon where a team of heroes must fight hordes of enemies while completing special challenges. It's a quick and concise use of Genshin Impact's party system. A similar concept could make for a thrilling Breath of the Wild 2 endgame dungeon.

Executive Producer Eiji Aonuma has said that Breath of the Wild 2 will "make the vast world you enjoyed exploring in the original game even more impressive," so it's safe to assume that the sequel will be like the original on a larger scale. If that's the case, then Nintendo could be looking for ways to spice up the endgame. The first Breath of the Wild had the Trial of the Sword as DLC, but imagine that on a grander scale and with a party of characters.

The game's reveal trailer hints that other characters like Zelda will travel with Link at some point during Breath of the Wild 2, and many characters will receive movesets for Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity. Especially if Breath of the Wild 2's combat takes cues from Age of Calamity, it makes sense to include other characters that have unique abilities.

Even if Nintendo wanted to keep the gameplay pure and only have players control Link, having other party members tap in during special story events could be exciting. It could work in a large dungeon akin to the Spiral Abyss or during limited story sequences.

Imagine fighting off some aspect of Calamity Ganon with Zelda and Prince Sidon at your side. If Nintendo wants to make combat in Breath of the Wild 2 even more interesting, the developers can definitely look to Genshin Impact for inspiration.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 is in development for Nintendo Switch.