We’ve found ourselves in a nameless world composed of an endless hallway and a library, where we’re asked to discover ourselves. In Alter Ego we play as a nameless, faceless character sometimes called The Wanderer. Alter Ego does just this, it uses the long times the player spends away from its world to tackle themes of isolation, loneliness, and self doubt. However, this use of time is exactly what makes idle games the best medium for certain stories and characters. It also makes it difficult to tell a compelling story, as the player is encouraged to only partially pay attention or leave for long periods of time where they can easily lose track of what happened. The games’ mechanic of waiting for points to build can lead to games taking far longer than is needed for their message. This often appears to be a negative aspect. However, the endless progression loop is only one of two core components to idle gameplay, the other being time.

Some dishes regenerate characters’ health, while others boost attack or defensive abilities.The genre of idle games isn’t one we would traditionally associate with deep or interesting stories, typically focusing on some form of social commentary or parody by highlighting the endless progression loop economic systems, technological progression, or games themselves. Players gather many resources in the course of their adventure, some of which can be turned into dishes via cooking. Cooking is another significant aspect of Genshin Impact’s gameplay. The normal skill can be used at any time except for the cooldown period immediately after use, while the special skill has an energy cost, requiring the user to amass sufficient elemental energy first.Ĭharacters have control over one of seven natural elements: Cryo, Dendro, Pyro, Hydro, Anemo, Electro, and Geo. Single-player gameplay is the focus of the game, with Co-Op Mode available for certain activities.Įach character has two unique combat skills: a normal skill and a special skill. The game features an action combat playstyle that allows the player to swap between 4 individual characters in a party to quickly combo attacks. Players can explore the game’s large fantasy world, called Teyvat, with over 25+ characters and various points of interest spread across the map.

Alter ego game personality test