Admittedly, gacha games have long been associated with varying degrees of freemium greed on mobile, but recent years have seen great opportunities for developers to bring their games to PC, allowing you to play them at your desk or A more complex experience has been created that is available on PC. go.
What is gacha?
Origin of gacha games
The name comes from the Japanese gachapon machine, a funky little toy vending machine that spits out mysterious items from a wide selection. In the context of these games, you typically pay gems or related currency for selected characters, weapons, and clothing items. Because of its origins, you’ll find that many games with the gacha label share a similar anime-style aesthetic, with most Western versions instead being more like “games with a loot box system” It is called.
What I personally really like about gacha games is their variety. This is more of a monetization method than a genre, and means you can dive into all sorts of different games while knowing pretty much what the developer expects from you and your wallet. . They’re often free to play, allowing you to try out different options without making any financial commitments from the get-go.
The key is to know which gacha games are worth your time, and if you’re willing and financially stable to do so, are they worth your money? Some offer great value to free-to-play gamers, while others ask for more of your hard-earned cash to actually get a good experience. At the end of the day, the question is, which one is the most fun to play? I’ve put together a list of some of my personal favorites, some that are popular with the broader community, and some of the best gachas you can play on PC right now.
One final note. All the games listed here have their own official PC client and do not require Bluestacks or any other Android emulator. It actually has to be an official PC release to make it onto the list.
Best gacha game now
Genshin
(Image provided by miHoYo)
Release date: 2020 | Developer: Hoyoverse | Link: Hoyoverse
Arguably the game that started the gacha craze on PC, Genshin remains one of the most popular products in the field. With Hoyoverse boasting a gorgeous, ever-expanding open world (the last major update in August added the Natran region) and a huge number of characters, it’s almost impossible to leave without being spoiled by some kind of wife or husband. It’s possible. . It also has some of my favorite battles to come out of gacha games. Each character has unique elemental affinities that can react with the affinities of other elements in your party to create huge amounts of damage and deadly combinations.
If you’re a fan of exploration and platformer puzzles, you’ll find plenty of that in Genshin. Personally, I think this is best enjoyed casually as an open-world adventure game rather than a gacha. The dailies can be very demanding, as is the material gathering to build each character. But that’s not actually Genshin’s fault, but rather the result of the gacha style in the open world space.
storm waves
(Image provided by Kuro Games)
Release date: 2024 | Developer: Kuro Games | Link: Official website
Since then, many developers have tried to recreate the Genshin formula with varying degrees of success, but I think Kuro Games has pretty much nailed it with Wuthering Waves.
The combat is as good or better than Hoyoverse, with gorgeously animated dodges and parries that make you feel like you’re fighting in the anime. You can also capture specific enemies and use their abilities to fight alongside them or transform into them. I’m also a big fan of its parkour moves. The movement is pleasant and crisp.
Perhaps the weakest part of Wuthering Waves, if that’s what you’re particularly interested in, is its story. It often errs on the side of being nonsensical and suffers from all sorts of “coined word bloat” that properly haunts you when playing this kind of game. But if that doesn’t bother you and you just want to get involved in badass combat, then Wuthering Waves is definitely the game for you.
Honkai: Star Rail
(Image provided by miHoYo)
Release: 2023 |Developer: Hoyoverse |Link: Hoyoverse
If Genshin’s vast open world and demanding dailies are too time-consuming for you, then I can’t recommend Honkai: Star Rail enough. No, I recommend it anyway. The game is a fun sci-fi space comedy with some great character designs. In particular, the shark-toothed boothill received a lot of love upon release. If you’ve played “Kaisei 3rd”, there are some familiar faces there.
Hoyoverse is no stranger to creating combat systems that are both wicked and fun. Honkai: Star Rail is no exception. Its turn-based combat feels right at home in a top-tier JRPG, and it also includes an auto-combat option, making it easy to complete daily missions.
It also eliminates some of the more troubling issues for me with the Genshin grind. Materials and equipment are not fixed to a specific day, so you can farm for your character build whenever you want, as long as you have the energy. Honkai: Star Rail is one of my favorite gachas to play right now.
Back: 1999
(Image credit: Bluepoch Games)
Released: 2023 | Developer: Bluepoch Games | Link: Steam
Listen, I know I keep going on about how beautiful all these gachas are, but there’s something about Rebirth: 1999’s painterly art style that really tugs at my brain. there is. While most of the games on this list are set in the modern day or the distant future, Bluepoch’s strategic RPG goes back to the 20th century and features a ton of time travel.
While the game doesn’t lack for an ongoing story, the English translation often leaves something to be desired. But uniquely, rather than carefully soft-launching the protagonist into a larger plot, everything begins in media res. I think this is a fun spin. There are also lots of fun little historical references throughout that make Reverse: 1999 feel really unique compared to other games in the gacha space.
Reverse: 1999 may be one of the few gacha games where you can literally pull a dog. His name is Pickles and he is so adorable. There is also a scarecrow called Rabies. If you’re looking for a unique design that goes beyond the usual anime offerings, this is the game to play.
It also has the added benefit of being on Steam, whereas most of the ones on our list require you to install a separate launcher. If integrating all your games onto Valve’s platform is important to you, Reverse: 1999 is a great option to try.
Nikke: Goddess of Victory
(Image credit: Level Infinite)
Release: 2023 | Developer: Shift Up | Link: Official website
Let me just say right now that if you’re not into intense fan service, Nikke: Goddess of Victory isn’t the game for you. However, if you can stomach some pretty cheeky character designs, then you should definitely give this game a try. This is my personal preference. This is also one of those rare cases where the game is definitely better on PC than on mobile, including being a rail shooter.
Behind the scantily clad ladies lies a surprisingly gripping and often depressing story. Consider NieR: Automata if Yoko Taro was amplifying things to the nth degree. Sure, there are moments when someone like me cringes at overt sexual interactions, but rarely have I been as determined to see a story through to the end as I was by Nikke.
I would also argue that Nikke is one of the most forgiving gacha games on offer. The key to its biggest and most alluring wallet is the dreaded “160 Wall,” which requires you to obtain 4 of 5 different Nicks to continue leveling. However, periodically your account will be sprinkled with gems and recruitment tickets, and more importantly, the character will almost never be excluded from regular recruitment.
There are a few limited edition units that come back every year, and some collaboration units like Neon Genesis Evangelion and NieR: Automata that are unfortunately unlikely to come back. But other than that, it’s fair game.
When it comes to dailies, I think Nikke is relatively easier to complete, but it’s mainly hampered by the fact that the game has too many loading screens.
collapse 3rd
(Image provided by: MiHoYo)
Release: 2019 (PC) |Developer: Hoyoverse |Link: Hoyoverse
Yes, I know this is the third Hoyoverse game on the list. sorry! This is what happens when a developer succeeds in dominating a growing market like Hoyo did. As I said before, this is half the reason why there are so many PC gacha games. Please excuse the rather large presence on this list.
Regardless, Honkai Impact 3rd was one of the first games that the developer really succeeded with, and for good reason. It has similar content to Star Rail’s sci-fi adventures, and as I mentioned, there are some crossovers in character appearances. It replaces turn-based combat with hack-and-slash rock-paper-scissors-style action, maintaining Hoyoverse’s usual flair for fantastical animations.
Despite being one of the developer’s older games, Honkai Impact 3rd still receives regular updates. Lo and behold, 2024 brings a massive “Part 2” expansion, adding new characters, updating the UI, and moving to a more open-world format, all wrapped up in a shiny engine upgrade. I did. Still, it’s a great game to jump into, different enough from other Hoyoverse titles to be worth a try.
Now, this is another rare gacha game that appears on Steam, but we recommend that you don’t use it. If you’re like me and enjoy the option of being able to retrieve your saves on mobile when you’re traveling or just can’t be bothered to sit at your desk, the Steam version doesn’t have that option. Being locked to a single account makes cross-play impossible altogether. Plus, if you’re listening to my recommendations and are going to pick up Genshin and Honkai: Starrail anyway, the Hoyoplay launcher consolidates them all in one place.
Looking forward to future gacha games
infinity nikki
(Image source: Infold Games)
Scheduled release date: December 5, 2024 | Developer: Infold Games | Link: Official website
It may not be out yet, but I’m already super excited about what Infinity Nikki will bring to gacha games. Not to be confused with the aforementioned Nikke. The Nikki series has actually been around for over a decade, and all previous games in the series were exclusive to mobile.
Infold Games follows the basic format of all of its previous works. Nicky and her cat pal Momo travel through Miraland, battling it out in fashion and all the art of dress up. On the other hand, we’re throwing everything into the open world for the first time. environment.
It’s a big change for the series, which just went 3D with 2021’s Shining Nikki, but Infold pulls it off surprisingly well. I really enjoyed playing the closed beta earlier this year. First of all, it’s absolutely gorgeous and every item of clothing is meticulously designed. There are many outfits with different abilities such as fishing, gliding, and even combat.
Gacha elements are provided through various costume banners rather than the usual route of pulling multiple characters. However, thanks to numerous hair and makeup options and a limited selection of skin tones, you can make Nikki completely your own.
Arknights: Endfield
(Image credit: Griffline)
Scheduled release: Mid-2025 | Developer: Hyperglyph | Link: Official website
It’s such a shame that Hypergryph’s tower defense game, the first Arknights, doesn’t have an official PC port. Because it could have easily been added to this list. Thankfully, we recommend the next spin-off game, Arknights: Endfield, instead.
It’s a pretty ambitious game, aiming to be an open-world RPG with a bit of base building, where, as Austin Wood of our sister site GamesRadar puts it, “straight stuff turns into Factorio after a certain point.” Sign up with just that sentence.
Combat doesn’t seem to be everyone’s favorite part at the moment, given its reception in 2024’s playtests, but base building is definitely a hit. Arknights: Endfield still has plenty of time to cook in the oven. Landing is scheduled until mid-2025, which should be plenty of time for Hyperglyph to hone in on some of the big problems people have had.
