Top 8 Beginner Friendly Gacha Games To Play In 2023

Gacha game is a term usually used for mobile games that use the lootbox style system. With most of them being Free To Play games featuring anime characters, this type of game is pretty popular these days. Gacha / lootbox elements can be applied to many genres – from strategy to adventure… but the most popular is still JRPG.

In this article, we would list out the top 10 best gacha games in 2023.

1. Genshin Impact

When it comes to gacha games, nothing can beat the elephant in the room, Genshin Impact. The game has become one of the most popular online RPGs ever since its release, with billion of dollars of revenue.

Gameplay-wise, Genshin Impact is more complex than most mobile games, with a system of characters divided into 7 elements and 6 weapon classes. Players control a team of 4 that can be switched in and out, whose elements can interact with each other and the world around them.

Due to its big-budget revenue, Genshin Impact gets a new content update patch every month, with each patch building up on the story. As it is completely possible to beat the game using only free characters, players can definitely make do without paying. The best part about Genshin's gacha is that it has a pity number that allows players to get the unit they want after a certain number of pulls.

2. Arknights

This game is pretty unique in the genre, being a tower defense with gacha elements. In Arknights, you would build up a roster of characters through the gacha system then use them in place of the “towers” to fend off waves of enemies in maps. Each character would have their own stats, skill, traits, abilities… just like an RPG. The map designs are super unique as well, with each new level a fresh challenge.

In general, Arknights is probably the best tower defense game in the market to date.

3. Honkai: Star Rail

After the huge success of Genshin Impact, miHoYo has been diverting its money to work on other projects... and Honkai Star Rail is one of them. It is the fourth installment in the Honkai series, using brand new characters along with alternate versions of the same characters from Honkai Impact 3rd. This is Mihoyo's first attempt to take on the Turn-Based RPG genre.

Honkai Starrail Gameplay — Star Rail is more or less Genshin Impact but turn-based.

The player is free to roam around the map to find treasure, fight enemies, solve puzzles, interact with NPCs, and more. Maps are a sequence of enclosed spaces, not open-world. When approaching an enemy, players can attack them with their Weakness to gain a slight advantage. Some Characters can use their Technique to strike the enemy to give the player team an advantage at the start of battle. Others can use their Technique to buff allies before striking the enemy.

4. Azur Lane

A bullet hell style gacha, with a character roster being the warships from World War 2 personified. In this game, you would control up to 6 characters, advancing in the map to shoot at the enemies appeared while dodge the bullets fired by them. Accompanied with that is the RPG elements with enhancements, skills and gears, providing extensive depth for the game. Beside that, Azur Lane also has a pretty high production value, with excellent character designs, music, voice and graphics – if you enjoy a somewhat chill gacha, this is probably your best bet.

5. Fate Grand Order

Fate Grand Order is a spinoff of the Fate franchise, one of the biggest entertainment franchises in the world. Gameplay-wise, Fate Grand Order or FGO is a turn-based strategy RPG, with players controlling their team of 6 characters going through levels.

Gameplay-wise, FGO is nothing special. However, its strength lies in the characters' design and the story. All characters in FGO are based on a fictional version of a historical/mythological figure, with their own myths incorporated into the abilities. Its story was written by the author of the Fate series himself and is considered one of the best stories ever in mobile gaming. The story alone carry the game, making it one of the best gacha games 2022.

The game can be beaten without any 4 or 5 star units. Players should not spend any money on FGO's gacha system, as it has very low chances of success.

6. Honkai Impact 3rd

Similar to Genshin Impact, Honkai Impact 3rd from miHoYo is also a great ARPG to try out in 2022. It shares a lot of the gameplay mechanics with Genshin, from the hack and slash combat to a character switch system. However, Honkai focus less on exploration in an open world - players can enjoy explosive fast-paced combat instead.

Each Valkyrie has unique attack, evasion, switch, and ultimate skills, as well as a type. New equipment, weapons, and Valkyries can be obtained either through in-game crafting or through a gacha system. Overall, Honkai's gacha system is similar to Genshin, with a pity ceiling that allows players to get the character they want for free with enough savings.

7. Punishing Gray Raven

Punishing Gray Raven (PGR) is yet another high-budget ARPG gacha, with players rotating between three characters. While the core gameplay is similar to Genshin, PGR is actually similar to Genshin's sister game, Honkai Impact 3rd.

Its gameplay is hack & slash with a dodge system that freezes time. Upon attacks, players would gather three kinds of colored orbs, which can be used to trigger characters' abilities. Furthermore, there's also an ultimate skill gauge that changes over time, which unleashes a powerful attack when it is full.

PGR's characters are fairly well designed, sleek and beautiful. Gacha wise, it is decently fair, with a ceiling for pity that allows you to get the character you want with enough resources saved.

8. Fire Emblem Heroes

The first foray of Nintendo into the mobile gacha genre – Fire Emblem Heroes is a tactical RPG spinoff featuring all the characters from the famous Fire Emblem franchise. In this game, players would control a party of up to 4 characters and fight armies of various sizes on an 8x6 grid map. There is a lot of depth in its gameplay – from the different character types and restrictions (cavalry move fast but can’t enter forest tile, infantry is slower but able to pass… etc), along with various RPG elements and Rock-Paper-Scissor style system.