Best HoYoverse Games in 2024: Top 9 miHoYo Experiences

A flash game built for a student competition, Legend of Saha is miHoYo’s first game and a humble beginning that looks nothing like the games that the studio released after it. With basic controls to evade projectiles and a story told via walls of text, there’s not a lot going for it. Built for the second China Game Developers Conference (CGDC), it went on to win a cash prize from Shanda Games.

Despite its barebones nature, Legend of Saha held a spark that led to the creation of miHoYo’s new games like Genshin Impact. Be it evading enemy attacks or building lore into its games, these ideas have grown alongside the studio’s library. Legend of Saha pales in comparison to new miHoYo games, but it’s on this list because it shows just how far the studio has come over the years.

Zombiegal Kawaii moves miHoYo into side-scroller territory as it pits your player against hordes of zombies. Also known as Houkai Gakuen, this game was inspired by the manga Highschool of the Dead and the side-scrolling game Zombie Town. Unlike most zombie games at the time, this game features adorable zombies to maneuver around and fight against. Doing so becomes more challenging as the game progresses.

Protagonist Kiana returns from FlyMe2theMoon to dish out some zombie punishment and upgrades her gear over time. miHoYo’s monetization offers minor upgrades that can either be bought with real-world money or earned by grinding for a couple of hours. Thanks to its simple gameplay and silly characters, the game was a bigger hit than FlyMe2theMoon.

After Legend of Saha, miHoYo stepped things up a notch with FlyMe2theMoon, an adorable platform game that involves evading obstacles, racing, exploration, and more side activities. It’s all about timing and precise inputs to dodge threats and survive the levels. You play as Kiana Kaslana and are on a mission to reach the moon through various missions and activities.

While its gameplay isn’t ground-breaking, it’s a simple platform game built with the rise of smartphones in mind. With 60 levels to beat, FlyMe2theMoon can be challenging, but it’s far from the most developed game on this miHoYo games list. Fun side activities outside evading obstacles keep it engaging, and its cutesy aesthetic remains a core pillar of all miHoYo games released since.

Gun Girl Z retains the side-scrolling combat of Zombiegal Kawaii while bringing in a brand-new story set in St. Freya Academy. Here, high school girls train to become Valkyries and fight the Honkai, a mysterious force. This was the first miHoYo title with a proper narrative that developed with story arcs and NPC dialogue. If you want to try it out, you’re out of luck. Also known as Houkai Gakuen 2, it’s only available on Chinese and Japanese servers now.

With more weapons and a multiplayer mode, the game added compelling reasons for players, both old and new, to try it out. A Guild system was also implemented, and frequent updates meant that players kept returning to beat more foes. The success of Gun Girl Z redefined miHoYo games and helped the studio expand into bigger projects.

Tears of Themis switches gears from side-scrolling combat into mystery romance and plays like a visual novel. Set in the city of Stellis, you play as lawyer Rosa who works on different cases to help people in the year 2030. It doesn’t take long for you to get acquainted with four potential love interests. Your choices help you complete cases and get closer to these characters.

As you clear time-limited events, earn more rewards that can help you in its Gacha system. While it’s not particularly original, it represents the willingness of miHoYo to experiment and tackle new genres. Otome fans will find a lot to like here, and its stunning art and well-written romances are worth exploring, even if you aren’t into visual novels.

Honkai Impact 3rd pushed miHoYo to Gacha stardom with 3D action RPG elements that were a massive step up from their previous games. One glance is enough to tell just how much Genshin Impact borrows from this game’s foundation. Bayonetta and Devil May Cry are two franchises that the developers have cited as inspirations behind the game’s tight hack-and-slash combat. Thanks to a compelling cast of characters and a neat story, Honkai Impact 3rd gained a massive following.

Constant updates with new content helped bring even more players into the fold. A major update, Honkai Impact 3rd—Part 2, was released in February 2024. It’s not as popular as miHoYo’s newer games now, but a few years ago, no one could contest the popularity of this title. In two years, the game helped the studio grow from seven people to 200 employees.

The latest HoYoverse sensation, Zenless Zone Zero, switches gears from Genshin Impact’s fantasy setting. Urban landscapes greet you in New Eridu as you encounter the studio’s refined action RPG mechanics across both progression and combat. Your characters dart around Hollow locations with fluid animations, and in true miHoYo fashion, these alternate dimensions are packed with detail and look incredible.

Collecting new stylish characters to parry enemy Ethereal attacks and trigger skills remains a key focus of the game. HoYoverse’s redeem code option lets you use codes to grab limited-time resources to make this grind easier.

The main story is a welcome departure from the grand world-saving adventure format. Instead, two techie siblings are the focus here as they run into all kinds of adventures in this dystopic world. Despite being the latest game from the studio, fans weren’t too pleased with its combat system. Devoted Honkai: Star Rail and Genshin Impact players ended up sticking to these titles as they still receive constant updates.

Check out the best Zero Zone Zenless codes and the Zero Zone Zenless tier list for more.

After the incredible success of Genshin Impact, miHoYo wanted to test the waters with another experiment. By learning from previous efforts, Honkai: Star Rail is a turn-based RPG centered around space travel. As you travel between planets via the Astral Express, you’ll run into characters and Stellaron foes and work through a lengthy storyline.

These worlds are packed with details, from object interactions to quirky NPCs. You’ll find plenty of pop culture references in character dialogue and item descriptions too. Thanks to an auto-battle option, you can clear easier segments of the game quickly to level up your characters. This, in turn, fuels your party to take on bigger threats in careful manual battles. While some players might consider this the pinnacle of the best miHoYo video games, others prefer Genshin Impact’s satisfying real-time combat.

For more, check out the best Honkai: Star Rail codes.

Finally, we have Genshin Impact, the action RPG that made Gacha games go mainstream. Brimming with things to do and characters to meet, the game’s open world of Teyvat is split into seven nations. Each of them features unique monsters and bosses to beat, quests to clear, and allies or foes to meet. You play as the Traveler, collecting loot and working your way to new characters with powerful abilities. While HoYoverse’s daily check-ins aren’t mandatory, doing these tasks can quickly become a part of your routine if you aren’t careful.

You also get to master an elemental reaction system that involves switching between elemental attacks and characters to dish out the most damage. It’s fairly easy to pick up despite all the story content added over the years. This helps it appeal to hardcore Gacha players and newcomers who want to team up with their friends. While some criticisms point to it borrowing ideas liberally from games like Breath of the Wild, there’s a lot that Genshin Impact does right to set itself apart in the free-to-play space. Among the miHoYo/HoYoverse games we’ve ranked, we’d pick Genshin Impact as their best entry so far.

For more, you can read everything added in the Genshin Impact 5.0 update.