I first discovered playing gacha games in my junior year while attending school on Zoom. We were online, and teachers weren’t going to know that I wasn’t doing the work I was given. 

But that was when I stumbled upon Genshin Impact, which was a game gaining popularity over quarantine. It was fun to play with friends.

When I first played it, I never knew how hooked I would become to that game—the scenery had no limits to explore. The graphic details looked notably realistic and the soundtracks for each location are unique and culturally inspired. The gameplay was fun and there was always something new to do when I logged in, such as daily tasks or playing with friends. But the real gacha comes in when you click “wish” on your screen and you see the current banner running for the character that you want.

Gacha games are like the gumball machines you see at restaurants. Say you want the red gumball, but you need money to put into the machine, even if it’s a 50/50 chance you’ll get the red gumball.

    I hate to admit this, but I fell in that rabbit hole. I couldn’t help myself. I felt like it was necessary to have these characters—not just their combat style or their designs showing what region the characters are from.

    There was also a time when I couldn’t get the Raiden Shogun when her banner was out, so I had to use money. Was it worth making my wallet cry? Yes. I went from spending $25 to spending more than $150. 

    It’s a concern. With the money that I have spent on gacha, I could be getting necessities for myself, but now I can’t. Companies want our money, especially hooking us teens for almost two years with updating their game constantly with new characters to showcase. But how can it be less addicting? It’s best to take some time offline to avoid burnout.

Gacha may be fun to play, but it can be addictive to get what you want coming from experience. I’m not saying to never spend on these types of games, but spend responsibly.