It is glorified gambling.

I appreciate that they’re something I can play casually. When my kid was first born, I need something to do for a couple hours between feedings, and Genshin was great for that.

But there’s definitely some things that I hate about them. Characters ‘disappearing’ after their story area is done sucks. Old characters not getting buffs/nerfs sucks. And the predatory nature of the games, where it feels like players are fighting the devs for resources, sucks.