why do people like genshin so much

Maybe because it's like one of the first good anime open world games with crossplay

I've heard its good, looks fun, etc.

IIRC it has the freemium "hurry up and wait" aspect. Personally I hate being goaded into buying any speed increases to play a game in a reasonable time.
However the business tactic here relies on how fun the gameplay loop is (which is fun) so that the longer you play, grind, and spend time outside the true "fun" ....the more you're inclined to spend "only a little amount of money" to increase gameplay speed.

I like Genshin, have watched people play it, but if you don't truly understand there's a corporation with modestly paid developers and greedy executives, you wont understand why it does the things it does. Overall, if you know its a gacha game and play with a resent/resistance to the "freemium" tactics its actually pretty fun. Never bought anything, never will.

Just make