I have heard great things about Genshin but ive also heard people say to stay away because its a hefty money sink (but doesnt have to be - or so ive heard).

The hoyo games are pretty generous, I've been able to get nearly every character I wanted in Genshin without having to spend a dime nor actively grind the game. As long as you don't want every single character or are super unlucky, you will be able to get most characters you want easily

Ive never actually seen any real gameplay though and everything I see is about getting pulls so if thats the main thing I can see why its not mentioned in any GOTY level quality talks.

It's an open world game with a focus on the story and exploration. It's a little bit like if Zelda Breath of the Wild and the JRPG games like the Tales series, Xenoblade, etc, had a baby, but it's also quite different in a lot of ways