An update for Genshin Impact
Version 4.2 of Genshin Impact, which includes: • New characters: Furina and Charlotte • New areas: Erinnyes Forest and Morte Region • New main story quests: Chapter IV, Act V - "Masquerade of the Guilty" • New story quest for Furina • New main event: Thelxie's Fantastic Adventures • …and more!
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made up for the disappointment that is every other archon quest (minus mondstadt ily)
Fantastic Patch! Genuinely cried during the archon quest and Furina's story quest. Narzissen Kreuz storyline wrapped up wonderfully. The new areas & world quests are great - a bit long, as has been a problem now since Aranara but it was okay. Furina slays.
This review contains spoilers
I can't believe I'm about to write a positive review out of Genshin but here we are
There's probably a pretty big part of that positive impression that stems from the inevitable comparison with the previous chapters and how it clears them but this is still just good in its own rights
The biggest success is definitely the characters, they all have common interventions and play a role through the entire thing instead of having a dedicated arc and disappearing for the rest of the plot. Most of them get moments of vulnerability which does a lot to make you care: Lyney has that moment where he panics when Lynette and Freminet get caught, Freminet has the moment where you control him and he gets drugged diving (they made me care about Freminet wtf), Neuvi has his whole thing with rain, Navia has her whole story with her dad and what happens later with her 2 goons dying, and i dont even know where to begin with Furina. Seeing the Fatui not be assholes for once is great too, Childe having the worst week of his life over there bro did NOT catch a break this chapter
The trial gimmick is a ton of fun and just made me smile as someone who's played all the Ace Attorneys, they even nailed the awkward moments where you're randomly throwing the evidence cause you're not sure what they want you to do this really is the AA experience
There's much more work than usual in the way the no budget regular dialogue is depicted, especially in those trial segments, and they finally started to use CGs to show things happening without having to do one of their massive budget cutscenes, they started doing it in earlier events in Sumeru and it's cool that it naturally transitioned to main story stuff
And of course the biggest highlight is Furina holy shit she is so good this game doesn't deserve her. Or maybe it does if it continues being this good and this wasn't a fluke
The only problem is really that Act 3 was super poorly paced it drags for much longer than it should
With all that said, I still don't think I'd recommend someone to pick the game back up if they have to trudge through a ton of slop to get there LMAO. Like if they dropped the game in the Chasm or in Sumeru then yeah I'd say it's worth (Sumeru story is actually genuinely pretty cool, though carried pretty hard by Nahida, this is a very far cry from Fontaine where everyone is good), if they dropped in Inazuma it's a massive maybe, and if it's earlier hell no, or at least it'd be heavily dependant on if they'd enjoy other aspects of the game
But all of this has sparked my interest back into this game hard, it makes me sad how next to this I've started to care a lot less about Star Rail which did the opposite and had a pretty good second arc in Belobog (ok it's carried pretty hard by the final fight but still) and then dove right back into slop with the Luofu that place is so boring, at least we'll be gone from there the next patch so the next place could be better (EDIT: ok Penacony is cooking in the first update)
There's probably a pretty big part of that positive impression that stems from the inevitable comparison with the previous chapters and how it clears them but this is still just good in its own rights
The biggest success is definitely the characters, they all have common interventions and play a role through the entire thing instead of having a dedicated arc and disappearing for the rest of the plot. Most of them get moments of vulnerability which does a lot to make you care: Lyney has that moment where he panics when Lynette and Freminet get caught, Freminet has the moment where you control him and he gets drugged diving (they made me care about Freminet wtf), Neuvi has his whole thing with rain, Navia has her whole story with her dad and what happens later with her 2 goons dying, and i dont even know where to begin with Furina. Seeing the Fatui not be assholes for once is great too, Childe having the worst week of his life over there bro did NOT catch a break this chapter
The trial gimmick is a ton of fun and just made me smile as someone who's played all the Ace Attorneys, they even nailed the awkward moments where you're randomly throwing the evidence cause you're not sure what they want you to do this really is the AA experience
There's much more work than usual in the way the no budget regular dialogue is depicted, especially in those trial segments, and they finally started to use CGs to show things happening without having to do one of their massive budget cutscenes, they started doing it in earlier events in Sumeru and it's cool that it naturally transitioned to main story stuff
And of course the biggest highlight is Furina holy shit she is so good this game doesn't deserve her. Or maybe it does if it continues being this good and this wasn't a fluke
The only problem is really that Act 3 was super poorly paced it drags for much longer than it should
With all that said, I still don't think I'd recommend someone to pick the game back up if they have to trudge through a ton of slop to get there LMAO. Like if they dropped the game in the Chasm or in Sumeru then yeah I'd say it's worth (Sumeru story is actually genuinely pretty cool, though carried pretty hard by Nahida, this is a very far cry from Fontaine where everyone is good), if they dropped in Inazuma it's a massive maybe, and if it's earlier hell no, or at least it'd be heavily dependant on if they'd enjoy other aspects of the game
But all of this has sparked my interest back into this game hard, it makes me sad how next to this I've started to care a lot less about Star Rail which did the opposite and had a pretty good second arc in Belobog (ok it's carried pretty hard by the final fight but still) and then dove right back into slop with the Luofu that place is so boring, at least we'll be gone from there the next patch so the next place could be better (EDIT: ok Penacony is cooking in the first update)
this is genshin at its best.
This is a review of the Fontaine part of Genshin Impact.
Starting off with the first couple of acts in a sort of Ace Attorney/Danganronpa/Umineko court trial situation (with gameplay!), Fontaine's storyline quickly grabs the player's interest as new developments come to light constantly. There are some pacing issues in acts III and IV, but when act V rolls around you get to see Genshin's best main story quest yet. Not only does it effectively use various perspectives (you play as different characters, not just the Traveller, etc.), but has more effort put into direction than ever before. Genshin's usual... bland camerawork is replaced with a lot of style, not to mention the gorgeous cutscenes. Even the final fight, which, despite not being the coolest Genshin fight, was very fitting as the climax of this story, and was absolutely stunning and experimented with a musical style that Genshin hasn't done much yet.
The biggest highlight, though, is the characters. Genshin has always had some pretty strong character writing in places, but in terms of main quest lines it shines here the most for sure. Furina is an extremely compelling character, the Fatui for once don't take a simple antagonistic role and actually have more moral ambiguity, the returning cast from previous regions aren't just there for show, but actually contribute to the plot, and the resolution of this part of Genshin's story was genuinely emotional. Additionally, just like in Sumeru, the Traveller takes a lot of action on their own, and do not need Paimon to peak on their behalf. There is potential for this character.
Also, the new diving mechanic leads to some stunning underwater scenery. It is so pretty. Though I think the surface of Fontaine is not as interesting as Sumeru or Inazuma, but that's okay.
Anyway, I did say I was blown away by Sumeru, but this absolutely clears it. Genshin has really started to experiment and become more ambitious with the stories it can tell. Over time I've even changed this to 5 stars, because I felt like I prefered this to a lot of stories in various video games and other works I've consumed. I really hope the quality keeps up for following arcs.
Starting off with the first couple of acts in a sort of Ace Attorney/Danganronpa/Umineko court trial situation (with gameplay!), Fontaine's storyline quickly grabs the player's interest as new developments come to light constantly. There are some pacing issues in acts III and IV, but when act V rolls around you get to see Genshin's best main story quest yet. Not only does it effectively use various perspectives (you play as different characters, not just the Traveller, etc.), but has more effort put into direction than ever before. Genshin's usual... bland camerawork is replaced with a lot of style, not to mention the gorgeous cutscenes. Even the final fight, which, despite not being the coolest Genshin fight, was very fitting as the climax of this story, and was absolutely stunning and experimented with a musical style that Genshin hasn't done much yet.
The biggest highlight, though, is the characters. Genshin has always had some pretty strong character writing in places, but in terms of main quest lines it shines here the most for sure. Furina is an extremely compelling character, the Fatui for once don't take a simple antagonistic role and actually have more moral ambiguity, the returning cast from previous regions aren't just there for show, but actually contribute to the plot, and the resolution of this part of Genshin's story was genuinely emotional. Additionally, just like in Sumeru, the Traveller takes a lot of action on their own, and do not need Paimon to peak on their behalf. There is potential for this character.
Also, the new diving mechanic leads to some stunning underwater scenery. It is so pretty. Though I think the surface of Fontaine is not as interesting as Sumeru or Inazuma, but that's okay.
Anyway, I did say I was blown away by Sumeru, but this absolutely clears it. Genshin has really started to experiment and become more ambitious with the stories it can tell. Over time I've even changed this to 5 stars, because I felt like I prefered this to a lot of stories in various video games and other works I've consumed. I really hope the quality keeps up for following arcs.
Give the writing team a raise
Whatever Hoyo is paying them, it's not enough
Whatever Hoyo is paying them, it's not enough