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.