Review from a day 1 player to the present day, scrutinizing a deep and complete analysis of Genshin Impact's world.
Undertaking this review to train my English a little bit
Touching on the drawbacks, Genshin can't be a solid game, and for that will never be respected by the majority of gamers. On account of being a gacha and ongoing, Genshin unfortunately hindered and camouflaged to the world its good narrative story. This subset of the population can't believe the game proposes such splendid story, and I think it's fair due to the beginning of this journey not being a very inviting one.
TL;DR: it's hated because it's a gacha, and would've been actually a very acclaimed game as long as it was released as a standard RPG.
Nonetheless, ironically, it wouldn't be a riveting and marvelous game whether it wasn't ongoing. In fact, in this day and age, the game continues progressing, getting better and better, and more creative due to having more development time. It's a double-edged sword.
Secondly, the side characters and predominantly their side quests. Even though it's a game that presents some gorgeous characters for pulling, the side characters will make you feel you're getting down to the abyss. They are basic and pedestrian, and yet some of them have long side quests. Like, it's not that the content of the side quest is bad, I just I cannot care enough for random characters around the world that in majority I will never see them again. Also, off and on, the side characters' design are all the same, having overall a lack of creativity and effort. It's a point that they could do better.
Continuing with its flaws, Genshin Impact is a game that has hindered its true potential for some time. It's time now to salient a little about the negative point the narrative has.
I appreciate it being an ongoing game, as the narrative would never be as good as it is in case the developers had no time.
Thus, the narrative does not start strong or captivating, but minimally attractive in my opinion. I felt comfortable in the first two regions, and although the third was horrible, as long as you weather the storm, the final door you'll open shall present bloom of cherry trees. That is to say, the game took a time to stop being inconsistent, so you need to have patience when trying it.
Furthermore, the fact that extremely important events that beautifully characterized certain characters will never return to the game. Anyone who has to experience the development of certain characters would have to watch it on YouTube. There are characters who had their development completed or one who revealed their entire background through these events... This is a huge waste that the game offers itself.
Particulars that make the difference negatively: besides being a gacha game and too much time to release new story and region content, the fillers update are a knife in the chest, as you spend 1, 2 or even 3 months doing pointless events. I don't even lose my time, lol.
Lastly, you need at least IQ 150 to fully capt all the plotline for the first 3 chapters. Genshin's story is good since the beginning (with the exception of the Inazuma region). However, throughout the first three regions (until Sumeru), many things are left between the lines. They are in-depth, yes, but the player will need to understand it on their own, or even research it to have all the nuances on the tip of their tongue. This is a problem and that's why you find people saying that Genshin's story is shallow. It never was, the problem is that they left heaps of things ambiguous for a while.
This issue arises due to a problem that Genshin's storyline has faced for a long time: the execution of its narrative. Although everything written is of high quality and carefully crafted, the way it is presented to the player is not comprehensive and complete enough. Many of important contents from the plot are "hidden" in books that are around the whole map.
Therefore, Genshin Impact is a videogame that will not convince you to like it, rather, unfortunately, it has to come from the player, who needs to have fun playing and feel pleasure in participating in this journey.
So why is it good? Why do I like it so much?
These are questions even I ask myself. Defending a controversial game like this is like being a lawyer trying to defend a guilty person in court.
Let's start from the basic: think that Genshin Impact is more a RPG than a gacha game.
Focusing on exploring the Teyvat, meeting its characters and furthering into the secrets of that world gives me a fabulous feeling, one I rarely encounter in any other game.
In this game, the exploration is not pointless. Every place you go, there is a tale behind those beautiful mountains and flowers. The world is alive, and everywhere you set foot, there was an "once upon a time".
It's not repetitive as they say, it's not boring,
it's experience. It makes me over the moon.
If you focus on this instead of trying to pull for characters, you already increase your own happiness in 80%, get your stress down in 120% and savor the game.
First virtue, the narrative.
The game starts with a riveting theme in my opinion, and it's even more provocative to realize Genshin follows the label of a generic RPG. Though, what differentiates this game from others is that it transformed everything generic into something unique, radiant and well written, which when looking closely doesn't even seem like it uses the same things as an average RPG (island in the skies, abyss, lost technology (wow, JRPGs love this) and the same biomes that we know adventure games offer).
Featuring an extremely ambitious plot, Genshin Impact has a beautiful worldbuilding, and heaps of characterization.
It brings an enthralling dynamism between villains, in this case, there is not just 1 villain, but 2 or more, and they all have their motives and reasons for such chaos.
I don't know much what to say about this worldbuilding topic, frankly, as it's a game that portrays everything we can imagine.
However, slowly, as each region passes, Genshin Impact's story becomes prettier, denser, and better written.
It remained as a promising game for a LONG TIME, leaving many questions unanswered that some of them even looked like pretentious (bro, like, there was way too much, they weren't answering at all). However, at a certain point, the answers began to surface, and new possibilities emerged. Following the events in Fontaine, the game ceased to be a mere promise and transformed into a tangible reality, solidifying its status as having definitely a great plotline.
Genshin initially generated a lot of hype surrounding Inazuma, the third region, but ultimately proved to be a significant disappointment in terms of its story. Following this, Genshin Impact's narrative trajectory seemed uncertain, I was honestly ready to drop the game if Sumeru was bad. Thankfully, it was the region of Sumeru that emerged as the most captivating thus far, stepping up a gear. However, despite its strengths, Sumeru left many questions unanswered, leaving the game's potential still as only a promise. That finally ended in Fontaine, which I consider to be the climax of Genshin Impact, that the answers finally began to materialize.
The game's characters are generally good, with some being astonishing and others even more fabulous. One of the enchantments of this game lies in its expansive world, known only to a select few who are familiar with its 'underworld' or 'dark side'. These special characters possess deeper insights into the truth of the world of Teyvat, making them particularly intriguing to me. Yet, aside from a few minor or filler characters (including overrated ones), the overall quality is positively commendable.
Now, I'd like to talk about the heart of Genshin Impact as a game, and there are two of them: the world/side quests and the soundtrack.
I mentioned earlier that side characters pose a problem, but this stems more from the lack of attention to detail and the perceived 'laziness' on the part of developers in creating them more thoroughly. However, this does not extend to the world quests, which significantly expand upon the vast narrative landscape. These quests are so integral that the gaming experience feels incomplete without them. Playing Genshin Impact solely for the main quests would result in a far from complete experience, as these world quests not only complement the main storyline but also add depth and richness to it.
The soundtrack of Genshin Impact breathes life and atmosphere into the game, serving as the perfect complement to its greatest propose: an immersive adventure. It truly is the icing on the cake of this exceptional gaming experience.
Genshin Impact is undeniably a professionally crafted game, with its creators assembling top talent from various fields and professions to deliver their best work. This concerted effort has borne fruit, evident in the game's quality and success.
The game's soundtrack stands out as my personal favorite in fiction. Drawing heavy inspiration from classical music, its vast variety is truly remarkable, offering a memorable and diverse selection of compositions crafted by brilliant composers. There are not only compositions that help with immersion, yet exorbitantly well written ones, more so than currently even the most famous composers on the market, featuring extraordinary complex tempos and chords, and creativity. For example, there is a song whose rhythm is made using a pocket watch. Or another where, literally, the composer of the song created his arrangement and even sings it. Unfortunately, owing to being ongoing, it never won an award at The Game Awards or was even mentioned for OST, although it should've been if that award was really serious.
For all this, it's not a game for everyone and I'm swimming against the tide. Genshin is long, heavy and easy to burnout. However, it's the only game that I never stopped playing, and I wish it was a little more loved by society for all the strengths it presents. Unfortunately, its bad side overshadows its good side, and I think it's relatively deserved.
For everything it presented, it's already a great game. Although its ending is not yet known in our time, it is expected to happen in 2 years. In case it concludes horribly (like Inazuma), it'd easily be the biggest disappointment of my life, but otherwise, it'll become an unforgettable journey for me, one that I shall remember for the rest of my life.
Undertaking this review to train my English a little bit
Touching on the drawbacks, Genshin can't be a solid game, and for that will never be respected by the majority of gamers. On account of being a gacha and ongoing, Genshin unfortunately hindered and camouflaged to the world its good narrative story. This subset of the population can't believe the game proposes such splendid story, and I think it's fair due to the beginning of this journey not being a very inviting one.
TL;DR: it's hated because it's a gacha, and would've been actually a very acclaimed game as long as it was released as a standard RPG.
Nonetheless, ironically, it wouldn't be a riveting and marvelous game whether it wasn't ongoing. In fact, in this day and age, the game continues progressing, getting better and better, and more creative due to having more development time. It's a double-edged sword.
Secondly, the side characters and predominantly their side quests. Even though it's a game that presents some gorgeous characters for pulling, the side characters will make you feel you're getting down to the abyss. They are basic and pedestrian, and yet some of them have long side quests. Like, it's not that the content of the side quest is bad, I just I cannot care enough for random characters around the world that in majority I will never see them again. Also, off and on, the side characters' design are all the same, having overall a lack of creativity and effort. It's a point that they could do better.
Continuing with its flaws, Genshin Impact is a game that has hindered its true potential for some time. It's time now to salient a little about the negative point the narrative has.
I appreciate it being an ongoing game, as the narrative would never be as good as it is in case the developers had no time.
Thus, the narrative does not start strong or captivating, but minimally attractive in my opinion. I felt comfortable in the first two regions, and although the third was horrible, as long as you weather the storm, the final door you'll open shall present bloom of cherry trees. That is to say, the game took a time to stop being inconsistent, so you need to have patience when trying it.
Furthermore, the fact that extremely important events that beautifully characterized certain characters will never return to the game. Anyone who has to experience the development of certain characters would have to watch it on YouTube. There are characters who had their development completed or one who revealed their entire background through these events... This is a huge waste that the game offers itself.
Particulars that make the difference negatively: besides being a gacha game and too much time to release new story and region content, the fillers update are a knife in the chest, as you spend 1, 2 or even 3 months doing pointless events. I don't even lose my time, lol.
Lastly, you need at least IQ 150 to fully capt all the plotline for the first 3 chapters. Genshin's story is good since the beginning (with the exception of the Inazuma region). However, throughout the first three regions (until Sumeru), many things are left between the lines. They are in-depth, yes, but the player will need to understand it on their own, or even research it to have all the nuances on the tip of their tongue. This is a problem and that's why you find people saying that Genshin's story is shallow. It never was, the problem is that they left heaps of things ambiguous for a while.
This issue arises due to a problem that Genshin's storyline has faced for a long time: the execution of its narrative. Although everything written is of high quality and carefully crafted, the way it is presented to the player is not comprehensive and complete enough. Many of important contents from the plot are "hidden" in books that are around the whole map.
Therefore, Genshin Impact is a videogame that will not convince you to like it, rather, unfortunately, it has to come from the player, who needs to have fun playing and feel pleasure in participating in this journey.
So why is it good? Why do I like it so much?
These are questions even I ask myself. Defending a controversial game like this is like being a lawyer trying to defend a guilty person in court.
Let's start from the basic: think that Genshin Impact is more a RPG than a gacha game.
Focusing on exploring the Teyvat, meeting its characters and furthering into the secrets of that world gives me a fabulous feeling, one I rarely encounter in any other game.
In this game, the exploration is not pointless. Every place you go, there is a tale behind those beautiful mountains and flowers. The world is alive, and everywhere you set foot, there was an "once upon a time".
It's not repetitive as they say, it's not boring,
it's experience. It makes me over the moon.
If you focus on this instead of trying to pull for characters, you already increase your own happiness in 80%, get your stress down in 120% and savor the game.
First virtue, the narrative.
The game starts with a riveting theme in my opinion, and it's even more provocative to realize Genshin follows the label of a generic RPG. Though, what differentiates this game from others is that it transformed everything generic into something unique, radiant and well written, which when looking closely doesn't even seem like it uses the same things as an average RPG (island in the skies, abyss, lost technology (wow, JRPGs love this) and the same biomes that we know adventure games offer).
Featuring an extremely ambitious plot, Genshin Impact has a beautiful worldbuilding, and heaps of characterization.
It brings an enthralling dynamism between villains, in this case, there is not just 1 villain, but 2 or more, and they all have their motives and reasons for such chaos.
I don't know much what to say about this worldbuilding topic, frankly, as it's a game that portrays everything we can imagine.
However, slowly, as each region passes, Genshin Impact's story becomes prettier, denser, and better written.
It remained as a promising game for a LONG TIME, leaving many questions unanswered that some of them even looked like pretentious (bro, like, there was way too much, they weren't answering at all). However, at a certain point, the answers began to surface, and new possibilities emerged. Following the events in Fontaine, the game ceased to be a mere promise and transformed into a tangible reality, solidifying its status as having definitely a great plotline.
Genshin initially generated a lot of hype surrounding Inazuma, the third region, but ultimately proved to be a significant disappointment in terms of its story. Following this, Genshin Impact's narrative trajectory seemed uncertain, I was honestly ready to drop the game if Sumeru was bad. Thankfully, it was the region of Sumeru that emerged as the most captivating thus far, stepping up a gear. However, despite its strengths, Sumeru left many questions unanswered, leaving the game's potential still as only a promise. That finally ended in Fontaine, which I consider to be the climax of Genshin Impact, that the answers finally began to materialize.
The game's characters are generally good, with some being astonishing and others even more fabulous. One of the enchantments of this game lies in its expansive world, known only to a select few who are familiar with its 'underworld' or 'dark side'. These special characters possess deeper insights into the truth of the world of Teyvat, making them particularly intriguing to me. Yet, aside from a few minor or filler characters (including overrated ones), the overall quality is positively commendable.
Now, I'd like to talk about the heart of Genshin Impact as a game, and there are two of them: the world/side quests and the soundtrack.
I mentioned earlier that side characters pose a problem, but this stems more from the lack of attention to detail and the perceived 'laziness' on the part of developers in creating them more thoroughly. However, this does not extend to the world quests, which significantly expand upon the vast narrative landscape. These quests are so integral that the gaming experience feels incomplete without them. Playing Genshin Impact solely for the main quests would result in a far from complete experience, as these world quests not only complement the main storyline but also add depth and richness to it.
The soundtrack of Genshin Impact breathes life and atmosphere into the game, serving as the perfect complement to its greatest propose: an immersive adventure. It truly is the icing on the cake of this exceptional gaming experience.
Genshin Impact is undeniably a professionally crafted game, with its creators assembling top talent from various fields and professions to deliver their best work. This concerted effort has borne fruit, evident in the game's quality and success.
The game's soundtrack stands out as my personal favorite in fiction. Drawing heavy inspiration from classical music, its vast variety is truly remarkable, offering a memorable and diverse selection of compositions crafted by brilliant composers. There are not only compositions that help with immersion, yet exorbitantly well written ones, more so than currently even the most famous composers on the market, featuring extraordinary complex tempos and chords, and creativity. For example, there is a song whose rhythm is made using a pocket watch. Or another where, literally, the composer of the song created his arrangement and even sings it. Unfortunately, owing to being ongoing, it never won an award at The Game Awards or was even mentioned for OST, although it should've been if that award was really serious.
For all this, it's not a game for everyone and I'm swimming against the tide. Genshin is long, heavy and easy to burnout. However, it's the only game that I never stopped playing, and I wish it was a little more loved by society for all the strengths it presents. Unfortunately, its bad side overshadows its good side, and I think it's relatively deserved.
For everything it presented, it's already a great game. Although its ending is not yet known in our time, it is expected to happen in 2 years. In case it concludes horribly (like Inazuma), it'd easily be the biggest disappointment of my life, but otherwise, it'll become an unforgettable journey for me, one that I shall remember for the rest of my life.