The graphics, worldbuilding, and soundtrack alone of Genshin make it a worthwhile experience to try at least once, however, the core gameplay mechanics and monetization system of the game have steered me away for the foreseeable future.

The game punishes you when you don't play and restricts what you can do while playing through the Resin system. Not unlike mobile games, if you want to be the best you need to dedicate yourself to playing every single day or funnel money in (for many people this includes both!). While this may not be an issue for many players, it's a frustrating experience forcing yourself to play a game you dislike because you don't want to waste valuable resources just in case you end up liking the game again. I'm not even going to touch the hell that is artifact RNG, but if you've played the endgame you know how soul-draining it can be.

Aside from the Resin system, I'm not a fan of the Gacha. It's a predatory mechanic that preys on people with a strong emotional attachment or infatuation with featured characters, and someone easily moved by the greater playerbase (or a very vocal minority of high spenders) may feel pressured to wish on as many characters as they can out of fear of missing out - which is terrifying when every character can cost hundreds of dollars for just a single copy.

These two features make me incredibly sad, because I love the rest of the game. The characters are fun and memorable (even if many of their stories and cameos are walking advertisements), and the greater story with the traveler and their lost twin is intriguing and exciting. While I still have many nitpicks with the rest of the game, if Genshin was released as a $60 Singleplayer game instead of a free-to-play Gacha, I would have purchased it for myself and copies for everyone I know.

Instant 5 star review when they release Dainsleif as a playable character though. I'm willing to overcome all my issues for him /hj

(Post game) Having heard from many (likely nostalgic) people about how great the postgame in Gen 2/the remakes is, I decided I really wanted to give it a shot for myself.

There's a lot to do here! It's practically a whole game onto itself, but one that I think I actually enjoyed more than the basegame (and I already thought that was great). I don't have an awful lot to add that I can't say about the main game, but I really enjoyed the "3 years on" story and landscape here and I had a blast, plus the ending is hype as hell, even if it requires a whole lot of grinding to see.

Overall, SoulSilver is a really fantastic remake that I think gets the love it deserves.