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Can't believe I never talked about this game, but it feels like the right time to talk about it now.

961 View2024-02-11

Genshin Impact - Lantern Rite

8.6

ActionRPGAction role-playingAdventureOpen WorldAnime

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Genshin Impact is synonymous with the gacha game industry - by that, I mean that it's literally the first name that pops up when you think of the term alone.

Sure, it may be for the right reasons, but going into this for the long term, this game is just NOT it. Sometimes.

I still vividly remember the first time I was recommended this game by my friend (it's been a whole 367 days since he was last online 0_o). At the time, Inazuma had just come out and it was the period when Genshin had seen the highest influx in new players joining the game, so I am pretty familiar with the game.

Playing this for the first time as a new player was mesmerizing. Enchanting. Alluring. It felt like I had to complete everything, because I was so damn interested in the story, the characters, and the quests. Mind you, I don't skip dialogues and options.

But when you reach the 'end', or rather the part where there is no more content to cover, the game is nothing more than a visual novel. When you have a story that is so gripping that it blends combat, storytelling and the map environment on several different aspects, that game is just the perfect game.

I've played every other Hoyoverse game (and I still do), but nothing had the hype that lasted as long as when the Fontaine archon quest came out. They just pulled all the stops out for that one, and they ain't stopping. The music during that Shadow Battle was le magnifique.

But...... that's the thing. The archon quests are good, but you play them once. The event quests are great, but you don't get to replay the old ones. The world quests are great, but (a) some of them are long as heck and (b) who considers playing those anymore - they're so dialogue-heavy!

Genshin eventually reaches that point where it leaves a dry taste in your mouth, wanting more but just leaves you unsatisfied every single time. Except for when HYV cooks for their archon quests that last only 3 months a year, we don't get to see such levels of storytelling and attention to detail in story quests. It's just a whole lotta yapping to me. And trust me, I've never felt this much second-hand cringe when listening to the dialogues and NPCs than during the ongoing Lantern Rite quest - where do the main writers go on vacation during this time???

Still giving it 4 stars because the LORE is immaculate. Damn you, good writing.

TL; DR, if this is your first time playing this game, you HAVE to play it. But, you know, take it slow :)