the only thing holding back from a 5 star rating is how same-y the worlds and dungeons are, but i have 100% confidence this game will develop into something special as it's early access period comes to an end. im generally jumpy when playing horror games, but something about the environments, unique ticks and sound effects per monster, and the sound of proximity chat as your friends scream in the distance while theyre mauled to death... its truly a unique horror like no other. like i said, i am generally jumpy with horror. this game actually made me feel more than just cheap jumpscares, i felt genuine dread. there was a time i was stuck alone in a room, trapped by 2 slimes while no one was answering my radio. i escaped, only to see a monster in the doorway. i slammed the door, realized i was trapped, and said "fuck it." i opened the door and crept into the hallway.

the whole time, i was just going "shitshitshit im fucked" without even REALIZING because i was so tense. it was dark, aside from the occasional scan, and the rattling of a sound-activated monster followed me. i was forced to weave in and out of this maze-like dungeon, completely alone, and unfamiliar with the monsters that waited for me. i was so afraid at one point trying to find the entrance i genuinely considered just sacrificing myself to the monsters but i perservered, and escaped the building just to be hounded down by large dog monsters.

the adrenaline rush i felt was RIDICULOUS and the moment my friends respawned on our ship, i felt all my nervous energy just melt away only to realise we were going to be doing that... again!! it was so much fun. i really dont think i've had such a fun horror co-op experience in YEARS.

i feel like i have so much to say about this game, but its hard to really put to words just because i liked it so much. if you have some close friends willing to fork over 10 dollars, give it a shot.

While I'd already loved Genshin, this update really brought back the feeling of being new to the game and truly learning how much there was to love about this game. Take this as an overall rating of 3.X, because a lot of it has remained consistent in it's design and worldbuilding.

The exploration in this region is so fluid and engaging. A lot of other regions have their downsides. Inazuma has too much separated islands that make it hard to run around and explore, as well as the need to upgrade the Sakura tree for the electrogram level which is just annoying. Liyue is so beautiful but suffers from the mountains and sky peaks that make it impossible to have fun traversing or farming materials, enemies, geoculus, etc. It's one of my favorite nations but also one I honestly avoid spending time in. Mondstadt is great but really plain and empty and suffers from being early in the game so it misses on the art development MHY has had in their environments. Sumeru solves all of this, with fun sigils you teleport and swing to. The bouncy mushrooms and environments that TRULY interact depending on the elements you use, as well as all the stamina flowers that makes the peaks and lows of the rainforest/desert less of a slog to climb around in.

Similarly, the addition of the dendro element has been my FAVORITE. We'd been teased with it since Mondstadt, and it added a breath of fresh air into the world of team comps. People will say there is nothing to love about Genshin's combat system, but truly there is a little bit of depth that can make theory crafting so much fun. Dendro adds such a fun layer of complexity to my account that makes previously bad characters meta-defining, as well as just giving you so many options for teams you can choose to build. I must recognize my personal favorite: hyperfridge comp. You are beautiful and I love you.

What else to say... I want to get into the characters and archon quests, but these all shine in later patches. The Sumeru quest has, overall, my favorite stories thus far. I truly thought nothing could top the Raiden Shogun's story because I just love Eimiko, but the stories and information we get in every part of Sumeru (including the interludes!!) is hard to overstate. Nahida is a great archon, and Al-Haitham I LOVE YOUUUUUUU

Of course, it's hard to talk about Sumeru without acknowledging one thing: the inherent racism that mihoyo has made apparent in their writing and designs. Honestly, it's hard to summarize the disappointment and nuance that this conversation needs into a review on backloggd, but to see the lack of skin tone variety on a nation that basis it's origins on the Middle East, is difficult. Seeing a character literally named Al-Haitham be whiter than Nahida's hair, Tighnari being the same, and someone like Candace, who is literally named after the Nubian queen Kandake, being a very ashy, pale brown is so painful. The only models in the game with darker skin are the desert enemies, who are portrayed as thugs or bad people. While yes, some are given storylines that allow us to see them differently, it still feels incredibly pointed. Not to mention characters like Dori who are literally a money-hungry merchant who rides a genie lamp with orientalist elements to her visual design.... There is a lot to take issues with, and I've truly lost hope on MHY to really honor and rectify these issues because they want to pander to the mainland China. It's obvious they understand and research these regions too by just looking at the use of the instruments and the food they respect well in the world-building. It's like they know what they're doing wrong, but refuse to fix it. It makes me very sad, but what can you do when the company refuses to acknowledge any of our complaints? It's saddening, but I hope that when we move forward through Natlan they'll learn not to be afraid of anyone with even slightly dark skin.

Also for anyone who particularly has a loud opinion on the last topic, please don't bother trying to start an argument about this with me. It's just not worth the effort.

Golden Apple Archipelago is a favorite event for me. Xinyan, Kazuha, Diluc, Mona, and Fischl getting time to shine was a fun group. Also the patch I realized Diluc my transfem icon was literally the best so it gets bonus points for that. Some of the GAA domains dragged (Fischl's was so painful to complete just because of how long it was) but Mona's was genuinely really fun.

That said, this was also the time of the Never Ending Ayaka who has plagued my nightmares ever since...

Overall, great story, great banners, great events. The perfect interlude for the long wait of Sumeru, who has my favorite and least favorite things to mention in Genshin Impact so far...

i said i wouldn't rank these til the first half ended... but the archon quest was literally PEAK. fontaine's story has been ehhh for me. i liked neuvillette but the previous acts felt so long. furina's story is genuinely so interesting and really saved her character for me. i thought she was annoying and honestly didn't really like her visual design (it has grown on me but it's still not great. her all blue outfit is better!!) but i completed the quest and immediately i really like her. getting into some spoiler territory now: the story of focalors & furina was truly the best way they could have handled it. when 4.2 leaks revealed furina wasn't going to be the true archon, i was excited to meet focalors but also because i knew neuv would most likely be annointed as some form of new archon/true god. to see that be subverted but still meet those expectations was really awesome. genshin has so many issues, especially in its stories, but the ideas they utilize in their archon quests has never been one. say what you will about their storytelling in its pacing and length and the excessive amounts of exposition dumping, the stories at their core are so interesting. really excited to see where the rest of fontaine will take us.

that being said: i'll probs re-do a new rating/review as time passes and i expose myself to the new story quests, exploration, etc. from 4.2