There’s no denying the stigma around Genshin Impact. While a lot of the jokes are quite lighthearted, there are a lot of people that may never look further into why these games are so interesting. Ignoring the jokes, there is a really rich lore and fantastic characters. Themes of isolation and exchange of power in Genshin Impact are very interesting. This will have some spoilers so if that is something you wish to avoid, don’t read!
To begin, the vastly popular title from the game company Hoyoverse is Genshin Impact. It first launched in September of 2020, with a small cast of characters and only one region. The beginning of the story is shrouded in mystery. It opens with a cutscene of two blond twins flying and fighting a woman who is supposedly an unknown god. There’s no explanation, you’re just shoved straight into the action. You can choose to play as one of the twins, Aether or Lumine, the twin you don’t pick is taken by the unknown god. However, the twin you pick is then cast down to the land below the clouds they were fighting above.
The playable story kicks off with you, playing as the twin you picked, being rescued by a small
floating companion named Paimon. She is just as confused as you, but explains she will help you navigate this new world, called Teyvat. Everything is new and unfamiliar, which only increases the isolation you feel being separated from your twin.
The first place you travel to is a city called Monstadt (based on Germany), and meet many people. One of the people is Kaeya, the captain of the cavalry of the Knights of Favonious in Monstadt. He is charming and jokes around, and first shown as if he slacks off in his work and drinks his nights away. Another person you meet is Diluc, the wealthy bar and winery owner in the city. He voices his dislike of the Favonious Knights openly, particularly emphasizing his dislike of Kaeya and his tendency to drink until closing hours at his bar. However, as you learn more about them you discover they are brothers and they used to be very close as children. Diluc shows that he does care, but would never verbally admit it. With the way Keaya jokes with Diluc, it becomes obvious that he doesn’t mean anything by it.
The next nation you visit is Liyue (based off of China). The contrast of the culture between Liyue and Monstadt is very obvious but, by no means is it a bad thing. In this large nation you meet a so-called ‘consultant’ from a local funeral parlor. He introduces himself as Zhongli and speaks as though he has lived a very long time. Slowly you figure out that he is “Morax” the Archon—powerful being similar to gods that rule over each nation—of Liyue, and staged his death to live a mortal life. The sudden loss of the Archon leaves Liyue in chaos, the citizens feel grief for Morax and confusion on how they will go on without him. But, to everyone’s relief, the richest person in Liyue, Ningguang, steps up to lead Liyue. She helps the people of her nation by filling the power vacuum left by Morax’s death.
Though I could explain every nation, it would take a long time. The main point is, the story and characters in Genshin Impact are very well written and much deeper than what I have explained here. The jokes are funny but don’t let that discourage you from playing the game all together.
