Current state of Genshin & HSR
May. 29th, 2026 02:33 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tanithryudoBeen a while I posted anything, so I figured I'd give an update about where I am with these two games, since that's where most of my attention has been (aside from related fanfics).
There is this general sentiment I've been seeing among the fans of both games, and it's one I feel I agree with, and it's this: just which one is the sci-fi/space opera game and which one is the landbound generic fantasy game again?
Because in Genshin, the latest Archon Quest (the new belated true end of the Sumeru story arc) came with scenes like this and this, while the upcoming world quest in the next patch has cutscenes like this, leading to an entire playable region on the *moon*.
Meanwhile, back in HSR, last year's Amphoreus story arc was pretty much "fantasy Ancient Greece/Rome" with barely any interaction or crossover with the wider cosmos until the climax ~3.6-3.7, and even then, the allied forces of multiple pan-galactic factions just served as fodder in the end, and then somethingsomething-LoveTriumphs. Then this current arc has been pretty much map after map of modern day streets (loosely based on modern day Japan). That's even more boring than fantasy Greece.
I've seen people complain about Genshin's Nod-Krai maps being small and bleh. But that's only in comparison with other Genshin main AQ maps. In my experience so far, the best maps in Genshin aren't usually the main nation/AQ maps, but rather the ones that get added in world quest chapters: the Underground Chasm, Enkanomiya, Sea of Bygone Eras, Ancient Sacred Mountain...and the upcoming Moon map. Exploration is one of the primary sell points of this game, and so far the game has not failed to live up to this point, despite what some haters might claim.
HSR...I probably shouldn't have any hopes in this area. But that doesn't mean I'm not disappointed that it kinda fails to live up to its background sci-fi/space opera setting.
As for story telling... I think I've mentioned before that I already ranked the Sumeru AQ in first place among the Genshin AQ arcs. This latest coda to it hasn't changed this. I found it to be an excellent capstone to Sumeru region as a whole; it pretty much had cameos for everyone of importance from the main story, and the side stories (all 3 major world quest chains). This is the kind of fanservice I like - not the fanservice of skimpy dresses, or CP banter (though there was that too), but the dusting off of all esoteric characters in the send-off limelight of their region. It feels like a reward for having done these world quests (though I suppose people who do this AQ without doing the world quests might not feel the same).
The latest HSR story, em, was ok I guess. It's just the setting hasn't been my cup of tea. And also the fact it feels like they're circling back to whack the Q5 dead horse what with the featuring of Shuhu, and Blade's upcoming SP. I'm sure Blade fans and Blade/DanHeng shippers are celebrating. But I'm not in either of those camps. So. Eh. Also, pure design wise, I haven't really seen a character that wowed me yet in this story arc so far, unlike Castorice whose art I really liked in the Amphoreus arc, or Cipher whose story role I liked, or Anaxa whose personality design I liked. So more reasons for me not to come back to HSR regularly any time soon. :/
There is this general sentiment I've been seeing among the fans of both games, and it's one I feel I agree with, and it's this: just which one is the sci-fi/space opera game and which one is the landbound generic fantasy game again?
Because in Genshin, the latest Archon Quest (the new belated true end of the Sumeru story arc) came with scenes like this and this, while the upcoming world quest in the next patch has cutscenes like this, leading to an entire playable region on the *moon*.
Meanwhile, back in HSR, last year's Amphoreus story arc was pretty much "fantasy Ancient Greece/Rome" with barely any interaction or crossover with the wider cosmos until the climax ~3.6-3.7, and even then, the allied forces of multiple pan-galactic factions just served as fodder in the end, and then somethingsomething-LoveTriumphs. Then this current arc has been pretty much map after map of modern day streets (loosely based on modern day Japan). That's even more boring than fantasy Greece.
I've seen people complain about Genshin's Nod-Krai maps being small and bleh. But that's only in comparison with other Genshin main AQ maps. In my experience so far, the best maps in Genshin aren't usually the main nation/AQ maps, but rather the ones that get added in world quest chapters: the Underground Chasm, Enkanomiya, Sea of Bygone Eras, Ancient Sacred Mountain...and the upcoming Moon map. Exploration is one of the primary sell points of this game, and so far the game has not failed to live up to this point, despite what some haters might claim.
HSR...I probably shouldn't have any hopes in this area. But that doesn't mean I'm not disappointed that it kinda fails to live up to its background sci-fi/space opera setting.
As for story telling... I think I've mentioned before that I already ranked the Sumeru AQ in first place among the Genshin AQ arcs. This latest coda to it hasn't changed this. I found it to be an excellent capstone to Sumeru region as a whole; it pretty much had cameos for everyone of importance from the main story, and the side stories (all 3 major world quest chains). This is the kind of fanservice I like - not the fanservice of skimpy dresses, or CP banter (though there was that too), but the dusting off of all esoteric characters in the send-off limelight of their region. It feels like a reward for having done these world quests (though I suppose people who do this AQ without doing the world quests might not feel the same).
The latest HSR story, em, was ok I guess. It's just the setting hasn't been my cup of tea. And also the fact it feels like they're circling back to whack the Q5 dead horse what with the featuring of Shuhu, and Blade's upcoming SP. I'm sure Blade fans and Blade/DanHeng shippers are celebrating. But I'm not in either of those camps. So. Eh. Also, pure design wise, I haven't really seen a character that wowed me yet in this story arc so far, unlike Castorice whose art I really liked in the Amphoreus arc, or Cipher whose story role I liked, or Anaxa whose personality design I liked. So more reasons for me not to come back to HSR regularly any time soon. :/
