Genshin Impact is approaching the final part of its multi-year story in a very strange state. And it's not just about the plot. Over the past few years, the game has changed significantly: adventure is increasingly giving way to the gacha conveyor belt, and the constant desire to surprise the player with new mechanics and characters sometimes frankly conflicts with what once made Teyvat a coherent and convincing world.
But before proceeding to analyze the Genshin Impact 7.0 update itself, it is worth dwelling on the development of version 6.x. Last year, some players reacted hostilely to the IXBT.games review of version 6.0 due to criticism of HoYoverse's plot decisions. But, in my opinion, all subsequent updates only confirmed the point of view expressed in that review.
Partially, Genshin Impact 6.x is only saved by side quests, world exploration with puzzles, and various activities. But if you don't update your character roster throughout the update, you will have problems with various trials and challenges due to power creep.
As a result, by the time 7.0 was released, we had a meta-plot with huge gaps in the narrative and an unclear prospect of a sensible ending. And at the same time — a ruined image of Teyvat, in which for some vague reasons, it was on the frontier, that is, in Nod-Krai, that the highest level of electronics development was found. Once again — where did it come from?
And now, finally, the long-awaited Snezhnaya, inspired by Russian expanses and climate. And the finale is coming soon. What did Teyvat's Russia turn out to be like in the end?
The first thing that catches the eye is the graphic solution. Snezhnaya, as its name implies, is all covered in snow. And to some extent, this greatly limited the designers' capabilities in the visual part. And given that, judging by the surroundings, a significant part of Snezhnaya gravitates more towards tundra than taiga, there is immediately a feeling that something was not delivered. Outside of cities and villages — certainly.
Moreover, the developers have already shown us a similar snowy biome on Dragonspine in the vicinity of Mondstadt. The cold game mechanic also migrated from there. Our hero, traveling through the icy wastes, gradually freezes, and from time to time he needs to replenish his heat reserves.
But, returning to the visual style, it is worth noting that HoYoverse would not be itself if it did not try to go above and beyond even in such a visually poor environment. Firstly, the designers connected the terrain. Of course, the landscapes of Snezhnaya do not reach the real beauties of the Putorana Plateau, but many landscapes clearly resemble Eastern Siberia. Secondly, even considering that Snezhnaya is covered with ice and snow, there are a great many shades of white and blue here. And the ice covering some water surfaces, with its patterns, resembles the legendary Baikal ice.
The architecture in the settlements will make an experienced traveler through real Russia smile. The villages evoke quite unambiguous associations with Siberia or the European North — Arkhangelsk and Vologda regions. However, attempts to additionally embellish some buildings sometimes cause a smile. They don't do that in Russia. However, Genshin Impact is not Russia, but Snezhnaya, and not on Earth, but in Teyvat. So the cranberry flavor is forgivable in this case.
And with cities, the situation is more interesting. The capital of Snezhnaya, Snezhnygrad, also outwardly evokes quite obvious associations with the Moscow Kremlin — and in its modern form, with red brick walls. The historical Kremlin, by the way, also managed to be white: red brick walls began to be whitewashed with lime back in the 17th century.
At the same time, the interior decoration rather refers to the imperial splendor of St. Petersburg. And a certain dissonance arises: on the street you are somewhere in old Moscow — almost in the Kremlin — and as soon as you enter, you immediately find yourself in the 18th century on the banks of the Neva. Moscow outside, St. Petersburg inside. This also involuntarily brings a smile.
The images are generally recognizable and supplemented with details such as a borscht recipe for sale. You constantly stumble upon something familiar, but at the same time, what is happening does not cease to seem a little surreal. By the way, Belobog in Honkai: Star Rail, also created by HoYoverse designers based on Russian reality, is perceived as much more integral than Snezhnaya in Genshin Impact. On the other hand, Snezhnaya is clearly a more fairy-tale and fantasy version of the game's Russia, and for this, as for Russian borscht, some dissonance is forgivable. Especially since it's funny.
The characters presented in GI 7.0 are also amusing. The kokoshnik as a female headdress against the backdrop of railways and steampunk surroundings in general — more on that later — is, of course, a real anachronism. You constantly subconsciously expect the appearance of balalayka, vodka, and bear. In this, HoYoverse, fortunately or unfortunately, disappoints us. The "sacred" trinity of stereotypes about Russia is absent in Genshin Impact.
But second-order stereotypes are present. And ballet — "in the field of ballet, we are ahead of the whole planet" — is in the first place here. However, another question arises here. HoYoverse tries to make characters for gacha attractive, and for this, female characters are as "exposed" as possible. And the ballerina Odette, presented in 7.0, running around the tundra in a stage costume, you constantly want to dress warmer. She'll freeze! Unlike her, the four-star Alyosha is dressed in a parka with a fur collar and wears pimy. This person clearly understands where he is.
New characters are nice, but against the backdrop of the seemingly endless roster of heroes, they are increasingly perceived as "just another one." And this is already a problem. Yes, they don't bring anything new to the combat system. But it would be surprising if they did. Since Sumeru, the combat system has practically not changed. All the same elemental interactions — in fact, it still works great and remains the main positive feature of the combat. All the same weapon types. And all the same need to pull a signature weapon from the banner and character duplicates to unlock constellations if you want to assemble a top version of the hero.
One of the main leitmotifs in the creation of Snezhnaya was clearly the legendary Trans-Siberian Railway. The railway is generally one of the foundations of the local industry, and around it, as already mentioned, local steampunk is built.
It is worth mentioning the industrial enterprises of Snezhnaya separately. The local machinery looks much more brutal than the technological structures of Nod-Krai, and, what is especially important, fits much more organically into the overall visual style of Genshin Impact. Huge mechanisms, steam installations, railway infrastructure — all this looks heavy, rough, and at the same time, with reservations, appropriate. Recalling the machines at the coal enterprises of Vorkuta and Kuzbass, one involuntarily catches familiar associations: north, coal, cold, and huge steel structures. Of course, in reality, the technology there is completely different, but the visual image is instantly recognizable. Therefore, the local steampunk is perceived not as an alien fantastic technology, but as a quite natural development of local industry.
Moreover, the energy source for Snezhnaya is also clearly indicated here. Of course, in the lore it is called differently — as, by the way, in Honkai: Star Rail — but it is clearly coal. And just like in Honkai: Star Rail, it is just as yellow and crystalline. Interestingly, why? Didn't want to invent something new?
Railways in Genshin Impact brought not only a peculiar aesthetic and a slight taste of Honkai: Star Rail — we have our own train with our own carriage here — but also new game modes and mini-games with controlling a steam locomotive. This, of course, is not a simulator, the control is very arcade, but the fun is present. And this is far from the only innovation of 7.0.
It became possible to build small structures from "eternal ice." Not everywhere and not always, and you won't be able to build anything you want, but sometimes this mechanic is used to solve puzzles and in mini-games. And you can also share built structures with other players, leave various signs in other worlds, and get likes for your creations.
And here HoYoverse clearly borrowed something from Kojima. A kind of asynchronous multiplayer in the spirit of Death Stranding turned out. You cannot directly meet another traveler, but traces of their presence begin to appear in your world. Someone left a structure, someone a sign, someone a hint. You can use someone else's structure, leave your own, and thus help a completely unfamiliar player a little.
It sounds funny, but in reality, this is a rather serious change to the usual concept of Genshin Impact. Until now, it was primarily a single-player game. Yes, you could invite other travelers to your world, but it was still your world. You could let friends in, play together, and then they left — and Teyvat became exclusively yours again.
Now it's not quite like that. Genshin Impact has not turned into an MMORPG in the classical sense, but traces of someone else's playthrough have begun to penetrate your world. And here a problem arises: such interference is not always appropriate.
For example, an indication that a chest is nearby can be very useful. Especially if you've been running around for half an hour and can't find it. But at the same time, it could well be a spoiler. What if I wanted to find this chest myself? Solve the puzzle myself? Discover something hidden in another corner of Snezhnaya myself? I am essentially deprived of part of the pleasure of exploration.
Not to mention the numerous "hints" like "beautiful view" and other "meaningful" contributions to the exploration of Teyvat. Useful things are certainly found here. But much more often, other people's signs are either inappropriate or simply useless.
It turns out to be a rather curious experiment. HoYoverse added asynchronous player interaction, in the spirit of Death Stranding, to the traditionally single-player Genshin Impact. But along with this, it began to gradually take away from the player the feeling that the world they were exploring belonged only to them. And for Genshin Impact, where independent world exploration has always been one of the main features, this is already a problem.
However, all this pales in comparison to the main innovation of Genshin Impact 7.0.
The game introduced a full-fledged mode with third-person shooter mechanics and cover-based shooting. And this innovation really blows your mind. Yes. There are firearms in Teyvat. Even in Mondstadt, among the enemies are Fatui armed with rifles. But these are rifles — perhaps even muzzle-loaders, though more likely flintlock breech-loaders. But the aforementioned Alyosha holds something in the spirit of the famous Mosin rifle. Also a clear anachronism.
But in shooter mode, the hero is given an assault rifle, a grenade launcher, grenades... Um... How is this even possible? Apparently, the developers decided that the already crippled lore of Genshin Impact could be crippled even more. It wouldn't get any worse.
However, the developers at least did not drag this mechanic into regular combat. Shooting works in special zones scattered throughout Snezhnaya, and individual elements of the mechanic may also appear in quests. In principle, the existence of separate zones with their own rules remotely resembles the Withering Zones in Sumeru, although mechanically it is a completely different type of content.
At the same time, hand on heart, the shooter mechanics themselves are well done. There are, of course, individual nuances — for example, I would fine-tune the auto-aim on the gamepad a bit more — but overall it plays well.
But still: why force another square peg into a round hole?
And here the impressions are very ambiguous. The railway, ice construction, asynchronous player interaction, and even the shooter itself are well done. HoYoverse is clearly trying to experiment with the familiar Genshin Impact formula. But the more such experiments appear, the more the question arises: was all this really necessary for Genshin Impact? Especially if for the sake of new mechanics, the already crippled technological and historical lore of Teyvat has to be stretched even further.
And it's time to talk about the plot that unfolds in Snezhnaya.
In 7.0, we were presented with two chapters at once. The first is essentially a large introduction to Snezhnaya: getting acquainted with the region, new characters and locations, and at the same time learning new game mechanics. In general, everything is traditional, but at the same time quite interesting. A lot of new things, and the events are on par.
But the second chapter is noticeably more intimate. We are locked in a local analogue of the Bolshoi Theater, where we begin to unravel mysterious deaths. The events here are worse, but the detective component is captivating. It was not without deus ex machina and convenient plot devices, but it is still far from the piano factory and plot machines stuffed with the deities of Nod-Krai from 6.0.
The amount of content is also fine. Snezhnaya itself is a rather isolated region — if you look at the map, it's almost a separate continent. Not as strictly as in the case of Inazuma, but you can't just get here. And two plot chapters of decent volume are quite appropriate here.
The problem is different. The second chapter, despite its importance for the lore and acquaintance with the main antagonist, practically does not allow us to explore Snezhnaya itself. We are locked in the theater, and most of what happens takes place inside it. Yes, in the finale we are still driven into the Armory, but this is a rather small compensation for such staticness.
Overall, the region turned out to be of normal fullness and size. I just wish that at least one of the two major plot chapters would actively use it as a setting, and not just as scenery.
But there is one curious point. For some reason, the screenwriters twisted the plot around our guide Paimon — no spoilers here. Fan theories about who Paimon is, of course, have long been known to many Genshin Impact players. Therefore, such a "what a twist" looks somewhat forced to intrigue fans. And at the same time distract their attention from the fact that the storylines started back in 1.0 were simply failed?
Side quests slightly expand our knowledge of Snezhnaya. They reveal stories about the conflict between elves and humans, about class stratification in Snezhnaya, some everyday sketches. In general, it's nice, but some things are captivating, some are not. This is already traditional for Genshin Impact.
World exploration initially gives a sense of novelty — partly due to new game mechanics. And this, perhaps, is one of the strengths of 7.0: Snezhnaya itself is indeed capable of bringing back for a while that very sense of adventure and exploration for which Genshin Impact was once loved.
But we know that in the end, everything will come down to traditional grinding for leveling up new characters. Farming resources again, collecting artifacts, improving builds, and preparing for the next character. And this is depressing.
In general, by the time 7.0 was released, due to strange developer decisions, Genshin Impact was less and less perceived as an adventure game and more and more as a regular gacha grinder. The adventure itself has not disappeared, but it is increasingly integrated into a conveyor belt for resource extraction, character collection, and build creation.
And if you once started playing Genshin Impact as an adventure, and then abandoned the playthrough, it is not a fact that returning today will be to your taste. Especially if you were interested in world exploration, history, and the very feeling of travel. But collectors, lovers of collecting characters, and those who like to endlessly optimize builds will most likely be satisfied. For them, Genshin Impact has become bigger, deeper, and richer in various ways to grind over the years.
It remains only to say once again that gacha is not only a manipulative mechanic that can drain huge sums from you in a "free" game if you are a gambler. If you cannot control your gambling, do not play Genshin Impact and other gacha games. Never.
But the problem is not only money. Gacha dictates game design and gradually begins to dictate the narrative. New characters must be constantly sold, which means they must be constantly introduced into the game, given stories, conflicts, abilities, and a place in the overall picture of the world. The plot, as a result, begins to work not only for the story but also for the banner.
Genshin Impact is one of the most striking examples of how a monetization model can affect the artistic structure of a game. In Honkai: Star Rail, the influence of gacha on the narrative is felt somewhat differently — due to a number of features of the game itself. But that's a completely different story.
And for now, let's reiterate: gacha is a vicious game mechanic. Monitor your spending, especially if you like Genshin Impact. Because it is your favorite game that is most dangerously making you forget how much money you have already invested in it.
And finally — a few technical remarks.
Genshin Impact is a huge game. And this affects the size of the installation files. Despite all the optimizations, the size of the game on smartphones is impressive, and it will not fit into the memory of every device, especially if you play not only Genshin Impact.
Otherwise, the technical implementation, as always with HoYoverse, is very good. Graphically, the game is still impressive on consoles and PCs, and on mobile platforms. However, this is largely due to the designers: HoYoverse artists still know how to create impressive worlds. The musical and sound design are also top-notch.
Technically, HoYoverse does not drop the quality bar.
Diagnosis
So are we still sinking further or have we finally pushed off the bottom of Nod-Krai?
Perhaps the latter. But the surface is still far away.
Snezhnaya is interesting to explore. It is beautiful, atmospheric, and quite different from previous regions. At the same time, the novelty itself does not spoil the impression. New game mechanics are mostly well implemented, and some of them — the train, construction from eternal ice, asynchronous player interaction, third-person shooter — show that HoYoverse is still capable of experimenting, and not just releasing another batch of quests and characters. But still, the developers sometimes lack a sense of proportion.
The new plot does not yet look like the piano factory that Nod-Krai turned into. Problems remained, artificial twists did not disappear, and some storylines cause more bewilderment than delight. But what is happening at least begins to form a story again, and not an endless accumulation of riddles, technologies, gods, and explanations designed to justify another plot twist.
The main problem has not disappeared. Gacha determines not only monetization but also game design, world structure, and the very way of telling a story. And Snezhnaya did not solve this problem.
Many new mechanics of 7.0 therefore look like a square peg in a round hole. They are just new ways to entertain the player within the same gacha conveyor belt. And it no longer matters how well they fit into the original vision and lore. Deserving whales must be appeased. And if you are a casual tourist in Teyvat — that's your problem.
I would not bury Genshin Impact after the release of 7.0, as I wanted to do after version 6.0. Snezhnaya proves that the game has not yet forgotten how to be a good adventure game. But it is too early to declare a recovery.
Now the main thing is to understand whether HoYoverse will have the strength to surface, or another batch of characters will finally bury the spirit of adventure.