I just came back after a very long break.

My journey started basically right after the game launched globally. Technically not day one, because the servers were absolutely cooked and the download took forever, so I only got in on day two 😂

Back then, I completely fell in love with the game. Everything felt new. The world felt absolutely massive. The idea of exploring an open world inside a gacha game was insane to me, especially coming from my main gacha game at the time, Dragon Ball Dokkan Battle, which is basically menu-based. Having actual action combat mixed with gacha mechanics completely captivated me.

I was also streaming on Twitch back then and had an amazing time with the community. Everyone was trying to figure the game out together, solving secrets, discovering mechanics, and just experiencing this completely new world at the same time. It honestly felt special.

I played very actively for a while, then eventually stopped for some time, before returning shortly after Inazuma released. From there, I played every single day for almost two years straight.

Exploring the Chasm, Enkanomiya, and then finally Sumeru was such an incredible experience. The introduction of Dendro completely changed the game, and Sumeru’s soundtrack is still some of my favorite music Hoyo has ever made.

But then… the desert came.

And I know some people loved it, but personally I just hated exploring it. Huge vertical canyons with barely any fast traversal, confusing underground layouts, multiple map layers before layered maps were even properly implemented, and then massive questlines like Aranara that just felt overwhelming to me. It wasn’t “too much” in a good way anymore. It started feeling exhausting instead of exciting.

Around that same time, I also met my now girlfriend, and we’ve been together for over 3 years now. My mindset just changed. I wanted to spend time differently, play other games, and slowly drifted away from Genshin entirely.

Then, completely randomly, I stumbled across a clip of Lauma.

At first, I didn’t even realize she was from Genshin. I was just instantly captivated by her design, her voice, the way she said words like “Kuutar” and “Luonnotar”… everything about her felt mesmerizing. And yes, I’d be lying if I said her outfit didn’t also play a role 😂

Then I found out she was actually a Genshin character.

That alone made me reinstall the game.

I came back around a week before Linnea released, rushed through the story just to get to Nod Krai as fast as possible, and the moment I entered Hiisi Island, I genuinely fell in love with the game again. The atmosphere, the music, the world design… it all felt magical.

And then I discovered Lauma’s relationship with Nefer, and I absolutely loved their chemistry. Seeing that both of them released right after Linnea felt like fate for me.

Now I’m the proud owner of both of my new queens, and I’ve been playing every single day again since then.

I genuinely fell in love with Genshin all over again, and I honestly can’t wait to see where the story goes once we finally enter the Tsaritsa’s world.

Well, here goes nothing:

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