One of the most anticipated parts of everyGenshin Impactupdate for fans of the massively successful RPG is the introduction of the newest characters to join the game’s growing roster. The breakout hit from Chinese developer MiHoYo recently welcomed the oni gangster Arataki Itto to its lineup andpopular characters like Raiden Shogun and Ventihave earned the company millions of dollars through their gacha banners. Now, with the game’s next major update scheduled to release next week, MiHoYois once again rolling out the red carpet to show off the newest member of its diverse cast.
The recent Special Program forGenshin Impact’s 2.4 update revealed a plethora of content coming to the game in the coming weeks, announcing this year’s edition of the Lantern Rite festival and the events to go along with it.Genshin Impactalso confirmed the newest locale to be added to Inazuma in Enkanomiya, which plays heavily into the lore of Watatsumi Island during the Japan-inspired region’s story. However, one of the biggest points of excitement for fans of the game was the announcement of the newest five-star character coming toGenshin Impact, Liyue’s Shenhe.
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Mihoyo released the first teaser trailer for Shenhe on Tuesday entitled “Shenhe: Lonesome Dream” through the officialGenshin ImpactYouTube channel. The gorgeous animated trailerintroduces Shenhe’s characterand her role within Liyue as a disciple of the Liyue adeptus Cloud Retainer, who plays a major role in the Liyue region’s story. Shenhe is shown as being a reclusive person forbidden from having contact with others, exemplified when she passes by the Traveler and Paimon in the trailer’s conclusion with dialogue referencing a part of the Liyue story.
Stylized animated trailers like Shenhe’s are a traditionGenshin Impacthas established throughout most of the game’s lifespan since its release in September 2020. Each new character receives asimilarly stunning animated trailershowing off the character’s personality with later trailers detailing their gameplay and skills. These trailers tend to be a popular part of the lead-in toGenshin Impact’s newest characters, with Shenhe’s already passing 1.5 million views in less than a day and the most popular breaking 10 and even 20 million view counts on YouTube.
2021 has been an eventful year forGenshin Impactas the game’s first full year on the market comes to a close. BetweenGenshin Impactfinallyadding the long-awaited Inazuma regionin July and controversies surrounding the developer’s stingy anniversary rewards, the game has seen plenty of highs and lows throughout 2021. However, miHoYo was able to cap off the year by taking home the Best Mobile Game award forGenshin Impactat the 2021 Game Awards and will look to continue the game’s success into 2022.
Genshin Impactis available now for PC, PS4, PS5, and mobile devices. A Switch version is currently in development.
