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Due to Genshin Impact being a live-service game, HoYoverse is constantly incentivized to add new content to the game. While much of this content can be hit or miss, I would argue that Nightsoul is one of the worst mechanics introduced. This new mechanic showed up in the fifth nation of Teyvat, Natlan. While characters with Nightsoul might feature cool gameplay, the addition of this mechanic could mark the beginning of a worrying trend that should be stopped.
Lazy Design
Since Genshin Impact is a free-to-play game, HoYoverse generates revenue through in-game purchases and character banners. That’s why they aim to make the newest characters better than the older ones. One way to make new units more appealing to players is by giving them unique mechanics. With the introduction of Natlan, HoYoverse has decided to equip all Natlan characters with the Nightsoul mechanic.
The problem with Nightsoul is that it’s extremely restrictive. New bosses introduced in Natlan are easier to defeat using this power. There’s also the issue of exploration. Each Natlan character has their own unique traversal method, which makes exploration much easier. Although giving new units special exploration abilities isn’t a new concept, the gap between characters from other regions and Natlan units is massive.
Just look at Natlan’s environmental design. It features massive, tall cliffs that are nearly impossible to traverse. The only way to comfortably explore Natlan is to teleport via Waypoints or use a Natlan unit. HoYoverse is essentially creating a problem and selling the solution.
Instead of actually designing appealing characters, HoYoverse just slaps the Nightsoul mechanic onto all new Natlan units to make them shiny. The fact that you need these new characters to comfortably experience new content only makes things worse.
A Worrying Trend
If the Nightsoul mechanic were a one-off thing, I would be more forgiving toward HoYoverse. However, the company is clearly gearing up to create more nations with their own gimmicks. At the end of the Natlan Archon Quest, you can speak with Mavuika, who will tell you about how the people in Nod-Krai, the region between Natlan and Snezhnaya, have their own unique power. If that isn’t a signal that the next nation will have its own annoying mechanic, I don’t know what is.
It would be one thing if it were just an overly designed character kit with numerous bells and whistles. Unfortunately, the Nightsoul mechanic also impacts other aspects of Genshin Impact. For instance, the new Relic sets are specifically tailored for units with Nightsoul and are useless for characters from other nations. The new 5-star weapons are also designed with Nightsoul in mind, so good luck giving one to old characters.
That isn’t the end, however. There is also a worrying trend where events are tailored to a certain character. During version 5.1, there was a limited-time event where you had to deal with infected aphids that had tanky shields. Natlan characters had an advantage over these annoying critters, but what made things worse was that most Natlan units were bad at breaking shields. The only one who was good at it was Kinich, so the event ended up being heavily reliant on his presence. If you don’t have him, then good luck.
Nightsoul is the start of a worrying trend that will likely continue in future Genshin Impact updates. While Natlan has Nightsoul, Snezhnaya will likely get its own unique mechanic. I’m worried that if things continue down this path, it will make new content even more restrictive and unwelcoming to players who don’t spend their savings on new character banners. I’m afraid that, in its attempt to sell more units, HoYoverse is gradually ignoring those who don’t whale on Genshin Impact and is slowly killing the game.
