Hoyoverse’s Genshin Impact’s discography grows respectively as time goes on

Posted Feb. 17, 2022

By Graciela Del Rosario

Staff Editor

Hoyoverse’s smash hit game Genshin Impact’s discography seemingly grows respectively as time goes on. However, update 2.4 spotlights a beautiful soundtrack that took Western audiences by surprise and some to tears.

WARNING: This article does contain spoilers for the World Quest: Return of the Jade Chamber, proceed with caution.

As of publishing, update 2.5 has already been released and players are enjoying the brand new character Yae Miko and the story quests that follow (datamines for Kamisato Ayato have already been released as well). Although, I’m still obsessed over the previous update; specifically the soundtrack and the story plot that followed.

Genshin’s soundtrack has always been a spotlight for me–as stated by my previous Genshin article–but a single song caught my attention like no other. Divine Damsel of Devastation, sung by the new four-star character Yun Jin: Stage Lucida, is nothing but beautiful as it encapsulates the story behind the five-star character Shenhe: Lonesome Transcendence. The instrumental was magnificent and the storybook-like animation really tied the cutscene together. After the grueling fight against Beisht and nearly destroying another Jade Chamber, the cutscene served as a satisfying reward to players and has been often regarded as the best Genshin cutscene thus far. I distinctly remember watching it for the first time and feeling my eyes start to swell up by sheer awe (I still tear up when I watch it again). I would genuinely do anything to experience that cutscene for the first time again…However, the most impactful and fascinating part of it all was the singer and style themselves.

Regardless of what language players decide to use, Divine Damsel of Devastation would be sung like a Chinese Opera by renowned opera singer Yang Yang. Yang is well-versed in the realm of Chinese opera and is recognized nationally as one of the most notable performers on the scene, being from the Shang Hai Peking Opera Theatre. Yang’s works–and Chinese opera in general–hasn’t seen as much popularity globally, but Genshin has exposed millions of players to the genre and some players are actively seeking Chinese Operas on social media outside of Yun Jin’s performance. Yun Jin’s own performance has sparked many covers online, garnering hundreds of thousands of views for individual renditions. She is truly one of the most unique characters Genshin has created and the fact that she’s a four-star, the story quest is not a limited time event, and the insane amount of rewatchability the scene offers makes 2.4 memorable in its own right.

“The popularity of this song is beyond my imagination,” stated Yang. “The ability of a game to spread the Chinese Traditional culture is HUGE. Their comments to the performance seems very young which is also what we want to see”

Chinese Opera, also known as xì qǔ, is one of the three oldest dramatic art forms in the world and is popular among all ages. Dating back to the Tang Dynasty (618 - 907), Chinese Opera has developed into a popular performance drama with over 300 different regional styles in the past 800 years (Beijing Opera being the most popular). The opera was frequently performed at tearooms, restaurants, and makeshift stages, but the vast rise of the internet and social media skyrocketed it across China and now the globe. Chinese Opera can be recognizable by the extravagant costumes and makeup performers donned on stage, which can resemble the character’s role, personality and fate. Generally, a red face normally represents loyalty and bravery, yellow and white faces representing duplicity, and gold and silver faces representing mystery. Additionally, the lyrics sung are often written with high literary value and are accompanied by traditional instruments like the Erhu and Lute. The absolute artistry and articulation that goes into each performance is absolutely fascinating and it’s honestly a dream to watch one in real life one day.

“I kept watching the scene over and over again on YouTube,” said senior Dongtong Chen. “It brings me nostalgia because as a kid, I used to watch Chinese Opera. It’s part of my culture and I loved that Genshin Impact developers introduced it to the players who aren’t Chinese to our culture.”