No wonder it feels like the HoYoVerse puts more effort into the Rite of the Lantern than any other event. It’s essentially the Genshin Impact equivalent of Lunar New Year, which is one of the biggest holidays for Chinese (and other Asians). Just like in real life, they come together to break bread with friends and family, wishing each other good luck and prosperity for the future. This year, the Lantern Rite story focuses on the theme of music, as well as distant memories and lost friends.
To start, let me say something a bit personal. As a Taiwanese diaspora who does not live with their families, the Rite of the Lantern in Genshin Impact has been my way of spending the Lunar New Year since the event started in 2021. This is coupled with how Genshin Impact was my Animal Crossing: New Horizons during isolation. Lantern Rite is therefore one of the most special annual events in Genshin Impact for me. Yes, I know how sad that sounds.
But even though I have a soft spot for the Lantern Rite, that doesn’t mean all Lantern Rites are the same. The first Lantern Rite, where you just talk to NPCs and search for quests, was objectively very boring. This year we had a semi-continuation of the Iridescence Tour story thread that started with the Labyrinth Warriors event in patch 2.2. Xinyan and Hu Tao, two very funny characters who spend a lot of screen time, are great, except that last year’s Lantern Rite was Fleeting Colors in Flight. Honestly, it’s pretty hard to top the writing in this event.
That’s not to say an event has to be emotional or tell a powerful story to be good. Personally, I didn’t really enjoy the second Golden Apple Archipelago event, despite the exploration and character development that I enjoy. However, even going through all the screenshots I took for Lantern Rite 2023, I honestly have no real recollection of anything that happened in the festival plot. In theory it was a fun idea, but the execution needed a boost. For example, the Traveler could have taken a more active role in organizing the event, rather than following Ganyu or Keqing as they worked.
Although that may not be the point. Just as Lantern Rite 2022 was more about Shenhe than anything else, this year’s event does the same by putting Madame Ping and Guizhong’s past center stage. The problem is that everything is told through dialogue and cutscenes. Again, this is too revealing and not enough, which is a constant problem in writing Genshin Impact. There is nothing for Guizhong to do as he is long gone. But what about Ms. Ping? How come Madame Ping only appears in a brief scene in a Lantern Rite story that presumably focuses on her? I feel like I’m in the minority for this opinion due to how many people I’ve seen gushing over Madame Ping and Guizhong online, but even though I thought it was cute, I didn’t feel not as committed as I could have been.
Speaking of engagements, big regional festival events usually feature lots of mini-games, and Lantern Rite 2023 was no exception. This year, you could put on a shadow puppet show, drive a boat, and go through a time attack. All of them are pretty easy to beat if your only goal is the Primogems, and the Paper Theater minigame felt unique compared to other Genshin Impact puzzle games. It’s certainly a lot more fun than last year’s Wondrous Shadows, though I had to resort to asking the game to keep things simple for me.
Finally, let’s talk about Liyue’s characters! For starters, I wish the story had benefited more from the fact that this is Yaoyao’s first event. It barely appeared, which makes it look more like a novelty than anything. Kind of like when companies and brands release bunny-themed products because it’s the year of the bunny. However, it’s easy to forget that when the epilogue scene stole the show of the whole event. Everyone having dinner and pushing the responsibility of igniting gasoline with each other was incredibly fun. It’s really reminiscent of all those fancy family dinners where you sit with your friends and watch the adults fight.
Anyway, I still enjoyed Rite of the Lantern this year. He balanced the joyful and comedic musical plot with that of Guizhong, which was much more serious and full of traditions. This combination works to satisfy both players who just want to have fun and players who want to learn more about Teyvat’s messy past. In that sense, the Lantern Rite 2023 epilogue is a fantastic way to wrap it all up. After all, what’s a family reunion without someone digging up some old drama in the middle of all that light talk? As a reminder, next year is the Year of the Dragon! And we all know who is the most important dragon in this game. So here is a start of congratulations to Zhongli fans. I wonder what story will unfold under the lanterns then?
Genshin Impact is available for PS4, PS5, Windows PC and mobile devices.