Genshin Impact has become known for its anime-inspired approach to open-world RPG gameplay. The numerous playable characters, monsters, and bosses found throughout Teyvat each possess a unique design, often inspired by a particular Elemental "Vision," if not a general region.
Travelers arrive in the game's Mondstadt region when starting out their Genshin Impact adventure, but it isn't long before they're venturing out into the Geo-aligned Liyue region in pursuit of delicious local peppers. The game now also boasts the impressive Dragonspine region, and will soon introduce an area known as Inazuma, both of which also bring their own special characters and creatures with them, giving creative fans all the more material to work with.
When the game first launched, fans began to take note of characters like Amber and Venti, who sport rather traditional clothing items in spite of their quirky personalities. Since then, characters like the majestic Ningguang, sea-faring Beidou, and the controversial Zhongli have all joined the game, giving players quite the number of options to consider. Especially with regard to fan creations like cosplay, Genshin Impact's powerful weapons and rare characters give the artist not only much to work with, but also a number of challenges.
Those hoping to cosplay as any of the game's characters will undoubtedly have to craft an Elemental Vision, which is a standout prop in and of itself. Not to mention, many of the game's characters prefer anime-core hairstyles that require endless hairspray, like that of Team Rocket's Jessie. Nonetheless, Genshin Impact's most devout fans have taken to social media to share their creations.
Lisa by RinnieR
Veteran cosplayer RinnieR nails the Lisa look with a gorgeous Electro Vision pendant and all. Aside from a detailed costume to match everyone's favorite Electro mage, RinnieR makes clever use of lighting to add a subtle purple Electro glow to herself. Moreover, as some fans have commented, the hanging lantern in the background is more than a rustic prop.
Players who've used Lisa may well recognize that as one of Lisa's special abilities. Whereas cosplay often tends to rely on editing for things like magical abilities, this cosplay makes use of some nice practical magic to create a clear allusion to Lisa's Electro-emitting lantern powers. Not to mention, something like a purple glow is also easily achieved with post-editing, so it's nice to see a practical approach to the mystic effect.
Traveler/Diluc by Hokushinetsu & 小布
This cosplay collaboration takes the cake for elaborate set design. Aside from meticulously crafted armor and clothing pieces, @hokushinetsu and 小布's Traveler and Diluc cosplay photoshoot makes excellent use of props and framing to highlight character traits. Of course, Diluc is holding a beloved bottle of wine, but even the generally regal backdrops and furniture pieces help create a true Genshin Impact ambiance in these cosplay photos. Not to mention, these two fans have made wonderful use of the naturally complementary color palettes apparently found in Diluc and the Traveler.
Noelle by 噗喵_少少的cos
This Noelle cosplay admittedly stands out simply for the fact it's a cosplay of Noelle. While some of the game's more wildly popular five-star characters, like Klee, Zhongli, and Mona, all inspire countless cosplay creations, some of the game's more niche characters, like Noelle and Diona, aren't seen quite as often. Moreover, Noelle herself features an elaborate set of armor (along with a giant sword), so she also presents a particularly unique design challenge.
Still, this fan's Noelle look manages to capture both her maiden-like features and her knight-like qualities, all in one fell swoop. Genshin Impact doesn't offer players many Geo characters to choose from and Noelle herself is a launch character, so Geo-inspired fan creations are generally far and few in between.
Mona by KateKeyCosplay
KateKeyCosplay does a magnificent job of using subtle editing to really seal the deal with her awesome Mona cosplay. While the entirety of the look - from hat, to Hydro Vision, to dangling hair pendants - is actually there and was handcrafted, the splashes of surreal Hydro magic really help tie together the look, without distracting from the actual cosplay elements. Especially with mage-like characters who rely on magic and don't often wield large physical items/weapons, it can be tricky to create a cosplay that feels fully fleshed out, as opposed to like a simple costume.
Tartaglia 1st/Final Form by Mikeee Joven
And last but certainly not least, Tartaglia (or Mikeee Joven's Tartaglia look, at least). Though Genshin Impact has its fair share of popular male characters, they are much less often the subjects of cosplay. In Childe/Tartaglia's case, a large part of this has to do with his wicked Foul Legacy transformation, which gives him a new set of armor and a special mask. Despite these hurdles, Mikeee Joven's Tartaglia look slays from head to toe, whether its his 1st Form cosplay, or his hand-crafted Final Form armor. Childe's Vision, his armor's eerie glow, and even his signature ginger anime cowlick, are all molded to perfection.
Especially in light of this particular assortment of cosplay, it's evident that Genshin Impact offers a distinct variety of characters for players to choose from. Though of course, it falls prey to some classic anime/gacha tropes and traps, for the most part, its anime-adjacent style has been well-received, and offers fans of cosplay boundless material to work with. The game recently introduced five-star alchemy wiz Albedo, and players can now summon Cryo archer Ganyu, so at any rate, fans should start seeing some new flavors of cosplay circulating social media in the near future. Hopefully, players start seeing a bit more diversity in characters' backgrounds too, so the game's cosplay community can naturally expand outwards in the same direction a bit more.
Genshin Impact is available now on the App Store, Google Play, PC, and PS4, and is currently in development for PS5 and Switch.