Genshin Impact takes heavy inspiration from Japanese anime and the existing long history of RPGs, Zelda-likes, and open-world titles from around the world. However, the game's all-around adorable aesthetic translates surprisingly well into more specific and unique art styles. Now, one Genshin Impact fan combines the open-world RPG's characters with the distinctive art style of the indie hit OMORI.
OMORI was heavily inspired by Earthbound, another cult hit with a psychedelic art design and some staggeringly dark moments. However, where Earthbound was largely a surreal and comedic romp, OMORI rapidly reveals itself to be a surreal nightmare filled with uncomfortable reminders of the harsh reality the dream was created to escape. When the protagonist begins to reconnect with the real world, the dream even actively turns on him to try and keep him from moving on with his life.
Redditor Arcade_Pony shared a short animation that translates a sizable chunk of the Genshin Impact Mondstadt cast into the iconic art style of OMORI. The fan art depicts Aether and Paimon encountering a group of other characters in the style of one of OMORI's real-life battle sequences. This means that the exotic costumes of Genshin Impact have been replaced by more down-to-earth outfits, and the whole scene is rendered in looping animation. OMORI's art style is deliberately cartoony, reminiscent of pencil crayon drawings, but the proportions lend themselves well to capturing anime characters.
In the post, Amber, Kaeya, Fischl, Klee, Bennet, and Sucrose are shown preparing to attack Aether and Paimon. All six of them are depicted with moving character portraits that show their readiness to fight. Aether and Paimon, meanwhile, have headshots shown at the bottom corners of the screen. Combat in OMORI often involves manipulating the characters' moods for various effects. Aether's current mood is displayed as Neutral, while Paimon's is Angry. The screen openly asks what Aether and Paimon will do and gives the option to either fight or run away.
As of writing, it appears that other Genshin Impact fans are quite taken with the crossover. Several users expressed fascination with Amber being reimagined as a delinquent, especially since she's introduced as a trouble-prone knight. Another user decided that Bennet and Fischl would make excellent parallels to OMORI's Kel and Maverick. A second user declared that the only way to win the battle was to pepper spray the Knights of Favonius, referencing how one battle in OMORI is concluded. In general, the post's concept and overall animation were warmly received.
Genshin Impact is available to play now on Android, IOS, PC, PS4, and PS5. A Switch version is currently in development.