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Snezhnaya will add third-person shooting to Genshin Impact

We now know thanks to a proper Snezhnaya trailer at the end of version 6.7’s livestream that version 7.0 will add a third-person shooting mode to Genshin Impact. Which seemed almost inevitable after that first Snezhnaya teaser showed off protagonist Aether weilding a gun.

This isn’t the first time guns have appeared in Genshin Impact, with multiple enemies and playable characters using a firearm. There’s also been a few mini-games that involve some Sniper Elite-type first-person shooting, and some would argue ‘third-person shooting’ has always been here, in the form of bow combat. But that very Gear of War-like third-person shooting is new, along with the cover mechanics on display in this latest Snezhnaya tease.

Aether is using a rifle for most of the trailer, while sliding into cover and vaulting over obstacles, but he also briefly uses grenades, and a what looks like a grenade launcher.

Why he’s doing this isn’t explained, but there’s a chance this gunplay might be taking place in a digital landscape, if that brief shot of the Aether loading-in an outfit change while floating in what looks like digital space is anything to go by. He also asks “Where am I?” after that, and then the gunplay part of the trailer begins.

The latest trailer shows off more than just guns, as we get a look at Snezhnaya’s snowy landscape and beautiful Slavic-inspired architecture, while audio of a Fatui meeting plays over the top. We even get a look at Pulcinella’s in-game model near the end. Plus, it seems Paimon might be in some trouble, as she’s looking hurt at the start, sitting down and clutching her chest. Later, Aether is seen running alone, avoiding bolts of lightning, with the line “Gotta get back to Paimon,” playing over the top.

On his travels, Aether encounters two new enemies, with one that I can only describe as a demented bunny rabbit weilding a meat cleaver, dressed like Santa Claus. The second is less terrifying: a new tree-type that looks like an Ent from The Lord of the Rings. Aether comes across it while traveling through an autumnal—almost fairytale—wood.

Here’s a transcript of the Fatui meeting we hear in the trailer:

It’s then unclear whether this ending dialogue is part of the same Fatui meeting or not:

Snezhnaya and version 7.0 release on August 12.

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