At last, Version 7.0 of Genshin Impact, “Everwinter Without Mercy,” arrived on August 12 and officially opened Snezhnaya, the seventh nation of Teyvat.
The Cryo nation is freezing, politically complicated, full of dangerous people, and connected by an extensive railway system because apparently even authoritarian fantasy nations understand the value of public transportation.
And visually, Snezhnaya is gorgeous.
Credit: Eurogamer
New Country, New Characters to Spend Primogems On
Naturally, a new nation also means new characters, and HoYoverse wasted no time.
Version 7.0 introduces Odette, a 5-star Cryo sword user who is somehow both a celebrated ballerina and a Fatui assassin, which may be the most Snezhnayan résumé imaginable. Her kit is built around the new Stellar Glimmer reaction system, transforming Superconduct and Cryo Swirl into enhanced reactions and boosting their damage across the party.
Credit: Eurogamer
Then there is Alyosha, a 4-star Electro polearm user who travels with his canine companion Tugarin. He is also obtainable for free through the Archon Quest, so for once the game is introducing an interesting new character without immediately asking us to stare into the abyss of our Primogem balance.
Credit: Eurogamer
The Traveler also finally gains access to Cryo, completing their tour through Teyvat’s seven elements. Whether Cryo Traveler becomes a permanent member of anyone’s team or receives the traditional “very cool for three days before I go back to my usual lineup” treatment remains to be seen.
Cryo Is Becoming Meta Again
Version 7.0 introduces the Stellar Glimmer system, including Stellar Conduct and Stellar Swirl, giving Cryo new ways to interact with Electro and Anemo. It is a meaningful shakeup for an element that has occasionally felt like it was watching newer reaction mechanics have all the fun from the sidelines.
There are also new artifact sets, weapons, bosses, exploration mechanics, and even Shadow Realm areas featuring a third-person shooting mode, because apparently Genshin looked at its existing collection of combat systems and decided the only logical next step was guns.
And yes, you read that correctly. They have guns now.
Credit: Eurogamer
The Beginning of the End
Perhaps the most exciting thing about Snezhnaya has very little to do with banners or combat mechanics. We are finally approaching the part of Genshin where years of scattered lore have to start paying off.
The Fatui have spent the entire game collecting Gnoses. The Harbingers have moved in and out of the story with their own motives. The Tsaritsa has remained one of Teyvat’s greatest unknowns, and Snezhnaya is where we are finally supposed to understand what all of this has been building toward. Version 7.0 begins peeling back those relationships and the tensions between the factions operating inside the nation.
That alone makes this update feel different.
Mondstadt once felt enormous because we had no idea how large Genshin would become. Now, six years later, walking into Snezhnaya carries the opposite feeling. We know how much came before it.
There are still quests to complete, characters to pull, and enough lore terminology to require several browser tabs — but Snezhnaya feels like a milestone. The mysterious frozen nation at the edge of the map is mysterious no longer.
