Much like with my last Genshin update, I actually finished the Natlan story a while back. But I'm posting about it now wheee.
Natlan was perhaps the grandest the story has been yet with the scale of the story it told. Which, I suppose, is to be expected for a story dealing with a nation perpetually at war with the Abyss, a plot against the goddess of death and told across the realms of both the living and dead. The stakes have never been so present in the story. You see the death and destruction in ways you usually don't. You get a feel for the weight the people of Natlan are carrying after hundreds of years of being besieged and how desperate Mavuika's plan to combat this is. Not to mention the insanity of Mavuika and The Captain's various things with Ronova - which is a sentence that will definitely make sense to people who don't know who any of those people are.
Something else that the writing for Natlan does very well though, is endear the characters to you. All of the characters are likeable and engaging in their own ways and all of them feel relevant to the overarching plot. Definitely this was an improvement on Fontaine where several characters were either not that interesting, had little to do with the story or both (not that Fontaine was bad, it was just mostly built around 3-4 characters and not all at the same time).
Finally, the trend of expanding on and fleshing out the lore of Teyvat more with each new nation continued and continued well. We're getting more and more of an understanding of the history of the world and how everything fits together while also sprinkling in new concepts that enhance the world without making things too convoluted or contradictory.
As far as the gameplay goes, Natlan added a lot compared to previous nations. The saurians are a fun addition to the game as not just enemies but as options for solving puzzles, participating in combat and exploring the world. The Nightsoul mechanic unique to the characters of Natlan (kind of like how Fontaine has its Arke and Ousia alignment mechanic, although it works very differently) is also interesting, allowing for a lot of unique abilities that are great for exploration and make for a very different combat experience. As always, I'm impressed with how the game has managed to keep from becoming stale mechanically without drastically changing itself.
Visually, Genshin has always been a pretty game. Natlan isn't an exception to this rule with some pretty striking and atmospheric environments. That being said though, I wouldn't say it is as visually appealing as the best some of the other nations have to offer. It's still pleasant to look at, but doesn't hit the same highs as Liyue, Inazuma, Sumeru or Fontaine.
Comparatively though, the audio is quite possibly the best in the game. The voice actors all do a fantastic job as always, but the biggest thing here is the soundtrack. The music of Natlan is incredible, taking inspiration from a lot of different cultures and genres and blending them into a fantastic atmosphere that adds a lot to the game.
So yeah, I'm still loving this game and I'm enjoying all the new content just as much as the old and sometimes more. I will forever lament that Genshin gets a bad reputation because of being a gacha because it's legitimately one of my favourite games.
Writing: 8/10
Gameplay: 9/10
Visuals: 7/10
Sound: 9/10
Total: 33/40
