FireBlueZ

I understand why many players miss Chen's musical style. To explain this from my own perspective, Chen had a distinctive musical style that became even more apparent to me when new composers joined HOYO-MiX around 2021–2022. They began making their in-game soundtrack debuts with "Islands of the Lost and Forgotten" and "Millelith's Watch," having previously contributed to Genshin Impact's promotional media, such as Character Teasers and Character Demos (Trailers). With their in-game debut, I could hear a noticeable difference between their styles and Chen's. Speaking only for myself, Chen had a unique way of handling melodies and musical textures, and so he created heart-stirring compositions that captured the essence of their subjects. I came to approach how his music gave a distinct emotional quality. To make this idea easier to understand, I'd use an analogy involving chocolate. Not all chocolate tastes the same, and some varieties will naturally appeal more to our individual preferences than others. However, that doesn't mean the chocolates we enjoy less are inherently bad simply because they taste different. Each variety has its own appeal, and whether someone considers a particular chocolate good or bad is ultimately subjective. Bringing this back to the discussion about composers, wouldn't it be rather odd to praise someone like Mozart while dismissing his contemporaries as terrible composers simply because their music doesn't resemble his? I'd agree that Chen was an incredibly distinctive composer, but as an audiophile, I don't think it's fair to describe the works of his fellow HOYO-MiX composers as "soulless" simply because they don't share his style or quality. After all, many of their compositions have proven to be great in their own right—personally, particularly those featured in Snezhnaya. In the end, when I bring together Chen's compositions and those of the other HOYO-MiX composers in my playlist, I find myself appreciating Genshin Impact's music as a whole. I can miss Chen's quality while still recognizing and enjoying what the other composers bring to the table. Appreciating one composer's work shouldn't involve diminishing others.