As much as I love Genshin Impact I would never recommend it to new players at this point.
Genshin is my favorite game I've ever played and I love talking about the characters, the lore, and the overall gameplay. However, because there are limited events, items, and weapons, I feel like it is not new player friendly.
So many of the events need previous experiences to have been present in order to really feel the entire impact of what's currently happening. There are so many events that help tell the story and shape so many characters and without those events, a huge piece of the puzzle is missing.
I cannot fathom getting into the game now when so many characters/weapons are practically unobtainable at this point in time. There are so many characters now that being Free to Play would be impossible if you wanted to get every character or even just catch up with characters.
So many characters have amazing stories or moments in past events that new players can only experience through other player's old playthroughs. Scaramouche, Albedo, and Venti are three great examples.
This is all hitting me now because of Varka's release. I feel like maybe the hype isn't as understood for newer players because he's not Meta*.
Correct me if I'm wrong but I feel like most of Varka's hype is due to the fact he was introduced in the first story of the game. You never see him, but you hear about him. He's mentioned in I think every nation in some way. He's this mysterious knight everyone seems to respect/has high praise for. The excitement for his character I feel is more than just gameplay. All the promotional material and content we've gotten has been incredible.
While I think this game is really fun and it's been the only game I've played consistently, I don't know if I could recommend it to anyone that isn't already playing.