Genshin Impacthas made a name for itself by blending an open world into a live service gacha game with the intention of portraying a grand journey across the world.Genshin Impactperiodically unveils new nations to explore, along with characters native to these nations for players to pull. While these updates should typically be strictly good news, the reveal of the Natlan region comes with a major caveat.
Genshin Impacthas been boycotted in the pastfor one crucial aspect of its character design, and the characters revealed within Natlan so far suggest that this criticism is still being overlooked. Despite the intention of taking players on an international adventure through a variety of regions,Genshin Impactstill features almost zero people of color within its roster of more than eighty characters.
Genshin Impact Needs to Improve the Diversity of its Characters
Genshin Impact’s Diversity Should Be Essential
Natlan will be the sixth major nation added toGenshin Impact, and presumably one of the last considering what has been revealed so far about the game’s lore. Each nation in the game is purposefully inspired by regions from around the world, and the rich cultures that inhabit them. This makes diversity an inherently essential aspect of the journey players embark on throughout the game.
Nearlyevery character inGenshin Impactis meant to reflect the cultures of real people, and one cannot stress deeply enough the importance of representing these cultures authentically. Of course, it is always important to show respect to the cultures of others regardless, butGenshin Impactbears another responsibility on top of this.
Not only is the game so heavily focused on its international setting, but the massive popularity ofGenshin Impactmeans its audience is international as well.People playGenshin Impactaround the globe, and many of these people share heritage with the cultures thatGenshin Impactintends to portray. When players cannot see themselves in characters meant to represent them, it could harm the experience of many and make the other efforts of the game appear inauthentic.
Genshin Impact’s Characters Don’t Always Reflect their Cultures
Natlan draws from a few major sources of inspiration. While all details have not been revealed yet, the largest influence on the culture of Natlan seems to come from Latin American and Polynesian cultures, with a few regions that also seem to be inspired by African cultures. Blending unrelated cultures into a homogeneous setting could already be considered problematic, but the issue with character design remains front and center.
Simply put, the cast ofGenshin Impactalmost exclusively features characters with light skin tones. This would be noticeable in most games, given the lack of diversity despite the game’s sizable cast. However, this issue is made all the more prominent precisely becauseGenshin Impactclaims to represent a diverse number of cultures.
Genshin Impact’s reveal of Natlan charactershas made this more apparent than ever. Only one character is portrayed as non-white, while the rest simply do not reflect the diversity of the cultures they are representing. Even the Archon of Natlan, the God of the region, is one of the most pale characters in the game. Likewise, even the outfits characters are wearing are very inconsistent with their inspirations.
Natlan is Not the First Time Genshin Impact’s Character Design has Fallen Short
Genshin Impact’s Character Design has Received Criticism Before
Natlan’s handling of diversity would already be a large enough issue in a vacuum. However, this is anything but the first time thiscontroversy has surroundedGenshin Impact. Sumeru is one of the game’s previous regions, and it is mainly inspired by nations in the Middle East and Africa. Upon its reveal, Sumeru’s roster received the exact same backlash for the exact same reason.
Many of thecharacters in Sumeruhave Arabic names, but only an incredibly small handful of playable characters had skin tones more tan than the vast majority of the cast. Similarly to Natlan, even the Archon of the region did not have black or brown skin. Sumeru has taken meaningful inspiration in aspects such as its architecture and music, but this does not erase or excuse the colorism evident within its character design.
Many hoped that HoYoverse would take this criticism in stride, and learn from fan reactions towards Sumeru. However, seeing as Natlan faces a similar issue with its character designs, many feel that their previous words have not been heard. This has caused the conversation to spark up all over again, with many wondering if even the backlash now will be enough to change minds.
Genshin Impact’s Future Should Not Reflect its Past
Diversity is anything but binary. The options for character design are endless, and even games that feature a more diverse roster sometimes fail to capture the beautiful array of people around the world. The issue of colorism is a delicate and important topic, and the issues present in thecharacter design ofGenshin Impactare also apparent in many other mediums. However, the value of diversity is too important to overlook.
Some may argue that standards are different where HoYoverse is located. However, cultural norms have not yet stopped games likeGenshin Impactfrom making advancements in other kinds of representation. Titles such asGenshin ImpactandHonkai: Star Railhave frequently featured characters implied to be LGBT, which shows that the game is more than capable of achieving this ideal.
Genshin Impactfeatures a variety of nations, so it should appropriately reflect the variety of people that exist within those nations. This should be a straightforward principle, but it is unfortunately one that continues to be overlooked. Natlan and Sumeru both faced criticism over the lack of diversity in their character designs, and the pattern this has created is even more concerning than any single incident.
However,Genshin Impactwill receive more updates in the future, each with its own new cast of characters. There are plenty of ways forGenshin Impactto address this ongoing criticism. More importantly, diversity should have already been a key priority for a game that represents the different people around the globe. With that in mind, it is more than understandable for patience to begin wearing thin.
WHERE TO PLAY
Step into Teyvat, a vast world teeming with life and flowing with elemental energy.You and your sibling arrived here from another world. Separated by an unknown god, stripped of your powers, and cast into a deep slumber, you now awake to a world very different from when you first arrived.Thus begins your journey across Teyvat to seek answers from The Seven — the gods of each element. Along the way, prepare to explore every inch of this wondrous world, join forces with a diverse range of characters, and unravel the countless mysteries that Teyvat holds…
