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Genshin Impact is a hero collector Gacha game, so you can obtain all sorts of playable units. HoYoverse’s ability to create striking and unique characters is a major reason the game became so popular. Unfortunately, the game has one glaring issue that was brought to attention with the introduction of Sumeru. The lack of varying skin tones is a major problem that has been ongoing for a long time. With the release of Natlan, some fans are disappointed and even enraged at the return of this troubling topic.
Genshin Impact’s Aversion to Dark Skin
Similar to Sumeru, Natlan is inspired by several countries. While the former is based on ancient Egypt, India, and Persia, the latter is based on various countries that are inside the Ring of Fire. However, it is mainly influenced by Latin American, Hispanic, and Aboriginal Australian cultures.
Considering this fact, it is extremely disappointing that there are no new characters with dark skin tones in Genshin Impact. To be fair, HoYoverse certainly made an attempt, but it feels rather insulting. The units that have been shown in Natlan trailers do have darker skin than most characters from other regions. Unfortunately, it feels like they have a tan instead of actual dark skin.
It is even worse when you consider Mavuika the Fire Archon. She looks cool, sure, but her skin is really white. I had expected the Archon from this region to embody the people of her land. Yet, it feels as if she is a tourist who just happened to stay there for a long time.
Community Backlash
While I’m disappointed with HoYoverse’s decisions, some parts of the Genshin Impact community do not take this development well. If you go to any social media networks, especially X, you will likely stumble on numerous people spitting out their vitriol online.
Many fans do not appreciate how white Natlan’s characters look. Some talented players even posted art fixes that made the new units have much darker skin. Others take it a step further by creating hashtags to boycott HoYoverse.
Some content creators have also shared their opinions. For instance, doro44 tweeted that he was disappointed with the lack of representation. Still, he hopes that HoYoverse will make changes before the release of the Natlan region.
A Clash of Opinions
While many fans are angry with the whitewashing in Genshin Impact, some players are still defending HoYoverse. One of the most common arguments is that HoYoverse is a Chinese company, and they don’t care about race as much in that country.
Others are quick to point out that there are other Chinese developers who are better at portraying people of color. The most popular game they bring up is Reverse: 1999, which is a mobile RPG game that features many characters from around the world.
Although I haven’t played Reverse: 1999, I have seen many trailers and gameplay of this game. Besides the great voice acting and art, I cannot deny that Reverse: 1999 is much better at diversity.
This is such a shame, considering how amazing HoYoverse writers are at weaving real-life mythologies and cultures into Teyvat. Sadly, this doesn’t extend to their character design, which severely lacks darker skin tones. I don’t understand why they have such an issue with releasing more diverse characters.
If HoYoverse keeps doing this, I’m afraid that this could become a thorn that may one day kill the company. Perhaps not now, but if they don’t address it, Genshin Impact may eventually lose many of its loyal fans.
