Hoyoverse released the trailer and character designs for the next region in Genshin Impact this last week. Natlan, while a fictional nation, is primarily based on the real geographic and cultural areas of Africa and Latin America. Players had been expecting characters with darker skin, but Hoyoverse did not meet these expectations. Colorism has been an ongoing issue in Genshin Impact with most characters being pale-skinned, regardless of their area of origin. There are very few darker-skinned characters and the few present have very light skin.
This issue was originally highlighted when Sumeru was released two years ago, with players calling out the lack of skin tone variation. Characters like Cyno, Dehya, and Candace were considered the dark skinned characters of those nations. However, they all have skin tones lighter than many white people in real life. In addition, those characters don’t have great kits in the first place. All of this just reinforces the idea that Hoyoverse is purposefully avoiding creating characters with darker skin or that the characters are being set up for failure.
Many players were excited when the Natlan trailer and character designs dropped. However, they quickly grew confused and upset. Every single character, except one, that was shown for Natlan were pale. With Natlan’s culture and region primarily being influenced by Africa and Latin America, players were understandably outraged by this reveal. The culture of these regions were taken and used for a fictional world, but their skin color was not.
Since the reveal, there have been many fan edits darkening the characters’ skin tones. These edits highlighted the fact that a lot of details were hidden due to the lighter skin tone of the characters. One character, Mualani, has white tribal markings on her skin. Due to her light skin color, it is difficult to see the markings or recognize them for what they are. There is a significant lack of contrast in the character designs.
Additionally, some of the characters share the names of religious figures in the regions that Natlan is based on. In addition to Africa and Latin America, Natlan incorporates elements from Polynesian culture. For example, the Pyro Archon has the name Mavuika. Her name has a lot of similarities to the Māori fire deity by the name of Mahuika, who is often depicted as female. Mahuika is a dark skinned goddess with tribal markings, but Mavuika is a pale female with bright red hair. This is also true with other characters, such as Ororon that has a a similar name to Olorun. Olorun is a ruler of the Heavens in the Yoruba religion. However, Ororon is another very pale character.
This is an ongoing theme in Genshin Impact as well. Characters like Alhaitham and Candace from Sumeru are based upon real people, but are the white-washed versions of them. In the process, their popularity has caused the people they’re based on to show up lower and lower on Google searches. For example, Alhaitham is based upon the medieval mathematician and physicist Hasan Ibn al-Haytham from the Islamic Golden Age. Despite this, Alhaitham is one of the palest characters in game. Candace is the westernized name for Kandake. Kandake was a name used for the queen mother in the kingdom of Kush. Candace, while a darker skinned character, is still incredibly light compared to her namesake.
Fans have been outspoken about the lack of diverse skin tone since Sumeru, but with the recent Natlan announcement many are calling for a boycott of Hoyoverse games. There has even been a petition made to call for Hoyoverse to change the skin colors of the characters, making them more accurate to the regions and cultures that Natlan is based on. The petition has already reached over 88k signatures at time of writing, with more signatures being added regularly. The boycott is not to stop playing the game entirely, but rather to no longer spend money on it. There is also the option to email Hoyoverse and ask them to fix the characters.
It’s not only fans that have been outspoken either. Voice actors in the game, such as the English voices for Sucrose and Cyno, have spoken about the disappointment they’ve felt with the Natlan Character designs. Content creators that play Genshin Impact and other Hoyoverse games also have spoken out about the lack of diversity in skin tones.
At this time, Hoyoverse has not formally commented on or acknowledged the colorism in Natlan. While some players have received email responses after contacting Hoyoverse, there has been no public statement.
Featured Image Credit: Hoyoverse
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