Genshin has faced accusations of cultural appropriation and whitewashing, with some of its voice actors calling for publisher HoYoverse to make changes.
The ever-expanding world of Genshin is filled with stories and places inspired by the real world. Similarities range from the geography of the in-game setting to the architecture, mythology, music, food, and overall history. These connections now extend to a new region: Nha Trang. It was revealed in the trailer released last week..
The fan outcry stems from what many feel is a failure to accurately represent the cultures each character is inspired by, including the fact that Mabukia, Kinich, and Oloron, who are supposedly inspired by real-life deities like the Maori Mahuika, are all white. This continues a trend for Genshin Impact where players have been begging for proper representation.
Some of the main actors in Genshin Impact have begun speaking out. Koi Dao, who plays Albedo, X/Twitter statement Requesting changes to Genshin Impact.
“When a game is heavily influenced by real-world culture, bases a character on the supreme deity of the Yoruba religion, and that character ends up looking like a pale Sasuke Batman, then people absolutely have a right to demand better representation, especially when that game is clearly aimed at a ‘global’ audience.”
Dao continued: “I hope you all continue to speak out and people will listen.”
Zeno Robinson, who voiced the character Setos in the recently released Genshin Impact Called HoYoverseIt highlighted a global demand for better representation.
“If your base audience, Chinese fans, are asking for better representation, for characters with different shades of melanin, then who are you making these characters for?” Robinson said.
Ọlọrun is the supreme god of the Yoruba people, and can be found with a quick Google search.
This is unacceptable. Look what SMITE did with their own interpretation it’s not that hard!!! pic.twitter.com/LbP3nuT3MK— Valeria Rodriguez 🍉 (@ElvisBadger) July 13, 2024
Schoolgirl actor Valeria Rodriguez brought further attention to the issue. Series of postsas well. One post compared Olorun’s appearance in Titan Forge Games’ MOBA title Smite to his appearance in Genshin Impact, stating, “Look what a great job SMITE did with their own interpretation!!! It’s not hard!!!”
“It shouldn’t be an extreme desire to want to see yourself reflected in the media you consume,” says actress Yoimiya. Jenny Yokobori said In her own post.
Natlan has yet to be officially added to the world of Genshin Impact, and no release date has been set. With there still being some time until the release, cyborg actor Alejandro Saab The complaint was noted We gathered around Ororon and made a request to the HoYoverse team.
“I didn’t know he was based on that guy… Oh, that’s bad,” Saab said. “There’s still time to fix it.”
There is so much beauty in the world and so many stories to be told and drawn from, and not expressing that fully can come across as disrespectful, even if that wasn’t your intention. Hopefully, we can change that at this stage.
— Allegra Clark (@SimplyAllegra) July 13, 2024
Anne Yatko, who plays General Raiden in Genshin Impact, Added“I sincerely hope that video game companies will listen to their fans when they have received legitimate criticism for years regarding their conduct of research and incorporation of elements and aspects of other cultures.”
Genshin Impact released in 2020 Since then, it has continued to build on that foundation by adding new locations and characters. The HoYoverse has yet to respond to calls for better representation and the BoycottHYV movement.
IGN has reached out for comment.
Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor to IGN. He began writing in the industry in 2017 and is best known for his work in outlets such as The Pitch, The Escapist, OnlySP, and Gameranx.
Follow @MikeCripe on Twitter.
