Genshin Impact’s Natlan: A Step Backward for Diversity

Hoyoverse finally unveiled the upcoming region, Natlan, the Region of War, in Genshin Impact that comes with the 5.0 update. So far, we have seen a preview teaser, which is most likely featuring the characters that will be available to pull in the 5.0 patch, and an Ignition Teaser that goes over the main characters, hints at a little bit of the story, and more. There’s a lot to look forward to here, but there is something that has soured the mood of a lot of fans.

A good chunk of the fanbase of Genshin Impact is disappointed with the playable characters that have been shown so far. Let’s just say, there has been a distinct lack of melanin in the characters. Yes, we are disappointed with the skin color of the characters in a video game, but there is a good reason behind it.

So far, all the regions in Genshin Impact have been heavily inspired by real-life regions and that is clearly represented in the sort of music, food items, architecture, ideologies, and even NPC and playable character names. Mondstadt represents Germany, Liyue represents China, Inazuma represents Japan, Sumeru represents Middle Eastern, South Asian, and Northern African cultures, Fontaine represents France and the upcoming Natlan appears to represent indigenous cultures, primarily those of Pre-Columbian Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Oceania.

Fans of the game worldwide, including myself, have looked forward to when their own culture is finally represented in Genshin Impact because admittedly Hoyoverse does a great job at showing off the best bits of each culture, but they have always skirted around including characters of color. So far, this was sort of just speculation from the fans as people from the regions Sumeru is based on can be argued to be pale, and there are characters like Dehya, Cyno, and Jeht who have darker skin.

However, it can be argued that the little color that is represented in Genshin Impact is put in a bad light given how characters like Xinyan and Dehya are very weak, combat-wise, and most of the people in Sumeru that do have darker skin happen to be Eremites who are enemies whom you must fight. That is a whole other story, though, and is merely some correlation on our end.

If you take one glance at the clearly indigenous cultures Natlan is going to represent and then look at all the characters unveiled, you can see a problem. Nearly all the characters are pale, and I can assure you we have nothing against that in a vacuum, we just want the proper representation of their culture, which is made by the people. It can be disappointing when the most apparent part of the people of a culture is neglected: the color of their skin.

 For example, the one who is most likely to be the Pyro Archon, Mavuika, is clearly based on Maori culture (the Maori deity of fire, Mahuika). Mahuika has historically been depicted to be a deity with skin of color, but that detail seems to have been ignored in Genshin Impact. What’s also perplexing is her skintight leather biker outfit, but perhaps there is a good lore reason behind that one. Plus, I suppose no one has ever opposed fanservice when someone like Leonardo Da Vinci was turned into a cute anime girl in the Fate series.

Hoyoverse doesn’t seem like they will go back on how they have done things. Historically, they have doubled down on such decisions despite community backlash. Their response will always be something along the lines of a convenient excuse like, “Everything in this world is fictional and anything similar is a complete coincidence”. Yeah, sure. The joke writes itself when you actually take a look at the heavy cultural representation in other aspects of each region.

Now, credit should be given where it is due. The other aspects of each region are represented with a lot of care and detail. You can find lovely tidbits about each region through the form of lore, miscellaneous items, visuals, clothing, and especially music. Genshin Impact’s music has always been the strongest aspect of the game. HOYO-MiX never misses, and that can even be evident in the sneak peek we were given in the preview teaser of Natlan. The instruments used and how they lead to some vocals seriously gave me chills when I first heard them. I can’t wait to listen to the full release.

It's just that this one glaring issue irks us, and we wish Hoyoverse would go the whole nine yards with representing various cultures because it is clear that they know how to do it well. I have very little hope that anything will be done about this no matter how much we express our disappointment. This certainly affects how much excitement I have for Natlan, especially as someone who has played Genshin Impact regularly for the past two years.