Hoyoverse, the company responsible for hit gacha games Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail, is facing backlash for alleged colorism and whitewashing.
International players have been disappointed by the apparent whitewashing done to characters from Natlan, a region inspired by South American and African countries. Natlan references the gods of the indigenous Yoruba people from Nigeria. It takes inspiration from Latin American, Hispanic, and Aboriginal Australian cultures in lore and architecture. And yet, the featured playable characters have no drop of melanin in sight. Even the archon (god) of the region is light-skinned.
Representation done wrong
Some detractors would disgustingly downplay the issue, but here’s the deal: Hoyoverse has no problem with perfectly representing Chinese culture on the international stage. That’s why we’ve gotten to know Yunjin, who was made to represent traditional Chinese opera.
Even her dress takes inspiration from the legendary heroine, Hua Mulan (yes, this Mulan, but done right). Yunjin is one of the many examples of representation done right by Hoyoverse. I could talk about the region’s archon, Zhongli, and even Gaming, who represents traditional lion dance. But I think this picture of Yunjin (on the left) will show you just how much care Hoyoverse has for Chinese culture.
Hoyoverse also has zero issues with dedicating an entire region to France (Fontaine), Germany (Mondstadt), and Japan (Inazuma). But why is it okay for Hoyoverse to amalgamate Africa, South America, and other Hispanic countries together in one region?
It’s important to know that Hoyoverse is a Chinese company. Additionally, as a woman of Chinese heritage, I also understand that pale skin is a pervasive beauty standard in China, but Genshin Impact is an international gacha game with a responsibility to cater to its wide and ever-growing player base. It can’t just borrow the aesthetics of various countries and leave the people central to those cultures out of the game.
Genshin Impact may brand itself as a “free-to-play” game, but I also know that, as a player, it’s a game that compels many people to spend hard-earned cash. The least Hoyoverse could do is diversify character designs for their international player base. Because if this is a game that is solely catered to a Chinese market, why was it internationally launched at all?
Not the first time
There’s a lot to unpack in this controversy, and this isn’t the first time Hoyoverse has done something similar. When Sumeru was released in patch 4.0, fans were surprised that most of the cast were light-skinned. Only two characters, namely Dehya and Cyno, were portrayed as being dark-skinned. Sumeru was inspired by South Asia and the Middle East, with direct references to Persian and Indian culture.
Unfortunately, Hoyoverse hasn’t learned. To make matters worse, Hoyoverse notably has many dark-skinned NPCs. Additionally, Genshin Impact has enemies from Sumeru’s desert who are humans with dark skin. Basically, dark-skinned people aren’t a problem, so long as they aren’t central to a story and remain farmable foes.
How to hold Hoyoverse accountable
Fill out the survey in your Genshin Impact account. That’s one way to report your concern over Natlan. There are even players who are encouraging others to write their reviews of the game over at the Apple Store and Google Play Store. But more effectively, vote with your cash if you can’t put the game down for good.
Sure, there are “whales” who will spend absurd amounts of money in the game, but it shouldn’t be hard to cut down on spending in the coming Natlan patch, especially if you feel disappointed over the character designs.
Published: Jul 16, 2024 05:34 pm