‘Genshin Impact’ actors criticize game for whitewashing African mythology

Shortly after Hoyoverse released its latest game, Zenless Zone ZeroEarlier this month, the developer revived a long-standing criticism from players in Genshin InfluenceAlso in July, Hoyoverse released a trailer for Natlan, the next region to be released in Genshin Influence. And while fans have been excited about the upcoming area, the reveal of the new cast in the trailer has fans once again accused the developer of cultural appropriation and whitewashing – and now even Genshin Influence Voice actors are also involved.

From its name and the look of the area in trailers, Natlan seems to be inspired by African and Latin American cultures. This is common for Genshin Influencewhich already has nations based on France, Japan and others. But after the reveal of the Natlan trailer, players noticed that his characters Genshin Influence tradition of having a shockingly white cast for a game influenced by such diverse real-world cultures has led to nonstop criticism and even calls for a boycott from online gamers.

Hoyoverse did not immediately respond to Turning backPlease leave a comment.

Now the pushback has gone even further, with voice actors currently playing characters in Genshin Influence He takes the position of the dissatisfied players.

“It’s just disappointing when parts of the world that are so rarely reflected in the media can be accurately portrayed,” Allegra Clark, who voices the character Beidou, said on social media.

Many of the game’s actors, including Valeria Rodríguez (who plays Surcrose), Alejandro Saab (Cyno) and Khoi Dao (Albedo), have turned their attention to a new character. Ororon is said to be based on Ọlọrun, the supreme deity of the Yoruba religion that originated in what is now Nigeria. Although Ọlọrun is historically depicted with black skin, Ororon is not. Rodríguez points to Hitwhich contained its own version of Ọlọrun that was much closer to the traditional depictions of the deity.

“This is unforgivable. Look at what an amazing job Smite did with their own interpretation!” wrote Rodríguez. “It’s not hard!”

This is not the first time that Hoyoverse has been criticized for this problem. The vast majority of Genshin InfluenceThe characters of have extremely light skin, which has been the case since release. But opposition to the lack of representation of other people has grown over the years as the game has expanded its world and real-world inspirations. Tensions previously reached a peak with the release of Sumeru, a nation set primarily in the Middle East. Like Natlan, Sumeru drew from the culture and mythology of that region while featuring an almost entirely white cast of characters.

But while Sumeru drew a lot of fan ire, the reaction to Natlan was much greater. It’s not clear why the reaction to Natlan was so much greater than previous controversies, but it could be because the problem is becoming a more obvious pattern in Hoyoverse. If just one of Genshin Influences regions had offended fans, it was to be expected that the outcry would die down, especially if Hoyoverse took their words to heart. But the repeated refusal to represent the people from the real-world places it borrows from seems more and more disrespectful the more it is repeated, especially when players have been so vocal about the need for change for so long.

The fact that Genshin InfluenceThe fact that their own voice actors are also joining the discussion shows how seriously many are taking this issue. Voice actors are often expected to support the projects they work on, and as some of the most recognizable faces of a game, they can easily become targets of players who are unhappy with any aspect of it. Speaking out against an employer can also put them at risk of losing future work, so the fact that so many have spoken out is notable.

So far, there has been no response from Hoyoverse, although this issue has attracted attention. It is worth noting that Honkai Star Trail And Zenless Zone Zero have many visually diverse characters, their casts still predominantly favor characters with light skin. But even though Hoyoverse keeps repeating what fans see as mistakes, the much higher number of fan responses this time around could mean that their voices are finally being heard.