The upcoming 5.0 update of “Genshin Impact“, scheduled for August this year, will introduce a new region called Natlan. However, after releasing a surprise trailer, several voice actors from the game criticized the portrayal of a new character named after an African deitycalling the design disrespectful.

Valeria Rodrigues, voice actress for Sucrose in “Genshin Impact”, posted a lengthy message on Twitter addressing the issue. «If you are going to use real world deities, RESPECT THEM», says Rodriguez. «If you are basing your work on real cultures, RESPECT THEM. I agree that they are inspired by different cultures, that is great. The representation is amazing. But at least do your research and show some cultural appreciation.». Rodríguez highlights that one of the new characters is named after Olorunthe supreme deity of the Yoruba people of West Africa, but clearly bears no resemblance to this figure.

Other voice actors and players agree that the character does not in any way represent or celebrate the deity he is based on. Some have described the character as a “Pale Sasuke”. Khoi DaoAlbedo's voice actor in Genshin, tweeted:

• «If a game draws so heavily from real-world cultures and creates a character inspired by the supreme deity of the Yoruba religion, and that character ends up looking like a pasty Sasuke, people have every right to demand better representation. Especially when said game has clearly stated its commitment to a global audience.».

In 2022, myHoYothe creators of “Genshin Impact” announced that they would be restructuring under the name of HoYoVerse to make room for the “metaverse” and focus on a more global audience. However, Some players doubt the effectiveness of this promise to be a “forward-thinking” global brand.as even some of the game's oldest fans have repeatedly asked for more representation.

Zeno RobinsonSethos' voice actor comments: “If even your core audience, Chinese fans, are asking for better representation or characters with different skin tones, who are you creating these characters for?».

This isn't the first time players have criticized the lack of representation in Genshin Impact. Phrases like “Boycott Genshin Impact” regularly appear in Twitter trends. One such case occurred in 2021, when a clip emerged of developers using Native Americans as inspiration for an enemy class that was labeled as unintelligent and uneducated.

There is still time before the new region launches and many are hoping the changes will be made before August. Anne YatcoRaiden Shogun's voice says: «I really hope a video game company listens to its fan base when valid criticisms are made over the course of several years about the execution of their research and the inclusion of elements from other cultures.».

And there was no shortage of comments from the Japanese:

• «Is anyone going to seriously defend this after criticizing Assassin's Creed?».
• «“Assassin's Creed is no longer just a game issue, it has become a problem of historical falsification of reality».
• «It's Japan's fault, as it takes legends and historical figures, reinterprets them at will and releases them into the world.».
• «It's obvious they haven't integrated any real culture. If there's an explanation in the game, I'll get down on my knees and apologize. It makes me sick that they don't complain about games that sexualize great historical figures.».
• «It doesn't make sense. There are white and black people with the name Michael, and they also appear in Tokyo Revengers».
• «The characters look like cosplays based on China, and now this?».
• «If it started as a copy of Zelda, it doesn't matter».
• «It's annoying, first they ask for African representation and then they complain about how it's done».
• «Oh, whitening. Of course they complain. If they had to make characters beautiful, they shouldn't have touched on African culture.».
• «If you don't want him to look like a real god, he's a fictional god in a fictional world. It's okay to have your own design.».
• «They have a point, but those who criticize this have supported Disney for doing the opposite with The Little Mermaid. Their hypocrisy is infuriating.».
• «It's becoming irrelevant, so they need to create controversy to get attention.».
• «How does Fate avoid offending in this way?».
• «The Japanese believe in spirits, they don't understand why you can't play with gods from other religions».

Source: Yaraon!