Genshin Impact’s Natlan trailer has fans divided

Genshin ImpactNatlan’s next big adventure is upon us, but it’s not as cheerful as the rainbow-colored landscapes suggest.

On Friday, developer Hoyoverse released a teaser trailer showcasing 11 characters participating in the Natlan storyline, including one major character: the potential Pyro Archon, Mavuika.

While a new character usually generates excitement among fans, the trailer and Mavuika have drawn criticism from players who feel that the characters, while based on Latin American culture, do not represent it well.

Originally released in 2020, Genshin Impact is one of the flagship games in developer Hoyoverse’s ever-growing catalog of games. In it, players take on the role of The Traveler, a pair of twins searching for their long-lost sibling in a sprawling open-world adventure.

In the summer of 2023, developers added the Fontaine region, a watery wonderland inspired by France and the United Kingdom. In 2022, the development team released Sumeru, a region inspired by peoples and regions from the Middle East and South Asia, which was criticized by some for its use of stereotypes in its worldbuilding.

This time around, players will travel to the land of Natlan. Hoyoverse has not yet announced a release date, but the current patch schedule suggests we can expect the update sometime this summer.

We also don’t know much about the region yet. Hoyoverse has released two teaser trailers, including Friday’s, but previous information (like the name) suggests it will be, at least loosely, inspired by Latin America.

Fans have pointed out that “Natlan” appears to be derived from Aztlán, the ancestral home of the Aztecs. In the world of Genshin ImpactNatlan is the land of War and home to the Pyro Archon, the god of the fire element. Lore such as this reflects some aspects of Aztec culture, such as the god Huitzilopochtli, who is also the god of fire and war. Additionally, players have found connections and cultural references to peoples in various regions, such as West Africa and Australia.

Each region of the world is ruled by an “Archon”, a celestial god who usually wields a specific element. Due to Mavuika’s central position in the trailer, her grandiose design, and her seemingly fiery appearance, she seems to be positioned as the Pyro Archon on Natlan. There’s just one problem: she’s white.

Now, fans on TikTok are calling out the development team for their decision to depict characters as white or light-skinned. The top comment on a video, which liked more than 3,500 times, said: “sighs really hard at the pyro archon,” possibly to express boredom or annoyance with the design. In response, another said, “bro she’s literally so pretty but she’s pale,” with a crying emoji. Another responded by criticizing the Hoyoverse development team, saying, “this is so sad even after the amount of complaints they don’t listen to.” Others responded by making videos of they darken the skin color of the characters.

Some fans have taken a different tone and responded with jokes about the new character. The top comment on a video from the official TikTok account for Genshin Impact says, “Almost welcome back sunset sparkle,” as the Archon shares a color scheme with the My Little Pony character.

So far, Hoyoverse has not confirmed that Mavuika is the Pyro Archon. If she is not the original leader of the land, skeptical fans may react differently later.

Character revelations are the lifeblood of the Genshin Impact community. The excitement surrounding an update can be defined by how beloved or anticipated a particular character is. For now, fans will just have to wait and see where the story takes her as a character.