Genshin Impact is hardly the worst offender when it comes to the portrayal of women in video games. The sexualization of the female cast is limited to lateral hip windows. Their personalities are harmless and charming. But as I watch each major update introduce personal development and a new story to its male characters, I can’t help but wonder: When will it be the ladies’ turn? GenshinThe women aren’t given the same layers of narrative depth, they rarely experience growth in new content updates, and they’re only split into a few narrow, shallow personality types. This is disappointing because these issues don’t apply to the male characters. It’s just that women are constantly isolated Genshina spectacular story.
The latest Genshin update contains a major storyline about the lost civilization of Khanri’ah. Ann ancient royal guard meets the mysterious Knight Kaeya for the first time and the two briefly talk about his heritage. Kaya the fans were feasting upon the revelation that their beloved boy is a descendant of the founder of the Order of the Abyss, one of the main antagonistic factions in the game. The fans were creating tons fan art and speculation about his true motives. I can’t help but wish his boss Jean would get even a fraction of that kind of attention. But I understand why. Although she hails from one of the major clans in the Mondstad region, the game hardly gives her any interesting plot hooks to build off of. She’s the leader of the main character’s faction of Mondstadt, but I’ve already forgotten about her. I haven’t forgotten Kaya.
Look, I’m happy for Kaeya. I really am. It’s a storyline that Genshin has been building since the game was released in 2020. Who am I to tell its fans to wait another year for their food? But I can’t remember the last time a female character got this much exposure. The main search concerned Yelan’s predecessor during last year’s “A dangerous trail,” which was nice because all I knew before that point was that she was some sort of government agent. But anyone who has played this quest will probably agree that the story is mostly about resolving the guilt of a male hero who survived the centuries-old war of the archons.
As I said before, Immortal Demon Slayer Xiao is one of my favorite characters. I’m glad he’s not suicidal anymore. But the character development he’s given contrasts sharply with that given to his sister-in-arms Ganyu, a female character who also fights in the cataclysmic Archon War. Where he gets depth and trauma, she doesn’t even get recognized by those around her as a warrior despite her military service. All we know about Ganyu is that a monster tried to eat her during the war and she choked him to death with her waist. Come on, it was a world-changing war that shaped the modern world of Teiwat! And all the HoYoverse said about it was that Ganyu had put on a few pounds.
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And it’s not as if the female cast doesn’t have enough opportunities to participate in shaping Genshinvast amounts of world scholarship. The the lost civilization of Enkanomia is an explored region and contains a shocking legend about the origins of its current rulers. I was thrilled when Genshin built an entire limited-time event around the Land of the White Night. Surely rebel priestess Kokomi will finally get some interesting lore, I thought. It was a fair guess. Sangonomiya Kokomi is descended from the nobles of Enkanomiya, and the entrance to the region is locked behind her family shrine. Additionally, Kokomi’s role in the main story was heavily criticized for lacking depth. I was ready for my best girl to come back.
I would be disappointed. Kokomi didn’t even appear for most of this event, and I didn’t learn anything about how her past ties into Teiwat’s present. Mind, Genshin gives her opportunities to appear in other events. And I love watching her interact with other cast members. But as a rebel leader who leads a major faction in the Inazuma Civil War, she deserves to play an important role in Genshincontinuation of the plot. Where’s the intrigue? Where is the lore drop that makes me care to see her in future updates?
I reserve judgment on the Sumeru area as it was just added last August and still has a lot of development work to do. But I want to see more female characters that have a significant impact on the plot. Genshin fans were hopeful for the villainous Fatui Harbinger Signora, who has been a constant threat to players since she was first introduced. But then she was executed during the main mission. oops So now we’re back to ground zero of evil women, which is a huge blow to anyone who enjoys nuance in their world building.
Which also disappoints me GenshinThe female cast is that they seem to be cast in restrictive, pre-existing molds. All seven current “child” characters are female, for example, as if cuteness is a trait inherent only to young girls. And while male Genshin heroes can be in charge, female heroes are the ones who hold the sky. Roughly half of the female cast are hyper-responsible, while only about a third of the males are similarly concerned about keeping order. While the divine puppet Tramp has a prickly and uncooperative personality, even women who are not super responsible are at least cheerful or cooperative. Men can be stupid, selfish or evil. In contrast, GenshinThe appeal of female characters comes from putting them in second place.
Gacha is a game format that uses the attractiveness of characters to sell microtransactions. When certain traits are highlighted in the list, it indicates what traits the designers think will appeal to the largest percentage of players. So far, I’m not thrilled with the insinuation that the ideal woman has no selfish or morally ambiguous goals of her own. Well-behaved women rarely make history, and certainly not Teivat’s.
Perhaps you will now point out that I was praising the god of thunder Raiden Ei for having a great character and a fascinating worldview. But she is the exception that proves the rule. Ei is one of the seven major gods, and every major god in this game is intricately related to him the tragedy of 500 years ago. If the standard for “moving and interesting character arc” is “divinity,” that’s not particularly fair to the women in this game. Of the 13 top male characters in Genshin, 11 of them have an emotionally heavy arc involving the death of someone close to them or an attempted overthrow of power. Ei is the only female character who seems to have this level of agency over her fate.
The imbalance feels particularly impressive when female characters outnumber males by a 2:1 ratio. And I understand why. Most gacha games have a predominantly female cast because heterosexual men are the most likely demographic to spend money. But keep in mind that other popular gachas have some of the most compelling female characters in video games. Most female characters in Fate/Grand Order take on the fate of an entire nation or alternate universe. ArcknightsThe villain is a morally ambiguous rebel leader whose worldview is warped by the rampant discrimination she sees around her. Other characters in the game are similarly textured and compelling. Both games make much less money than Genshinwhich prints 2 billion dollars every year.
The developers have tried to make his world more realistic giving important plot roles to NPCs. It’s high time they gave important roles to women too.