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The darkest character of Genshin Impact has a surprising Transformers influence
Kellen Goff, who voices Abyss Herald in Genshin Impact, points to a classic villain all Transformers know as inspiration for he evil-doer

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Action RPG Genshin Impact is simply loaded with characters, and with such a huge community of fans behind it, there are bound to be some strong opinions over which one is the best. One person whose opinion might matter just a little bit more than the average player, though, is voice actor Kellen Goff, who provides the guttural voice of antagonist Abyss Herald. Even if you're not familiar with the game, though, you might recognize what Goff is doing with the character, especially if you grew up on 80's cartoon.
As it turns out, one of Genshin Impact's darkest characters was based on one of the Transformers baddies.
Goff revealed this at MCM Comic Con London May 2023, where he was appearing for a special Genshin Impact panel alongside fellow voice actor Sarah Miller-Crews. At one point during the discussion, a fan asked the actors on stage who their favorite characters to play were, and Goff revealed his inspiration.
"Abyss Herald was fun," said Goff, who went on to recite the game's 'My princess' line in character. "He was something."
"Our lovely friend and director of Genshin Impact, Chris Faiella, was like, 'Man, he's this large imposing figure, but [in early recordings] he sounds just like a a normal dude. You you want to go crazy 9:25 with it?' He's like, 'Yes, let's do Starscream.' He's like, 'I dig it. Let's do it.' [...] We wanted to do something different with it and there hadn't really been a a character type like that yet."
Now, loyal Popverse reader, you may have gotten to the end of this story and felt like something seemed a little familiar. Well, you'd be right. At the same convention, Goff revealed that his Five Nights at Freddy's: Security Breach character, Glamrock Freddy, was inspired by Optimus Prime.
I guess if Kellen Goff is involved in your game, chances are so is at least one Transformer. Not that we're complaining.
You can watch the Genshin Impact panel, featuring Kellen Goff & Sarah Miller-Crews, from MCM Comic Con London May 2023 below:
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