Lost Ark Adding New Wakanda-Inspired Continent
In the five years since the release of Black Panther in 2018, Wakanda has had a massive influence on popular culture. The African nation's influence has even extended to the world of video games, as Lost Ark is set to add a continent that seems very much inspired by Wakanda! The continent is named Voldis, and several new images of the location were featured in the patch notes for the game's Korean version. Wakanda's technological utopia seem to be reflected in Voldis in a major way, and markings on the location's statues also look very similar to the costume worn by both of the Black Panthers in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Images of the continent were shared on Twitter by Fanbyte's M.H. Williams, and can be found in the Tweet embedded below.
Not Lost Ark (the Korean version), updating with faux-Wakanda and faux-Michael B Jordan.
— M.H. Williams (@AutomaticZen) February 3, 2023
I admit, the hustle impresses me. And hey, nation of Black folks.https://t.co/sR0cHTaXZg pic.twitter.com/1N1STYvGRq
As Williams points out, the man on the left in the third image also looks quite a bit like Michael B. Jordan's version of Erik Killmonger! The resemblance is uncanny, both in the character's facial expression, and even his hair. The similarities were also noticed by posters on ResetEra, including user Klyka. Klyka says that the game's developers had previously indicated that Voldis would be influenced by Wakanda, and it's pretty easy to see just how much the two Black Panther movies inspired this new location.
Of course, Wakanda has been around a lot longer than 2018, having first appeared in Fantastic Four #52, which was published back in 1966. The country played a major part in Marvel's comics for more than five decades before the release of Black Panther, but it's hard to overstate just how much the movie propelled the fictional location into the public conscious. That clearly extends to video games as well, as Korean Lost Ark fans are discovering. It's unclear exactly when this new location will be added to the game in North America, so Lost Ark fans will just have to wait patiently until this content arrives!
Have you been enjoying Lost Ark? How do you feel about this Wakanda-inspired location? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming!