Cheng

Overview

Cheng is the playable protagonist of The God Slayer. He is a fixed character with no character customization. Creative director Zifei Wu describes him at the start of the game as "a nobody, someone who's never been challenged before." He is an Elemancer, a rare individual capable of channeling Qi through all five classical elements: Fire, Water, Earth, Metal, and Wood. Forged by tragedy during The God Fall, Cheng seeks to dismantle Celestial control over humanity and avenge his slaughtered family.

Background

Cheng's family was killed during The God Fall, the catastrophic event in which the Celestials assaulted the Zhou Kingdom and massacred its Elemancers. As one of the few surviving Elemancers, Cheng carries both the power and the burden of his lineage. His past drives his vendetta against the Celestials, but the game's narrative also explores whether vengeance alone can lead to true liberation.

The developers have been deliberate about keeping Cheng as a fixed protagonist rather than offering customization. Wu explained the reasoning: "By focusing on just making this character believable and making the character's relationships with other characters believable, it will be easier for us to finish and polish this game."

Abilities

Cheng begins the game with mastery of two elements, Fire and Water, and progressively unlocks Earth, Metal, and Wood as the story advances. Each of the four active attack elements is mapped to a controller face button. Trigger buttons toggle between element sets, allowing instant switching during combat. His fighting style centers on unarmed martial arts augmented by elemental Qi, with visible Tai Chi and Kung Fu-inspired movements. He can also wield weapons picked up from defeated enemies.

Specific abilities shown in the gameplay trailer include: fire boosters for vertical traversal and rapid movement, water whirlwinds that group enemies together for follow-up attacks, stone walls raised for defense, and freezing a toppled water tower's flood to immobilize soaked enemies.

Cheng's abilities grow through multiple channels:

Dual Identity

Cheng operates under a dual identity system. When undertaking missions, whether combat operations, infiltrations, or resistance work, he wears a mask to hide his identity during covert operations. In the city, he walks unmasked as a civilian, interacting with NPCs, shopping at vendors, and building relationships. This split identity creates narrative tension: certain NPCs know one side of Cheng but not the other, and maintaining the separation is part of the story.

The God Slayer Title

The title "God Slayer" is not a default descriptor. Cheng earns it in-game upon defeating the first Celestial Warden boss. This victory unlocks deeper Qi channels, expanding his elemental abilities and as a turning point where he transitions from underground resistance fighter to a symbol of human defiance.

Voice Acting

Cheng is fully voiced in both English and Mandarin Chinese at launch, with additional language dubs possible in later updates.