You may guess why people have already begun to complain about the Ghost of Yotei. Congratulations if you guessed right away that it’s because there’s a woman in there.
After what I considered to be a rather thrilling preview of Ghost of Yotei, the follow-up to Sucker Punch’s Ghost of Tsushima, the September 2024 State of Play concluded. We get a new area, new technology, and a new protagonist in Atsu in this franchise installment, which is set 400 years after the original game.
That’s where the issue is. Ghost of Yotei appears to have become the official new target of whatever the hell is going on with Dragon Age: The Veilguard for the crime of having a woman in it.
Usually, it’s best to just ignore these kinds of discussions, but given how quickly people have come to dismiss Ghost of Yotei, it’s difficult to ignore in this case.
The “issue” pertaining to the Ghost of Yotei
Within one hour of obtaining that tiny tidbit of information, and after only three minutes of video, people have begun labeling Ghost of Yotei with the standard buzzwords. The game is “woke” and “DEI trash,” if you understand what I mean.
Some claim that the fact that Atsu, the new protagonist, has lady parts is enough to render the entire game untouchable, which is the source of the charges. Most people who make these kinds of complaints are obviously extremely familiar with the idea of not touching a woman, but let’s explore a little further.
An apparent historical inaccuracy based on unverified assumptions has been brought up by some. “If you’re not going to respect the Japanese era, why bother making a game about it?” Sucker Punch’s revelation on X prompted a response from a casual historian. “No female Samurai fighters existed. It makes little sense to build your entire game on one, especially considering how well you handled the original Game of Thrones.
Some aren’t even making an effort to hide what is meant to be the silent portion of these disputes. Not you, Jin. female protagonist. “G*y af,” peruse yet another nugget of knowledge from these resolute protectors against the woke mind illness.
Other, less intelligent interpretations—yes, even less than that—have called Ghost of Yotai a “Ghost of Concord” or “DEI slop” (nice one, buddy). It’s the same brainwashing narrative that dogged titles in their pre-release phases, such as Dragon Age: The Veilguard and Assassin’s Creed Shadows.
That’s not to argue that there aren’t any valid worries regarding Ghost of Yotei or these games. It’s acceptable to be sad that Jin Sakai’s story isn’t being continued, as many players have lamented.
Fortunately, because this new game features a g-g-g-girl, I believe I can allay the concerns of those players and those who are opposing it.
Angry over nothing
We don’t know much about Ghost of Yotai if the scant game video and the lightning-fast nature of these snap judgments didn’t make it obvious. Thankfully, there is a useful little anecdote that should quell the clamor about “female Samurai.”
Atsu is not a Samurai, according to Sucker Punch, at all. By characterizing the protagonist as “a wandering warrior in feudal Japan,” they have actually made a conscious effort to avoid doing so. You would think that people who are so interested in Japan’s rich past would understand that being a samurai involves more than merely carrying a katana—or two, in Atsu’s case—to prove your warrior status.
It turns out that anyone can acquire one, practice using it, and yet develop into a fierce fighter. There are recorded historical instances of strong female soldiers in Japan, including cavalry units, to outwit the next logical fallback. Even a few female characters with a martial arts bent appeared in the original game, and no one seemed to object back then.
That headline above could sound a touch offensive to those who are upset that Jin’s story from Ghost of Tsushima won’t be continued. It is true that Ghost of Yotei would not let us to carry on Jin’s journey, and some expectations may have been raised by leaks of the State of Play lineup mentioning “Ghost of Tsushima 2.”
Although it hurts to have your expectations crushed, Sucker Punch has never denied the possibility of a direct sequel. Spider-Man Miles Morales and other games have led us into spin-off territory, but Spider-Man 2 will see Peter Parker return. Although it is impossible to predict with any degree of accuracy, Jin appears to be returning to the full game, and there is no reason to believe that he won’t.
As a matter of fact, we already know that Jin will reappear shortly, albeit through a different media. Director of John Wick Chad Stahelski is working on a Ghost of Tsushima film that will center on Jin’s story from the original game.
Ghost of Yotei is, at minimum, proof that Sony and Sucker Punch care about the universe they created for Ghost of Tsushima.
any apprehension is understandable if later on there’s any shoddy gaming footage or anti-consumer elements. It’s becoming a bit old to gripe about a game’s female lead character, though.
