The phrase “This is why we can’t have anything nice” can be used in many contexts. In the gaming industry recently, it has been used in reference to the numerous layoffs that have been happening, especially to studios with a proven track record and to certain video games that will likely do very well, but “certain gamers” don’t like that “certain elements” are happening within them, and thus complain that a “forced narrative” is going on. Recently, Sony dropped a bombshell at its latest State of Play event with the reveal of Ghost Of Yotei, a sequel to the incredible Samurai title from Sucker Punch.
While many were entranced by the trailer and the details that would soon follow, there was a select group of fans who decided to complain about the game not because it wasn’t a “direct sequel” in the fact that it once again followed Jin Sakai, but because the new protagonist was a woman. Yes, there are many who are mad that a female Samurai is leading the game, and they made it clear that they’re “not buying this title” because they don’t want to support the “girlboss narrative” that “companies are forcing on us.”
If that sounds like nonsense to you, then that means you have a brain and a good heart. Another person with both of those is Shawn Layden, the ex-head of Sony, who went onto Twitter after seeing a screenshot of one such hater and noting the following:
Isn’t that the most simplistic and best advice to give in a situation like this? If you don’t like what Ghost Of Yotei is doing with its female lead or any other element of the game, then don’t play it! It’s that simple. Many people today use the internet as a megaphone to amplify their terrible or archaic notions, even when the “answer to their problems” is to not focus on the game and simply move on.
Going back to the title itself, Sucker Punch made it known that they had the option of bringing back Jin and continuing his story, but they wanted to “keep advancing” the series, and that meant having a new place to go to, a new time period to live in, and a new protagonist to see the world through.
Never forget that this is THEIR GAME, and they have the right to make it however they want. That goes double for teams like Sucker Punch, as they absolutely crushed the first game and proved they know what they’re doing.
