The world was shattered by the responses for PlayStation’s casual weekend hype tweet for Ghost of Tsushima 2. The comments section became a full-fledged civil war. Some gamers are beside themselves with joy and are already thinking about applying for leaves for the October 2 release date! But, on the other hand, there are some people who are just… angry. Very angry, actually. Angry because of the protagonist.
Ghost of Tsushima 2 is set to launch in October 2024, with the player controlling a new female protagonist instead of reprising the role of Jin. With this decision, the fan base has split into two. The Official PlayStation account posted an epic tweet saying: “The weekend is in sight…” and posted a link, probably an announcement or trailer, and the reactions are an interesting mix of excitement and salt.
Time to set the table because it is very messy. On one side, are the players commenting: @officiallysntra: “Requested a week off work, got approved so im ready..” This is the kind of commitment we want to see. And then @KaijuMetal44: “Ready for October 2nd,” with those fire emojis. Good vibes only.
Down much further? Oh hell no! @SmallEngineKarl undermined the whole thing with, “We literally just wanted to play as Jin, but you couldn’t have a strong lead male.” This sentiment from several others. @EnigmaStudiod5 said, “I wanted to play as Jin not some Japanese housewife,” which is just… yikes. And just for fun, @GdfreyTheWiseID put in his cents: “It should’ve been a sequel for Jin – Nobody wants this game.”
“So woke” was thrown around too, and it’s turning into this weird catchphrase for anything not featuring a straight white male lead. @FireTyphoon_ said, “God please let this woke shit flop, it’d be so funny.” @RealArtVand3lay chimed in, “Oh, some more woke shit we won’t buy.” They haven’t played the game yet, and they’re already discounting it.
Then let’s move on to a bit of rational discussion. @PasswordSuck2 gave a valid point to someone: “Well, technically speaking turning the ‘Ghost Of’ IP into an anthology series does work, given that everything about the IP was an homage to Kurosawa and other great Japanese filmmakers, which often follows very typical tropes and story beats from Japanese history.” This is just a thoughtful take instead of screaming about politics.
And then there are those who are just confused about what’s really happening. @OfficialHarsha7 admitted, “I really don’t know this game bro,” which is fair-not everyone keeps track of every single release. But then @mrgizmo182 called him out for probably knowing but just wanting the interaction for that sweet blue tick money. Drama within drama!
What is interesting is how personal it feels. People aren’t saying just, “I’m not interested.” They’re taking it as some kind of personal betrayal that they aren’t getting more Jin. Like, as @paulraised put it: “The release today you cowards, oct 2 is an eternity from here,” half of it is impatience and the other half is joking itself.
There’s also an unrelated talk going on about PlayStation Brazil’s pricing policy because apparently, Silksong costs double there than anywhere else? @soldiergamer16 throws it completely out of nowhere. Then we have @WolfGamingz that’s complaining about being exhausted at work, which I can agree with.
A cinematic shot from the tweet media shows the new protagonist looking serious and samurai-like, wearing the traditional armor with a determined expression-looking great to me. Others are like @oridjinn, saying “Every video I see of this game it looks worse and worse” which… I got nothing for that.
What is clear is that Sucker Punch is making a bold move. The first Ghost of Tsushima was an enormous hit, and following that beloved character was always going to be a tough one. Giving it an anthology series treatment with a new lead is indeed an aggressive-before-studio decision and the public response certainly makes it clear not everyone is down for that.
Then you have the positives. @007saibobby just chimed in with “Oct gonna be lit!” and @bruce5516867560 says, “Almost here! Ready to make the most of it.” Sometimes the simplest takes are the best ones.
This whole thing just brings me back to others franchises switching. Remember when Metal Gear Solid 2 gave us Raiden instead of Snake and the fans once again completely lost it? The game turned out to be quite great, though. Sometimes, a dev has just got to take that gamble if things are going to be different.
At the end of the day, though, the question remains: Was it a good or bad move? And I don’t think anyone will be ready to answer before October 2nd, when the game is up for grabs. So much of the complaining and celebrating are pure speculation. It can end up being terrific gameplay and really great story, and suddenly everyone will forget all the B.S.
Or, it can flop, and then the critics will say, “I told you so!” Such is the world of gaming. Until it hits the shelves, no one really knows. One thing is sure though: Talk about Ghost of Tsushima 2 is already heating up, and there is still a month to its release. This has all the makings of an electrifying ride.
