Ghost of Yotei Having a Female Protagonist Won’t Kill You
Ghost of Yotei released October 1 for the PlayStation 5. The game, developed by Sucker Punch and published by Sony, had controversy surrounding the female protagonist, Atsu, and her English voice actress Erika Ishii. Erika Ishii identifies as genderfluid and is an activist for LGBTQ+ rights.
When follow ups to games like Ghost of Tsushima have a female protagonist, controversy, outrage and endless online debates occur. This is also the case with new games in a potential series, like Horizon: Zero Dawn.
Why Ghost of Yotei is Called “Woke”
People use the phrase “DEI” – diversity, equity and inclusion – as an insult to anything not involving a straight white person. People also use the term “woke” to insult anything involving someone from an underrepresented group; for example, a black woman.
Traditionally, “woke” meant that someone was highly aware of societal issues and understood that certain historical periods had nuance. Now, “woke” is an insult to anyone who cares about local, state, national, and international issues.
I understand that follow-ups to games starring people from underrepresented groups usually underperform, when it comes to sales. Usually, the gameplay isn’t great; the soundtrack is horrible; and the graphics are vomit-inducing. The game’s marketing and budget usually went to showing off how the developers and publishers are so cool for having this queer black protagonist, for example, star in their game.
Atsu’s story is nothing new, as her story is based on Japanese folklore. In the game, she is known as the Onryo, a vengeful female spirit. Would you like to know who else is based on the Onryo? Baiken from Guilty Gear, who goes on a quest to kill Gears, because Gears killed her family, destroyed her village, cut off one of her arms and cut out one of her eyes.
What’s the Point?
It’s easy to hate a game for having a protagonist, or even a playable character, from an underrepresented group. However, is it the end of the world if Ghost of Yotei has a female protagonist? Is it the end of the world if the English voice actress is a genderfluid activist? Will the sun explode if you realize that the world doesn’t revolve around your specific demographic, and it’s reflected in the media you purchase and consume?
There are issues of people using their activism to butcher media to suit their tastes, even if they don’t consume said media. Such activity should be called out accordingly. With that being said, it’s easy to hate something for being different, but it’s more difficult to keep an open mind.
While Ghost of Yotei itself isn’t sure whether having a female protagonist is a good idea, the game should stand on its own merits. At this point, you’ve already made up your mind on whether to hate the game for its female protagonist.
