Tsushima sequel: the scandal with a Trump supporter hit sales of the PS5 hit
The sequel to the cult video game Ghost of Tsushima called Ghost of Yotei was bought by 1.6 million users in the first week after its release. This can be considered a commercial failure: the first part in 2020 sold over 2.4 million copies in the first three days. Now the game has been brought to Russia. Izvestia reviewed it and made sure that the bad numbers were not related to the quality of the product. On the contrary, this is one of the best releases of the fall, and maybe even of the year on PS5. It seems that the reason is a loud political statement by the developers about the late Charlie Kirk, a Trump supporter. Now it greatly hinders the sales of a game that has nothing to do with politics.
Ezo Island Explorers
Ghost of Yotei is a single—player action‑adventure game developed by Sucker Punch Productions and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It was released worldwide on October 2, 2025 exclusively on PlayStation 5 and became a standalone sequel to Ghost of Tsushima. A copy of the PlayStation 5 game (with a full Russian translation) was provided to the editors by the largest distributor of video games and consoles, Achivka.
The events take place in 1603 on the island of Ezo (modern Hokkaido). The main character is the warrior Atsu, who sixteen years ago experienced a brutal massacre of her family. The massacre was carried out by a group of samurai known as the "Six Yotei", they are also the "Disgusting Six". Atsu takes on the form of Onre, the avenging spirit, and returns to destroy each of them. Gradually, from a seeker of revenge, she becomes a figure around whom allies gather, called her "Wolf Herd."
The gameplay offers free exploration of the world of Ezo, filled with unique locations, NPC quests, and themed guard territories. Atsu starts with a single katana, but as he progresses, he gets access to a variety of weapons, from spears and two—handed swords to bows, muskets, and the ability to wield a katana with two hands. Instead of a variety of fighting stances, as in Tsushima, a counterattack system has been introduced here, depending on the type of weapon and opponents. Atsu can disarm enemies, throw sharp objects, and summon a wolf into battle either to attack or to sneak in.
A significant change for the series was the weather effects and dynamic environment inspired by the nature around Mount Yotei: snow, rain, and the aurora borealis add liveliness and realism to the atmosphere. The story develops non-linearly: with the exception of the battles with the Snake and with Lord Saito himself, the order of collisions with the rest of the "Six" depends on the player. Side activities include reward hunting, weapon improvement tasks, crafting, cooking in the camp, bathing in onsen, drawing using sumiyo techniques instead of hokku, playing shamisen, and even gambling.
Conquerors of Japanese beauty
The plot reveals Atsu's tragedy, her path to retribution, and her relationship with the characters. The development began with inspiration from the nature of northern Japan. The team visited the areas around Mount Yotei, recorded the sounds of nature, and collaborated with cultural consultants and representatives of the Ainu people to achieve authenticity. It is important that, while following the traditions and cinematic motives, the developers wanted the game to convey the aesthetics of the Japanese feudal world and the spirit of samurai cinema.
Upon release, Ghost of Yotei received mostly positive reviews: it scored 86 out of 100 on Metacritic, and 94% of reviewers recommended the game on OpenCritic. Critics noted the strong plot, interesting combat mechanics and visual component, although they noticed flaws in the side missions and the pace of the narrative.
The game was accompanied by numerous scandals and conflicts. First, one of the developers allowed himself to mock the death of politician Charlie Kirk, who was shot dead in September 2025. Erica Ishii, who plays the role of Atsu, supported her colleague, but only Drew Harrison, who worked in the PlayStation team for about 10 years, was fired. After that, some gamers, especially those who sympathize with Republicans, announced a boycott of the game.
Secondly, in October, a fake about the sales of the game spread online. A non-existent tweet and an AI-generated image that reported fake information about 2 million copies sold gained popularity. In fact, the figure turned out to be lower — in the first week since the release, the project was bought 1.6 million times.
Thirdly, people did not like the situation with the numerous "subpoena" techniques in the game. Users have noticed that Ghost of Yotei follows the path of The Last of Us, Horizon and God of War series. All the sequels of these projects (TLoU 2, Horizon: Forbidden West and God of War Ragnarok) were distinguished by numerous racial, inclusive and other narratives, which made the games much colder than the first parts. A similar story happened with Ghost of Yotei because of the "samurai terminator in a skirt", which many players disliked so much.
Unsurprisingly, Ghost of Tsushima's sales record has not been broken. However, if you have no problem representing women as strong protagonists, if you are not embarrassed by racial diversity and inclusivity in games where the historical era itself excludes opportunities for "black samurai" and "female bodybuilders," in this case, the release should be given a chance. "Ghost of Yotei" deserves attention at least due to its complex and diverse combat system, as well as juicy graphics demonstrating the beauties of Ezo Island. There will definitely be no such exclusives for PlayStation 5 in the near future.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
