Part of the context is that most of those sales are probably to China, and that despite the big global numbers, it's probably not not the same level of success in the Western world as the steam sales imply.
Part of the context is that game sales have never meant a game is actually good.
But part of that context is that it's the first real effort from China at a real AAA, single player game, and the differences in government and culture are part of the conversation.
And part of the context is that China is a huge, largely untapped market for AAA single player games, and publishers are going to notice that and push games to do some of the things other media have done to be more palatable to that market (most think to the detriment of quality by western standards).
I'm not hyper interested in the game (I'd probably try a demo), but it's being talked about because it actually affects the gaming industry.
In any case, I stand by my decision to almost never buy single player games within the first year or even second year of release. I save money and the worst bugs are fixed. If I keep seeing articles about a game popping up everywhere, I become even more sceptical about whether it’s hype that’s warranted.
Not really on topic but wait just a gosh darn second.
This person is playing and reviewing (what might be called) the prettiest, most demanding game ever made, and they're doing it on a Steam Deck, on Low?
But still, the visuals are the main thing they praise about it?
I'm a bit surprised? Confused? Anyway that's a little weird.
I haven't played the game, but the reviews are mostly positive. The only negative reviews so far are coming from hit-pieces like Rebekah Valentine, who is just a racist hating the game because it was made by non-white people.
People would still be talking about it if it were a flop, nonetheless this game has sold almost 2.5 million copies on Steam alone, far from being a flop.