I, for one, never tired of chasing friendly foxes to myriad shrines inSucker Punch Productions' blockbuster samurai epic,Ghost of Tsushima. Even so, a recurring critique of both the 2020 original and its 2021 Director’s Cut upgrade relates to itstired open-world formula; the repetition of its more basic tasks, such as following map icons, is an undeniable blemishdespite all the style and flairthat elevates Jin Sakai’s adventure above so much of the competition.
The developers have hardly ignored the complaints. Instead, one of their loftier goals forGhost of Yotei, which launches onPlayStation 5this October, has been a dramatic retooling of their approach to side content. As a result, we now have hope that 17th-century heroine Atsu’s own off-the-path excursions will be filled with more compelling content.
“We Won’t Be Making Players Go Through The Same Thing All Over Again”
As part ofa new interviewwith Automaton Japan, Ghost of Yotei’s co-directors, Nate Fox and Jason Connell, have emphasized a need to deliver more engaging (read: less tedious open-world fluff) side activities in the upcoming sequel.
It’s worth noting that Fox and Connell were indeed the co-directors for Ghost of Tsushima as well, so this is more than a mere studio-wide pivot; it’s a personal reflection of the lesser aspects of their own initial revenge-tale passion project.
For one thing, there’s a reinforced focus on player choice. “We’ve prepared different kinds of outcomes that could go beyond the player’s expectations,” Fox explains. We’ll see that focus in tangible in-game fashion via the clue card mechanic, wherein fairly flashy on-screen representations of your narrative decision-making will be charted.
“We won’t be making players go through the same thing all over again whenever their curiosity leads them to encountering new secrets during exploration. We’ve prepared different kinds of outcomes that could go beyond the player’s expectations.” -Nate Fox
What exactly does this morecreatively diversefuture look like? Meeting up with allies at camp sounds fun, with cooking, chatting, goods-purchasing, and more all available in a seamlessly immersive way. Mini-games such as painting and coin-flicking sound, at least on paper (or rather, on canvas?) to be more potentially engaging.
There also seems to be a decreased emphasis on those pesky automated objective markers. Thank goodness. And while this is a bit of an oddball mention, it’s probably for the best from a purely creative standpoint thatAnzu’s wolf is not, in fact, the reincarnation of Jin Sakai.It’s all shaping up to something that might just break the monotony when Ghost of Yotei launches on July 03, 2025.
