Ghost of Yotei Needs to Be Far More Inventive Than Ghost of Tsushima

Sucker Punch nonetheless has numerous room for progress with Ghost of Yotei.

I’m in a minority of gamers who thought Ghost of Tsushima was fairly mediocre. Do not get me improper: Sucker Punch’s newest action-adventure sport was attractive, featured some implausible presentation, and had a world that was enjoyable to get misplaced in. For essentially the most half, although, I discovered Ghost of Tsushima to be a fairly cookie-cutter open-world sport that did not do something all that novel when in comparison with different video games in its style like Crimson Useless Redemption 2 and Elden Ring. With its sequel, Ghost of Yotei, having now been introduced, although, I am hopeful that Sucker Punch will select to take action far more this time round that can differentiate Yotei from its contemporaries. 

Exterior of its reveal trailer, there nonetheless aren’t many public particulars accessible for Ghost of Yotei. It is identified that the sequel will happen over 300 years after Ghost of Tsushima, can be set within the space round Mount Yotei, and can give attention to a brand new protagonist identified solely as Astu. Aside from this, Sucker Punch is remaining dodgy about its story and has stated even much less about its gameplay variations when in comparison with Tsushima, though it has promised that there can be “new mechanics, gameplay enhancements, and even new weapons.

To me, the place Ghost of Yotei actually must differ itself from Ghost of Tsushima is with the actions that litter its world. Petting foxes and writing haikus was initially gratifying in Ghost of Tsushima, however upon doing every over a dozen occasions, it grew to become mind-numbingly boring. A part of my very own frustration on this entrance may stem from the truth that I am an open-world completionist. I love to do all the things an open-world sport throws at me simply to get the satisfaction of seeing 100% completion. 

What hindered Ghost of Tsushima additional for me on this entrance is that the facet actions on the earth usually felt counterintuitive to progressing in the principle story. That is one thing that numerous open-world video games wrestle with because it’s onerous to marry the push of a throughline narrative with this skill to go off the crushed path and do meaningless duties.

A technique that I believe Ghost of Yotei might look to resolve that is to make its story extra open-ended. The sport’s debut trailer means that its principal character, Astu, can be looking down different ronin which might be unfold throughout Mount Yotei. Reasonably than taking down every of those adversaries in a selected order and making its storyline linear, Sucker Punch ought to simply dump gamers into its world and provides them a broad job that they’ve to finish nevertheless they select. That is one thing that The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild did notably effectively, as Nintendo’s foray into open-world design tried to funnel gamers down a sure route whereas nonetheless giving them the liberty to go anyplace at any time.

In 2024, I really feel like we have advanced previous the purpose the place open-world video games are nothing greater than huge areas stuffed with key AOEs that gamers are supposed to work together with. That is one thing that Ubisoft popularized over a decade in the past with its personal video games, however it is time to transfer on. If Ghost of Yotei’s open-world construction was merely an growth on what was already seen in Tsushima, it might result in the sport feeling extraordinarily dated, regardless of how attractive it would look. 

Exterior of its open-world design, I believe Ghost of Yotei additionally must push for extra freedom within the realm of fight. Ghost of Tsushima provided a handful of various stances for gamers to make use of, however every stance had for use to take down particular enemies. It was a rock-paper-scissors-style preventing system the place you had been primarily compelled to make use of sure sword types to beat foes that had been weak towards these types. And when you tried to not abide by these guidelines, the sport itself would freeze and provide you with a warning with a message telling you that you should change your stance. 

I am not saying that sword types have to be eradicated solely from Ghost of Yotei, however they simply have to be integrated in a way that is not so forceful. The second katana that Atsu might be seen wielding within the Ghost of Yotei trailer is clearly going to combine up fight and can seemingly be one of many principal facets of the brand new mechanics that Sucker Punch will introduce. My need is to simply see the compelled nature of a few of Tsushima’s mechanics both finished away with solely or not less than tremendously diminished. 

Despite the fact that Ghost of Tsushima did not land with me in the best way I hoped it might, I am nonetheless very a lot on board with Ghost of Yotei. Sucker Punch has been one in every of my favourite studios since I used to be a child and I believe it is simply one of the crucial proficient firms in PlayStation’s first-party secure. In a yr of 2025 that’s already wanting stuffed to the brim with high-profile releases, Ghost of Yotei is already standing out amongst the gang and is a sport I will be taking part in the second that it launches. Hopefully, Sucker Punch can experiment a bit extra with this sequel and push the open-world style ahead consequently.