A new interview with Sucker Punch has revealed more in-depth details about Ghost of Tsushima, including the fact that players won't need to hunt animals at all. The upcoming open-world stealth action game was featured in Sony's State of Play presentation last week, which delivered a more comprehensive overview of its gameplay.
Ghost of Tsushima has been in development at Sucker Punch for the better part of five years. As the game neared its original release date of June 26, fans grew more and more fearful that it would be pushed back after Sony delayed The Last of Us Part 2 due to coronavirus. Those fears intensified when PlayStation Canada leaked a Ghost of Tsushima delay, which was ultimately realized when the game was pushed to July 17 to make room for The Last of Us Part 2's new launch date of June 19. Info on Ghost of Tsushima had also been fairly limited up until the State of Play showing, but now Sucker Punch is opening up about the much-anticipated samurai simulator.
In an interview conducted by French YouTuber Julien Chieze and translated by ResetEra, creative director Jason Connell shared a number of deeper details about Ghost of Tsushima. He discussed how The Legend of Zelda and Shadow of the Colossus influenced the game, and emphasized how navigation in Ghost of Tsushima will use landmarks, not waypoints. Connell provided more info on some gameplay elements seen in the State of Play video, such as protagonist Jin's flute and how it will have other mysterious uses. Interestingly, he also stated that while it is technically possible to kill animals in the game, there is no actual need to do so. Animals are meant to immerse the player and guide Jin to points of interest in the open world, so there will be nothing to gain by hunting them.
Other details were given as well; the game's Kurosawa-esque Standoff mode can be activated at any time, and the yellow dots seen during combat and infiltration can be used for healing, special moves, and much more. There will be a wide variety of combat stances not seen in the presentation, and Jin's katana will be his dedicated weapon throughout the game (although there will be many other weapons and gadgets). The large number of different armors and outfits will have different properties, and they can be acquired in a myriad of ways across the island. Side quests will also be a major focus and will involve building relationships with other characters, but none of them will be required and all of them can be missed.
Ghost of Tsushima is still on track to become one of the most impressive games of 2020, even though Sucker Punch has had to deal with a delay. It may also be one of the only AAA titles that will actually come out this year, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. On the upside, that means Ghost of Tsushima is likely to be a front-runner for the game of the year... if it lives up to expectations.
Source: Julien Chieze (via ResetEra)