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Ghost of Yotei abandons most physical ties to its predecessor, but the spirit survives. The upcoming samurai RPG is set over 300 years after the events of Ghost of Tsushima, takes us to a completely different area of feudal Japan, and stars an all-new cast. But that sense of wanderlust – of being picked up and carried away by developer Sucker Punch's open world fantasy – is unmistakable.
On-screen guidance is kept to a minimum, while the beauty of Japan's Ezo region already threatens to put my screenshot button through the ringer. It's clear that Ghost of Yotei wants to be felt, not merely played – a canvas for virtual tourism, yes, but one that lets you smell the flowers while severing wrists from ronin.
Speaking to creative directors Nate Fox and Jason Connell, an eagerness to let players find things for themselves shines through. The pair consider Elden Ring and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild as masterpieces in that regard – "They're bar-setting," says Connell, with a touch of reverence.
Stepping in
That emphasis on discovery was present in Ghost of Tsushima, but Connell says that Ghost of Yotei has been an opportunity to "keep pushing" further in that direction. Quest-givers and merchants can visit you whilst camping, saving you having to hunt down their icon on a map, while the player will use a spyglass to spot activities and points of interest during travel.
"Things like giant [quest] journals have been around for a long time, right? This giant list of all the things you've done, and can do, and will do – it's almost overwhelming," he says. "We opted to try and come up with new ways to present you information while still being approachable, because people do want to explore and play the game in different types of ways. Some people really want to know where the golden path is and engage in it. Some people maybe have a larger appetite for exploration."
Just as this approach to exploration fosters unplanned experiences – I still fondly recall being whisked away on impromptu treasure trails in Ghost of Tsushima – combat has been fleshed out to be more reactive. "With Yotei, we've added a lot more layers to create a more improvisational feel to the combat," says Fox. "It's deep! We've replaced the stance system with weapons – in fact, we added a fifth [weapon] – and these weapons are more than a simple visual replacement."
As an example, Fox points to being able to send foes hurtling with the spear; or fighting on multiple fronts at once with the blade-on-a-chain kusarigama. But it goes deeper than. A disarm mechanic allows players to knock weapons out of foes' hands – and be disarmed in kind – which feeds into that reactivity. Fox paints the image of fighting on top of a bridge and having to use an enemy's disarmed weapon because your own was knocked over the ledge – which, to my mind, is an extension of the spontaneity that made last-second parries so thrilling in Ghost of Tsushima.
Ghost of Yotei will also introduce guns to the fold, thanks to the sequel jumping over 300 years forward in time. But don't expect to be blasting everything in sight, says Fox, as they were "not incredibly efficient" at the time – nor intended to be the star of the show. "Firearms have a role, and they are incredibly deadly when used at the right time," he explains. "But it's not like Gun Kata, where the firearm is the melee weapon. Blades are the heart of the fantasy."
Ghost of Yotei will also introduce a mysterious wolf companion for protagonist Atsu. While the wolf was briefly revealed in action during the latest State of Play, Fox teases that the four-legged friend is "much more elaborate and full-figured" than what we've seen. "The wolf is this character that, as we developed Ghost of Yotei, grew and grew in the hearts of our colleagues, because it represents wild Ezo [...] It is very much a center for connecting with not only combat, where the wolf helps you, but the wildness that surrounds you."
The wolf is "always at the edge of where you're at," but Fox stresses that it's not a traditional companion. "It follows you, but it's not your dog – at all! It is definitely a wild creature, and it will show up in some missions, and it won't as well, because it won't just come because you call it in any random situation. It has a mind of its own."
Besides befriending the local wildlife, Atsu will also be able to hunt down and claim bounties across Ezo. But as Atsu seeks vengeance against the Yotei Six, she eventually accrues a bounty of her own. As someone who's spent hours in Red Dead Redemption 2 as both bounty hunter and hunted, this is one of the most interesting features I've seen from Ghost of Yotei so far – and it's one that Connell is particularly excited by.
"Tonally, it fits really nicely with the world, and reflects the danger of the land. [You get to see] Atsu's legend grow, the impact that she's having on the Yotei Six's army of people. They're starting to take notice," says Connell. "Each time that bounty goes up, there's an impact on the play experience. Without getting into too much detail, there's a changing landscape of different types of archetypes, and you might have some traps happen as you move through those bounties. As that bounty goes up, it's going to get more difficult for you, and that keeps it really exciting too."
On the topic of traps, I bring up a moment in the State of Play where Atsu is ambushed by warriors buried beneath snow. Is that a scripted one-off event, or something we should expect to deal with regularly?
"We got so excited the day someone said 'All right, we're going to make a snow level. We'll have ninjas dressed in white," says Fox, beaming. "Everything's white in the snow, and they could pop out of anywhere. That, in fact, is the case. It's not just a one off event. The whole landscape where you meet them is one where you're always on guard, because they could be laying in wait for you at any corner, either in the snow or in foliage. And that feeling of tension is wonderful. It makes you feel like you got to perk up your senses, [like you have to] always have your hand ready on your sword so that you can react should an attack come."
"The combination of natural beauty and hidden danger is our bread and butter," he adds. "That's where this game really comes alive, and we're very proud of it."
Under the stars
Leaning more on the natural beauty side of things, players will be able to camp throughout Ezo. The feature initially started as a way to immerse players further into Ghost of Yotei, as Connell says the team wanted to show off the sequel's "way bigger" sight lines. But it quickly fed into a more "experiential" mechanic, one where players can be visited by merchants, contacts, and quest-givers while bunking down.
The goal, both Fox and Connell say, was to once again find more natural ways to handle traditional RPG mechanics – like having to fast-travel back from a newly-discovered land to trade with merchants and pick up quests. The system isn't an out-and-out replacement to fast-travel (which will still be in Ghost of Yotei, Connell confirms) but instead is designed to integrate the world into the player's journey, rather than the other way around.
"Game elements that feel like fourth-wall breakers take you out of being transported into your TV," explains Fox. "We avoid them [besides] some aspects – like a health meter – because frankly, it's just so dang convenient to crisply understand what's going on. But we strive to just put people and their imaginations into the world itself."
As part of that, players will move parts of Ghost of Yotei's story forward by interrogating bested foes rather than beelining between waypoints. Atsu will need to piece together clues to find the Yotei Six and enact her revenge – and if that's all sounding a little familiar, it's because Assassin's Creed Shadows launched with investigative mechanics and a story that was also about taking revenge against a mysterious group of antagonists. While the stories can be attributed to both Sucker Punch and Ubisoft leaning into long-standing revenge tropes from samurai cinema, Sucker Punch hasn't been phased by seeing Ubisoft play with similar ideas.
"We're big fans of feudal Japan and open world games, and to see another one on the market is exciting as gamers, right? We make the game that we want to play, and to see more like that, it's great," says Fox. "Our game is our game. It features the things we cherish. Our story of revenge is a classic in samurai cinema, but it's just the first step in this long tale of Atsu going from this broken lone wolf to assembling a wolf pack, and she changes [...] We don't want to give away story details, but I can tell you that her quest for revenge is the start – absolutely not the whole thing – but it's a great start."
"As creators, this is just a thing you run into," adds Connell. "We are huge fans of this stuff, so when other media comes out, whether it's a video game or a film or a TV show, we're kind of happy that it exists because it drives the medium forward."
As Ghost of Yotei approaches its October release date, Sucker Punch seems proud to be a part of that ecosystem, while still confident it can deliver something fresh. Connell and Fox make no secret of their love for Elden Ring and Breath of the Wild, so Ghost of Yotei sharing the same immersive, discovery-driven bones is no coincidence. Whether Sucker Punch's sequel reaches the same lofty heights remains to be seen – but given its creative directors are saying all the right things, it sounds like all of that stargazing might just pay off.
Here are the upcoming PS5 games to keep an eye on alongside Ghost of Yotei
