After playing Ghost of Yotei "at several stages of its development," former Sony exec Shuhei Yoshida swears it's "even better" than Ghost of Tsushima

Former head of PlayStation Indies Shuhei Yoshida has so far been glad to tell interviewers that Ghost of Tsushima successor Ghost of Yotei is awesome, and he'll do it again: Yoshida maintains that Ghost of Yotei is really, super awesome in a new interview with French site PlayStation Inside.

"Ghost of Tsushima felt incredible to play," Yoshida says, "and having played Ghost of Yotei at several stages of its development, I can assure you that it will be even better, and that Sucker Punch has done it again!"

Yoshida is an unflinching fan of the American developer Sucker Punch, who, he tells PlayStation Inside, "worked extensively with a Japanese producer at [Sony], as well as colleagues at Japan Studio" while producing Ghost of Tsushima.

This was important, because "Japan is a difficult market for Western games," Yoshida says. "I think you need an understanding of Japan and its culture, especially for games like Ghost of Tsushima or Assassin's Creed Shadows, which are set in the country and talk about its history."

Even more to its credit, Sucker Punch "visited Tsushima Island and made a real effort to immerse themselves in its history and traditions," Yoshida continues. "They managed to capture the island's unique atmosphere, which can be felt in the game, for example in the wind system, and I think that's why it's so successful."

With this effusive praise in mind, Ghost of Yotei must not only raise the bar but pierce through it and into the sky for Yoshida to think it's truly "better" than Tsushima.

You'll be able to interrogate the claim for yourself soon; Ghost of Yotei pre-orders are now live, and the open-world game is officially out – exclusively for PS5 – on October 2.

Ghost of Yotei's trailer perfectly captures what made Ghost of Tsushima so special in the first place.