Ghost of Yotei lead says the Ghost of Tsushima sequel allows for "more freedom than any game we've ever had," so devs "don't care too much" how you play – "as long as you're having fun"

Ghost of Yotei creative director Jason Connell doesn't mind how much side content players choose to complete in the Ghost of Tsushima sequel – it's all about "having fun," after all.

The Sucker Punch developer explains as much during a recent interview with GamesRadar+, saying that the studio doesn't mind "too much" what fans choose to spend their time doing in Ghost of Yotei – as long as they're actually enjoying themselves while they play. "If they don't want to do it, we're just like, 'OK, that's your choice,'" admits the lead. "As long as you're having fun, we don't care too much."

Connell does state, however, that devs left "a bunch of hooks in there to try to keep you in the spirit of the main story, getting an appropriate amount of weapons at a decent rate." He goes on: "Our philosophical sort of thing about this game was to let you have more freedom than any game we've ever had." According to the dev, it's all "very complex" – allowing for so much freedom, along with its open world, is no easy feat.

"It's very complex, and the pacing is sort of a slightly different model for each one," Connell describes. "Narrative pacing is a bit easier to understand, and so that one's a bit more straightforward, but that open-world pacing one is quite challenging. We do all these little tricks to make it kind of work out for us." It's safe to say it all worked out indeed – our own Ghost of Yotei review praises the game for encouraging "natural exploration."

Although it's all a balancing act – the fine middle ground between granting players freedom and not taking away from the story itself too much – Sucker Punch has aced it.

Playing one of this year's best new games yet? Be sure to read through our Ghost of Yotei tips for the smoothest possible experience.