Fire! Trees! Mountains! Trees, on mountains! Sucker Punch Productions sure knows how to treat us. The first trailer for Ghost of Yotei is finally here, and to nobody's surprise, Ghost of Tsushima's long-awaited follow-up looks absolutely stunning. For all of its action-packed shots – its snarling wolves, tense duels, and burning buildings – the trailer's scenic shots of Mount Yōtei and its peaceful surroundings are ultimately what's left me pining for 2025 to arrive quicker.
But in the meantime, I've got a confession. It took me four years to play Ghost of Tsushima, and although I finally got around to diving in earlier this year, I didn't get around to finishing it. On one hand, I've been very lucky: Ghost of Yotei follows an all-new story set 300 years after the first game, which means I don't have to risk spoiling what happens to my favorite grumpy swordsman Jin Sakai to learn more about the sequel. But if you think I watched that trailer and resisted coming back to Tsushima anyway – a world I should have explored every inch of by now – you've got another kunai coming.
The scenic route
When I finally played Ghost of Tsushima in June, I kept my expectations low. There was no way that it could live up to the hype – I'd been hearing about its supposed brilliance for years, after all – and I'm generally quite picky when it comes to even the best open world games. Luckily, I was massively incorrect. I fell hopelessly in love with Ghost of Tsushima, largely for the same reason Ghost of Yotei's trailer is so exciting: it's content with letting you breathe in its setting, rather than perpetually Do Things. Sucker Punch's open world nurtures curiosity, rather than bulldozing over it for a theme park of carefully-curated minimap activities.
This approach is the reason I didn't finish Ghost of Tsushima – not because there's nothing to do, but because I fell hard for its easy-going exploration. Rather than set waypoints from one collectible to the next, I'd amble around on my horse for hours, guided largely by distant vistas I thought would be pretty to visit. Along the way, it was easy to hoover up anything that came ol' Jin's way – overthrowing Mongol occupiers from a small fishing village, perhaps, or stumbling upon a treasure map that leads to unique equipment. But I'd spend just as long riding aimlessly through forests, moving at a leisurely trot to watch trees blow in the wind.
In turn, that understated spectacle made Ghost of Tsushima's combat feel even more measured. For all of Jin's elegance, violence at any level – whether it's the loud clashing of steel on steel, or an assassinated soldier quietly gurgling his last breath – is the antithesis to Tsushima's serenity. In hindsight, I spent a lot of my time in the game trying to subconsciously smother that intrusive feeling, choosing between head-on duels and careful stealth based on what would resolve an encounter as quickly and effectively as possible.
In just a few minutes, Ghost of Yotei's trailer made me realize I've once again gone far too long without these thrills. There's a lot I'm excited to learn more about in the sequel – namely how its 1603 setting is going to come into play, and what protagonist Atsu's story is – but most of all, it's served as a pretty reminder that I've still got Tsushima on my plate. Looking further ahead, I dearly hope that Yotei has the same careful pacing that its trailer suggests, and if I'm being really selfish, attempts an even more hands-off approach to exploration. For now, though, that can all wait – I've got an island to save.
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