Reducing the "burden" of open-world games, Ghost of Yotei replaces Ghost of Tsushima’s journal menu with a "wolf pack" of important characters that meet you under the stars: "The game comes to you"

While I, a woman of small frame and large stress, usually think of meeting a stranger in the middle of the night as the last thing I do before I get saw cleavered, PlayStation's State of Play stream today makes it sound like a really useful game mechanic in Ghost of Yotei.

That's because it is, and the Ghost of Tsushima sequel's protagonist Atsu is a woman of muscular frame and generational bitterness. So she sets welcoming campsites up under the stars and waits for characters to reveal themselves, important upgrades, and weapons to her – or, as creative director Jason Connell says during the State of Play stream, she watches to see how "the game comes to you."

Sometimes, Atsu will be able to enjoy the fire alone. Doing this will let her get ample rest, practice playing music on her elegant shamisen, or give her the opportunity to blacken whole fish and other meals over its yellow flames.

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But, on other occasions, she'll be approached by a medley of people – like traveling salesmen peddling cursed masks among other upgrades and oddities.

"In fact," says the State of Play stream's narrator, "in place of the journal menu from Ghost of Tsushima, we've opted for a more character-driven way of managing allies and vendors you meet in [the archaic Japanese territory] Ezo."

These friends will collect under a "wolf pack" tab as illustrations; hovering over their portrait provides you with a brief bio and catches you up with any new objectives they may have to offer.

"You can keep track of when a sensei might have a weapon skill for you, or when a vendor has something unique to sell," says the narrator. "Managing upgrades, resources, when to buy what can be a burden in a big open-world game. At campsites, members of your wolf pack can catch up with you, offering upgrades and unique items – this helps ensure you have every opportunity to upgrade and prepare for Atsu's vengeance."

Ghost of Yotei "isn't going to rush you through anything" and "focuses on player freedom more than any game Sucker Punch has ever made," with clues and activities for all play styles.