We are just over a month away from the release of the highly anticipated Ghost of Tsushima on July 17th and the hype train is in full motion.
Set in the late 13th century on the Japenese island of Tsushima, you’ll take control of samurai Jin Sakai. To ensure the adventure as Jin is as immersive as possible, developers Sucker Punch have reportedly gone out of their way to make the game historically accurate to Feudal Japan. With many expecting a samurai version of Red Dead Redemption 2 as a result, the recent 18-minute gameplay trailer showed the game could well be on the same level in terms of exciting mechanics, stunning graphics, and dramatic flair.
With The Last of Us II out in June and Ghost of Tsushima in July, this summer looks to be an exciting one for gaming. With that in mind, let’s take a look at our top 3 most anticipated features in Ghost of Tsushima.
Two combat styles – Samurai and Ghost
With a game as ambitious in scope as Ghost of Tsushima, it was surprising to see that Sucker Punch have included two different ways of engaging enemies when many games fail to master one.
First, there’s the honourable Samurai. Respectful yet powerful, Jin the Samurai dispatches his enemies with single swipes of his katana.
The hallmark here is the dramatic standoffs not dissimilar from Red Dead’s quickdraws. They capture the essence of everyone’s samurai fantasy. Approach an opponent with your sword sheathed, only to kill them in a single moment of button-pressing precision before chaining slashes to eliminate more enemies in dramatic movie-like deaths. When you’re done, Jin casually flicks the blood from his katana in an instance of grim satisfaction. Awesome.
On top of this are the regular encounters where you’ll need to pick the right combat stance depending on the enemy you’re facing. Jin can skillfully deflect arrows with his sword, dispatch enemies with a bow of his own, and unleash devastating counters on offensive enemies. You can even honor your victims by taking a bow in a sign of respect. Clearly, the dramatic flair isn’t lost here, either. The cinematic style of the animations and sound effects punctuate what looks to be a well-rounded and gratifying play style.
Next, there’s the dishonourable Ghost. Playing as Jin the Ghost is like an Assassin’s Creed game that never was.
Using what looks to be a well refined stealth system, Jin can use lures, smoke bombs, stealth assassinations, and kunai blades to strike fear into enemies and dispatch them at will. Gruesome diving attacks also make an appearance, with a highlight being the diving katana stab that can be chained to eliminate alerted adjacent enemies. With the Ghost being a figure of fear, surprised foes crawl away in terror where you’re able to stab them through the heart for a cruel and dramatic death.
The Ghost seems to be where the game’s parkour element comes into its own. It allows Jin to get quickly out of view, evade alerted enemies and sneak up on them from unanticipated locations. A grapple hook, like Nathan Drake’s in Uncharted 4, allows for creative and speedy escapes.
Initially, I was skeptical as to how they could pull off both in parallel, but it looks like they’ve nailed it.
Immersive Exploration
With a game as beautiful as this, it’d be a shame to dominate the screen with a big HUD. Sucker Punch seem to have recognised this and have reportedly aimed to make the game as immersive as possible.
To negate the need for intrusive waypoints and mini-maps, the developers have implemented a unique alternative – Guiding Wind. A mechanic that can be triggered at any time, Guiding Wind takes the form of a gust of air in the direction you want to travel and serves its purpose while simultaneously adding to the mystical samurai theme and style.
Like Red Dead 2, smokestacks can be seen from a distance and indicate unique and random encounters that Jin can get involved with. While this isn’t anything new, it’s something that’s been used to great effect in the past and is a positive improvement on mapped out meetings. Something new, however, is the use of animals to lead you to points of interest. Be it authentic Japanese birds leading you through the woods or foxes taking you to a sacred shrine, this use of animals is a nice change to their typical purpose in video games – hunting and loot.
Japanese Voice Track & Samurai Cinema
Speaking of immersion, Sucker Punch have chosen to have a fully synchronised Japanese voice track available as an option from the start.
This feature is something not often seen in Western games. It gives players a more realistic portrayal of the characters they are interacting with whilst paying homage to the classic samurai movies that have inspired the game. On the topic of movies, the separate “Samurai Cinema” mode adds a black and white, grainy filter, as well as film-like imperfections and dramatic wind. Couple these two together and you’ll be able to enjoy the classic samurai movie experience to its maximum potential.
Let us know what you’re most looking forward to in the comments below!
Featured Image Credit: Sucker Punch Productions/Sony (fair use)
