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

Sep. 25, 2024

Opinion | Sucker Punch knows the value of peace and quiet

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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

Ghost of Yotei’s title features a historical inaccuracy so clever that one Japanese scholar believes “it has to be intentional”

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 thebest 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.

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