Today’s new PlayStation State of Play broadcast was all about Ghost of Tsushima.
Ghost of Tsushima is an open-world action-adventure game set in Feudal Japan. It follows a wandering samurai named Jin, who wages a solitary war against Mongols invading the island of Tsushima.
In short, it’s exactly the sort of game PlayStation look for in a big-budget, single-player exclusive.
Once upon a time in Feudal Japan
This morning’s State of Play broadcast runs for about 18 minutes and covers everything from gameplay basics like navigation, side quests, customisation and modes of combat.
One of the things that stands out in the footage we see is a lack of HUD elements. Unless you enter combat, the screen is entirely free of clutter. There’s no minimap, the game instead urging you to look around for points of interest and try to locate them on the map screen. From there, players can follow a theatrical gust of wind to their destination. Like a true samurai, Jin literally goes wherever the wind takes him.
The main character, Jin, can be played in two flavours — samurai or ghost. As a samurai, Jin is all about discipline. He waits until the last moment to strike, countering enemy attacks and felling his foes in a single blow. This allows him to better manage his stamina, keeping him in the fight longer. As he goes, Jin can change his sword stance to better counter incoming enemy styles, adding an extra complication to each fight. As a ghost, Jin moves under the cover of night. He uses tricks and traps to lure enemies into position before striking from the shadows and departing unseen.
Throughout the game, players will collect charms and armour that come with different mechanical benefits and stat buffs. The player can use these to customise Jin in ways that support their preferred playstyle.
Finally, Sucker Punch has included an optional, black-and-white, film gain filter for the game that will allow players to live out their dream of being in a Kurosawa film.
As is always the case with PlayStation exclusives, Tsushima appears to be a genre pastiche. Sony’s open-world studios love to pull from the best, and here we can see shades of numerous games — Red Dead Redemption 2, Assassin’s Creed, The Witcher 3, Sekiro, Sony’s Horizon: Zero Dawn and more.
When can I get it?
Sucker Punch says they have much more to show the world as the game inches closer to release. You can preorder now from your preferred video game retailer.
Ghost of Tsushima launches July 17, 2020, exclusively on PlayStation 4. It is being developed by Sucker Punch Studios.
