Ghost of Tsushima is a new action game coming out of Sucker Punch, and it’s quite a bit different from anything they worked on before. inFAMOUS fans will know the developer well. Their emphasis on stylized and fluid action in the various mainline and offshoot games in that franchise helped set the bar for what solid action should look like in the modern era. The new title is going for a much more open form of gameplay, with a major change that some gamers are really going to hate. While there will be some of the DNA from their previous efforts, something very big is changing.
According to new reports from VG247, which were later confirmed by Art Director Jason Connell in a developer diary published in October, the new action stealth title is opting for a more immersive structure. Part of the design is that the game has no waypoint system. So there’s no immersion shattering bouncing between locales here. Players will have to actually learn the layout of the map and traverse it somewhat manually.
“We really want you to have that choice of ‘Hey, that cool bamboo forest over there, I really wanna check it out. I wanna head in that direction and see what it is.’ There’s no waypoint,” said Connell. “There’s nothing that says ‘Go here and look at this bamboo forest,.'”
The goal for this design choice is, as the team puts it, artistic. “Hopefully, we’re presenting something that’s beautiful and exotic – that’s different than the current place that you might be in – and that will come at a world choice. That’s your adventure choice.”
These details were given during a very extensive interview, which you can find below. Said interview is basically a deep-dive on all the intrinsic design decisions being made with Ghost of Tsushima, very interesting stuff.
So whether this turns out for good or bad, we have a while to wait. Ghost of Tsushima is set for a Summer 2020 release window.
