Ghost of Tsushima was extendedly shown two days ago during underwhelming Sony's E3 2018 PlayStation media briefing and quickly became one of the show's biggest and most pleasant surprises. The upcoming PlayStation 4 exclusive is the next release from Sucker Punch Productions, a studio many PlayStation players will instantly recognize from their work on the
Infamous and
Sly franchises.
Thanks to PlayStation Blog and IGN, we finally have some new information about the intriguing open-world samurai adventure. According to the blog, we will play as Jin Sakai, a powerful warrior whose adventure draws on Japanese history and the iconic traditions of samurai cinema to craft a gorgeous tale of revenge, empowerment, and hope. Sucker Punch takes inspiration from the Kurosawa films and John Ford westerns to try to translate the cinematic nature of those moves into the final game.
The gameplay shown at the conference is not part of the main story which will tell the story of Jin's fight against the Mongol invasion. As you probably guessed, Jin’s nickname is “
The Ghost of Tsushima”. The legendary protagonist will face the leader of the Mongols who's described as an “
uncomfortably reasonable killer." To win this war, Jin has had to go beyond his traditional samurai training.
The combat theme is “
mud, blood, and steel" and it scales all the way up from a one-on-one combat with a worthy opponent all the way up to dealing with a horde of furious Mongols. There are other weapons, but Sucker Punch wants to focus on the katana gameplay right now. The main hero will also evolve, learning to use a grappling hook and even new tricks to silently kill the Mongols.
The designers are trying to make the graphics as minimalistic as possible with the "
movement" being their main goal, so you should expect to see a lot of blowing trees, windy fields, and falling leaves. There will be a minimal game HUD but the developer is not ready to show it yet. Just like in the remake of
Shadow of the Colossus and
Horizon: Zero Dawn, a photo mode will be added at some point.
What's even better, you will have a chance to experience
Ghost of Tsushima with a Japanese voice track to embrace the mood more. Expect to hear more from Sucker Punch in the coming months.
The year is 1274. Samurai warriors are the legendary defenders of Japan—until the fearsome Mongol Empire invades the island of Tsushima, wreaking havoc and conquering the local population. As one of the last surviving samurai, you rise from the ashes to fight back. But honorable tactics won’t lead you to victory. You must move beyond your samurai traditions to forge a new way of fighting—the way of the Ghost—as you wage an unconventional war for the freedom of Japan.