Yotei's Ghost Emerges with Improved Content

Ghost of Tsushima's upcoming sequel, Ghost of Yotei, looks to parry one scathing critique the 2020 action-adventure title has received as developer Sucker Punch promises to “balance against” the “repetitive nature” of its open-world gameplay.

Ghost of Yotei Promises Players The “Freedom to Explore”Ghost of Tsushima Fans Heavily Criticize The

In an interview with the prestigious New York Times, Sony and renowned developer Sucker Punch unveiled their anticipated plans for Ghost of Yotei, the eagerly awaited Ghost of Tsushima sequel chronicling the epic journey of its captivating new protagonist Atsu. Another intriguing aspect that Ghost of Yotei will introduce is a less predictable open-world gameplay, according to visionary creative director Jason Connell.

"One significant challenge that arises in crafting an open-world game is the monotonous nature of performing the same actions repeatedly," Connell emphatically stated to the New York Times. "We aspired to strike a balance against that and discover experiences that are exceptional." And, in stark contrast to its predecessor, Ghost of Yotei will empower players "to master firearms in addition to melee weapons like the katana," Connel further confirmed.

Although Ghost of Yotei's predecessor boasts an impressive 83/100 Metacritic rating, critiques on its gameplay have been unfavorable. "A capable but uninspired and overly familiar attempt to replicate Assassin’s Creed style open world adventure in the world of 13th century samurai," one critical review on the authoritative aggregate site reads, with another in agreement, stating that the game could have "benefited from a more focused scope or a more streamlined structure."

Fans themselves have also remarked on Ghost of Tsushima's perceived repetitiveness, which lightly bruises an otherwise stunning action-adventure game experience. "Ghost of Tsushima is beautiful, but insanely repetitive and dull," one player says about the game, "The problem is that it all gets repetitive very quickly. There are only 5 enemies the entire game. There's sword guy, sword and shield guy, spear guy, big guy and archer."

Sucker Punch looks to address what could potentially cause Ghost of Yotei's downfall—the perceived repetitiveness its predecessor has been widely critiqued for—as well as amping up the Cinematic flair and visuals that the developer considers is the series' signature. "When we started working on a sequel, the first question we asked ourselves is ‘What is the DNA of a Ghost game?’" creative director Nate Fox said in the interview. "It is about transporting the player to the romance and beauty of feudal Japan."

Announced at the State of Play September 2024, Ghost of Yotei releases sometime in 2025 for the PS5. The game promises to give players the "freedom to explore" the beauty of Mount Yotei, all at their "own pace," as Sucker Punch Sr. Communications Manager Andrew Goldfarb said in a recent PlayStation blog post.