Ghost of Tsushima : Gameplay, World, and Combat Details

Ghost of Tsushima is one of the most anticipated titles of the year. Arriving on July 17th, the game is the work of Sony first-party studio Sucker Punch and their first game since 2014’s inFAMOUS Second Son. While we’ve seen a few trailers for the game, true gameplay details have been scarce. But with some outlets and creators being given early access to Ghost of Tsushima, we now know a little more of what you can expect on your journey.

Details were shared on Resetera and Reddit which we have summarized for you below in a more concise manner:

Core Game

• The game is grounded and realistic. There are no supernatural elements.
• The game is an original work of fiction. The team’s goal was not to represent history.
• It is the biggest game Sucker Punch has ever developed.
• You can play the game with a Japanese voice track if you choose.
  • Even with a cast of mostly native Japanese speakers, the team(s) still worked with a dialogue coach for the game to represent authentic ancient Japanese.
• There are no branching narratives. Rather this is a singular story.
• There is currently no photo mode.
• There are multiple difficulty settings.
• All swordplay and horse mechanics were motion capped.
• The composer of the game is Shigeru Umebayashi.

The Game World

• There are many stories to uncover in the game. Players may miss some.
• The game will contain no waypoints.
• There are many side characters in the game, most which have side quests.
• Jin will learn new things from NPC quests.
• Each area in the game has a different theme which represents different stories and narrative themes.
  • The name of the area on the demo is “The Forest of No Return”. It features betrayal stories with darker tone.
• You will roam vast countrysides, explore billowing fields, ancient forests, villages, stark mountain scapes, bamboo forests, and ornate castles.
• They want to give players many navigational options. These include horse riding, parkour, and Jin swinging with a grappling hook so far.
• Dynamic time of day and weather. Shown so far are snow and rain.
• Simulated clouds which are fully dynamic.
• If you roll around in the mud you will be completely covered. If it starts raining it can wash away all the mud and blood.
• “Movement” is the environment theme. Expect everything to move including blowing trees, windy fields, falling leaves.
• If you see something and you expect to be able to climb on it then you should be able to.
• The trailer with Masako from E3 was a side mission.
• Jin will change what he is wearing. In a rain-drenched part of the world Jin has traded his traditional armor for a straw raincoat called a mino. This has both mechanical value and narrative value.

Combat

• The theme of the combat is “mud, blood, and steel”. They want a feeling of intensity and danger in the combat.
• The combat system can scale all the way up from a one-on-one combat with a worthy opponent all the way up to dealing with a horde of Mongols.
• Master the bow to eliminate distant threats with lethal precision.
• Develop stealth and deception tactics to disorient and ambush enemies with surprise attacks.
• An adaptive landscape and organic approach to combat makes Tsushima the perfect playground for mixing and matching skills, weapons, and tactics to find the perfect combat blend for your play style.
• You can customize your katana
• They want every swing to feel real, so every hit that connects leave a scar.
• There is a progression system and you will have to learn skills such as the grappling hook.
• Duels are in the game and going to be very narrative based. They want to build the tension with each duel representing some unique element.
• You can kill an enemy with a single strike from the blade if you hold the triangle button and release it at the right moment.
• You parry with L1.
• You can clean your blade with a button.
• Τhe chain assassinations we seen in the trailer you must hit the button at the right time to go to the next one there is a time period.
• Assassinations are one of the tactics you can use. There’s a fear factor here. If you do successfully assassinate someone then it stuns the other enemies around you and gives you an opportunity to perform follow-up attacks.
• You can perform horseback assassinations.
• Weapons we seen so far, swords,bows, and stun/flash bombs.

Our Take

It’s certainly sounding like the next title from Sucker Punch is going to deliver a fantastic experience. We love what we’re hearing and hope this title is polished to perfection more akin to God of War than say Days Gone at release. No matter what, we’re excited!