Yotei's Specter to Haunt Less

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 New York Times, Sony and developer Sucker Punch revealed what they have in store for Ghost of Yotei, the upcoming Ghost of Tsushima sequel centered around the journey of its new protagonist Atsu. Another new aspect that Ghost of Yotei will offer is a less repetitive open-world gameplay, according to creative director Jason Connell.

"One challenge that comes with making an open-world game is the repetitive nature of doing the same thing over and over," Connell told the New York Times. "We wanted to balance against that and find unique experiences." And, in contrast to its predecessor, Ghost of Yotei will allow players "to master firearms in addition to melee weapons like the katana," Connel additionally confirmed.

Though Ghost of Yotei's predecessor comfortably sits on an 83/100 Metacritic rating, critiques on its gameplay have been scathing. "A competent but shallow and overfamiliar attempt to replicate Assassin’s Creed style open world adventure in the world of 13th century samurai," one critic review on the aggregate site reads, with another in congruence, stating that the game could have "benefited from a smaller scope or a more linear structure."

Fans themselves have also remarked on Ghost of Tsushima's perceived repetitiveness, which slightly mars an otherwise breathtaking action-adventure game experience. "Ghost of Tsushima is gorgeous, but incredibly repetitive and tedious," one player says about the game, "The issue is that it all gets repetitive very rapidly. There are only five enemies throughout the game. There's sword guy, sword and shield guy, spear guy, big guy and archer."

Sucker Punch aims to address what could potentially lead to Ghost of Yotei's downfall—the perceived repetitiveness its predecessor has been widely criticized for—as well as enhancing the Cinematic flair and visuals that the developer deems the series' hallmark. "When we began 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 allure 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.