Ghost of Tsushima - Preview of the PlayStation exclusive wait

Quiet as only a ghost could do, Ghost of Tsushima it is slowly preparing to be launched on the market. The next title of sucker Punch is now in the pipeline and in just over two months we will finally be able to get our hands on what, since the first announcement in 2017, would seem to be one of the most promising exclusives in the world PlayStation. Almost three years have passed since that Paris Games Week and it is therefore time to take stock of the situation, analyzing all the details we know about the setting, history and gameplay. Are you ready to immerse yourself in feudal Japan?

The ghost

We don't know much about the plot of Ghost of Tsushima, but the little information available to us teases us a lot. The game takes place in fact at the end of the XNUMXth century, during the first Mongol invasion of Japan, and theTsushima island it is the last area to have been attacked by the huge army led by General Khotun Khan. During a bloody battle that saw the victory of the Mongols, Jin sakai remains the last warrior samurai alive and will therefore have to stop the advance of the Mongol empire and protect his own people. He will then be led to put aside his samurai training to become a deadly and silent warrior, a legend whose nickname will resonate throughout the island of Tsushima: the ghost.

The protagonist will be divided between the teachings of the art Bushido, typical of samurai, and art Ninja, warriors who act in the shadows and who put aside honor, attacking from behind and hiding in the dark. A decidedly intriguing opening, which we hope will be developed properly. It would in fact be interesting - and we are quite certain that it could be one of the central themes of the game - to see how Jin's inner conflict will affect his way of approaching fights and see what consequences it will also have on relationships with other characters, which for now, however, we have only seen in passing. We also know that the title has received a 17+ rating and we therefore expect the right amount of violence and, above all, a mature story that lives up to expectations.

From Samurai to Ninja

According to what little we have seen so far, we know that the gameplay will alternate combat with the white weapon in phases completely stealth. To be honest, the player will decide which approach to use, depending on their preferences and the number of enemies they will have to face. Jin will in fact be forced to eliminate large groups of enemies and not always attack them directly with his own katana - within a combat system which would seem to be based mainly on parade and on counterattacks - will be the best strategy.

From the gameplay trailers that we have seen, the protagonist will get closer and closer to the art of the Ninja and very often he will decide to eliminate the opponents one at a time, without being seen. To do this, the player has several tools at his disposal: first of all is the grapple which will allow you to make rapid movements both horizontally and in vertical. This gadget seemed very similar to the one used by the unforgettable Nathan Drake in Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, but we do not know if, as in the Naughty Dog masterpiece, Jin will be allowed to hook the grappling hook only to certain holds or if there it will be greater freedom of movement.

The stealth sections can certainly recall those seen in the Batman Arkham series and actually there are several points in common, such as the smoke bombs, useful to escape in the most difficult moments, or the multiple kills that we have seen in the gameplay of E3 2018, definitely very similar to the Multi KO Terror introduced in the third chapter of the Rocksteady trilogy. Our protagonist will also have a arc, with which you can shoot different types of arrows.

Tsushima Island

In other cases we would say that feudal Japan will be the backdrop to Jin Sakai's events, yet the setting created by Sucker Punch is so beautiful and captivating that calling it a “background” would be too simplistic. This is because, in addition to the just mentioned fantastic technical realization, according to the developers, the exploration and therefore the territory where the title is set will be an integral part of Ghost of Tsushima. Jin will be able to move around on his horse, recalled with the classic whistle, and explore the various regions of the island.

THEscouting is a very important part of the title and Sucker Punch seems to want to prevent players from moving from point A to point B, simply to reach a goal, but stop wandering around the game world, learning about its details and secrets. It is not yet clear whether they will be present or not on-screen indicators to show the destination to reach and we therefore await further statements regarding this mechanic.

Even from a technical point of view, Ghost of Tsushima seems to definitely live up to expectations. The title of Sucker Punch seems to be characterized by a very high level visual quality, thanks once again to the beautiful setting, especially from an artistic point of view. The territory recreated by the studio it simply leaves you speechless, presenting a world of splendid colors, but in any case we prefer to wait until we have the title in our hands to express ourselves on technical sector of the game. The launch of Ghost of Tsushima is now very close, which will arrive on PlayStation 4 on 26nd June. In light of this analysis, we must ask once again: are you ready to immerse yourself in feudal Japan?