In a recent interview with GamesRadar, Sucker Punch’s Nate Fox and Jason Connell shared new stuff about Ghost of Yotei! The game takes place over 300 years after Jin Sakai’s era, but they wanted to keep the same base spirit. However, they did take into account feedback from the first game, and made some pretty cool changes!
No More Stances: 5 Weapons, 5 Ways to Fight
One of the biggest reveals is that the old stance system is gone. Instead, Ghost of Yotei will have five different weapons! Each of those has its own combat style, strengths, and weaknesses.
Here are a few examples of what they can do:
- The spear lets you throw enemies across the field. Basically, you can throw your spear at an enemy, and it will send them flying far away.
- The kusarigama, a chain-blade weapon, lets you handle multiple enemies at once.
- There is even a disarm mechanic. For example, if you fight on top of a bridge, enemies can disarm you, and throw your weapon over the bridge. You can also disarm enemies, and steal their weapon if you lost yours!
A World to Discover, Not Just Follow
The game is really inspired by others, such as Breath of the Wild or Elden Ring, and it shows. No more overwhelming quest logs. Instead, exploration will be much more natural. You can decide how your exploration will go:
- You can use a spyglass to located cool things like landmarks or activities.
- NPCs like quest-givers or merchants can visit you when you are camping, so you do not have to constantly open your map and try to remember where was the last merchant you saw.
- No more relying only on map markers.
Connell says this all comes from wanting to keep things easy for everyone, but still triggering player’s curiosity enough. You can follow the main story or explore for hours. The game really wants to support both.
A Wild Companion
Atsu will not travel alone. She will have a really cool, but mysterious, wolf companion! He is tied to the spirit of Ezo. But do not expect a loyal pet that follows you around like a puppy. It is a wolf, after all.
The wolf is described as wild, independent, and unpredictable. It can show up during certain missions, or just go missing for a bit. You can not just summon it whenever you want him to help you. According to Fox, “It follows you, but it’s not your dog – at all.”
Still, it will help in combat sometimes, and plays a role in connecting you to the nature of the region. The wolf is definitely a favorite of the devs!
Bounties, Ambushes, and Dynamic Danger
There is also a bounty system. As main character Atsu hunts down the Yotei Six, she will start to become a wanted figure herself. That bounty affects how the world reacts to her. This means you can run into random traps, ambushes, and really strong enemies! And they only want one thing: you.
One scene was shown at the State of Play with snow ninjas popping out from the ground, for example. Fox says it keeps you “on edge in the best way.”
Revenge is Just the Beginning
The story does begin with Atsu’s quest for revenge, but Fox and Connell hint that it is only the beginning of a longer, more emotional thing. Atsu will evolve and go from a lone wolf to someone building her own “wolf pack.”
They also responded to comparisons with Assassin’s Creed Shadows. Of course, some features are similar, and it is a story about samurai and Japan. But they said that “It’s cool to see more games like this. We make what we love to play.”
Ghost of Yotei releases in October, and it will definitely be a really cool game to explore. If you are into open-world, Japan and Samurai, and emotional story, this one should be really made for you.
Keep an eye on our latest news as well, since we will be updating you on how things evolve until the release of the game!