When Sucker Punch first revealed that it would be creating Ghost of Tsushima, an action-adventure stealth game set in ancient Japan, the general reaction was that of optimistic confusion. The last time we had seen a Sucker Punch game, it was 2014’s Infamous First Light, so a game like Ghost of Tsushima was definitely a large departure for the company. However, in a recent interview with Kotaku, developer Nate Fox – who is the game director for Ghost of Tsushima – revealed that the team was more than ready for a chance at creating something new.
Before discussing the game, Fox described that Sucker Punch was aiming to create a game with high tension, similar to a childhood game that involves two people taking turns to see if they can slap each other’s hands before the other pulls away. “That’s what we’re trying to get over and over in the game.” he said.
In the upcoming game, players control a samurai named Jin Sakai. Though none of the characters in the game are named after real people, Fox did reveal that the inspiration for the game came from reading on the Mongol invasion of 1274. “It came alive when I actually read about the Mongol invasion of 1274 because there’s a clear battle line drawn there. The enemy is very apparent. The stakes are really real. So you have a landscape of conflict that needs you, the players.”
For Sucker Punch – a studio that has only made three original games – Ghost of Tsushima represents a huge change, but one that Fox notes the team was thankful for. “It feels wonderful to think new thoughts, to be a different kind of game team,” he said. “It’s exhilarating to not know the path to solve a problem.” Obviously, Ghost of Tsushima might be the most serious title Sucker Punch has ever done, especially with Sly Cooper and Infamous being more cartoonish, comedy-infused titles.
That doesn’t mean the game won’t pull from its history, though. “We’re really dedicated to letting people dictate how they go about solving problems. Navigation is a big part of that. It seems like a small part of the demo, but him being able to smoothly jump off that fence onto that bell tower and then grapple, to me that is a huge promise to the player in an open-world game that they can go where they want.”
For more on the upcoming game make sure to check out the full interview with Fox over at Kotaku. In the meantime, let us know below if you’re excited about the upcoming game.
[Source: Kotaku]
