Last week’s State of Play broadcast focused on delivering a Ghost of Tsushima deep dive. Since then, more information has emerged piecemeal. One new tidbit concerns what to expect from the action title’s combat, which will supposedly be “very challenging.” So challenging, in fact, that the protagonist Jin may find himself defeated after only a couple of blows from an enemy’s sword.
In an IGN interview, Game Director Nate Fox said the challenge came from Sucker Punch’s desire to “honor the lethality of the sword.” As such, players won’t mow down foes with ease. According to Fox,
We are trying to make a grounded game in that sense, so a couple blows from the enemy will kill you. The game is very challenging. We have three words to describe the combat: Mud, blood, and steel. We absolutely honor the lethality of the sword.
We watched samurai movies and people go down with one or two strikes, and that is embedded inside of the combat. Beating the Mongols in battle will be hard, but it’s that challenge that makes it feel alive and the victory rewarding. You can’t just run into a camp and fight five people at the same time, you will get overwhelmed and die.
Players will especially notice a challenge when facing off against expert swordsman, who players should carefully study before determining what moves to make. Such enemies can be taken on during duels, which Fox says he regrets didn’t get any love during the State of Play stream. He told IGN,
One thing we didn’t show at State of Play which I wish we had, was that the game features duels against other expert swordsman. This is classic samurai stuff. Those fights are incredibly difficult and they’re driven from personality and get solved in the most cinematic way possible, which is also true to fantasy. You need to study your opponent and understand how they attack in order to win.
Other challenges are bound to present themselves depending on enemy type. This is where combat stances come into play. Creative Director Jason Connell noted as much during an interview with VG247, explaining that players will want to switch fight stances based on the type of enemy they’re battling.
Ghost of Tsushima is due out this summer on July 17th for the PlayStation 4.
[Source: IGN]
