Ghost of Yotei Set to Improve on Tsushima's Open World Design

The creative director behind Ghost of Yotei has revealed that the upcoming title will feature a less repetitive open-world design compared to its predecessor, Ghost of Tsushima, released in 2020. In addition to introducing a new map, time period, and protagonist, developer Sucker Punch is committed to providing players with more streamlined and diverse activities within the game world.

While Ghost of Tsushima was praised for its stunning visuals and environmental variety, many players voiced concerns regarding the game's somewhat monotonous missions and activities. Critics pointed out that the open-world design included numerous familiar Ubisoft tropes, such as clearing enemy strongholds, collecting scattered items, and side quests that often felt repetitive. Fortunately, Ghost of Yotei seems poised to tackle these issues directly.

Currently, not much information is available about Ghost of Yotei, other than the introduction of a new protagonist named Atsu, the setting in the year 1603, and the beautiful island of Hokkaido as its backdrop. Given that Hokkaido is significantly larger than Tsushima in real life, fans are curious about how Sucker Punch will manage the game's open-world activities.

In a recent interview with The New York Times, creative director Jason Connell acknowledged the challenges of repetitive activities in open-world game design. He emphasized that Sucker Punch is actively working to “balance against that and find unique experiences” for Ghost of Yotei.

Enhancements to World Design Could Be the Key to Ghost of Yotei's Success

While additional details on how Sucker Punch plans to refine Ghost of Yotei's open-world design would have been welcome, Connell's comments are nonetheless promising for this upcoming PS5 exclusive. Many players of Ghost of Tsushima appreciated its captivating storytelling, stunning graphics, and the freedom to explore, but they identified its repetitiveness as a major drawback.

If Ghost of Yotei can build upon these strengths while delivering a more engaging and varied environment for players, it stands to achieve even greater success than its predecessor. Set to release in 2025, it is still early to predict how the game's open-world activities will unfold. However, it seems likely that Sucker Punch will focus more on environmental storytelling.

Ghost of Tsushima's breathtaking world was rich with detail, and its investigative tracking missions hinted at the potential for environmental storytelling. However, many players criticized the excessive hand-holding during these missions. With Ghost of Yotei promising significant changes from Ghost of Tsushima, Sucker Punch should find it manageable to sacrifice some simplicity in favor of enhancing player agency.