Ahead of its 17th July launch on PS4, Sony has offered a closer look at developer Sucker Punch’s open-world samurai adventure Ghost of Tsushima, and, as if there was any doubt left after previous showings, it’s looking utterly breathtaking.
At its heart, Ghost of Tsushima appears to be a fairly traditional open-world adventure, enabling players to explore the titular island, engaging with enemies along the way. There are two paths to the action – the samurai path, which sees protagonist Jin entering direct confrontations with opponents, and the ghost path, which offers a more stealthy approach to challenges.
The former gives players access to a range of combat stances, with different stances proving more effective against different enemies, and swordplay is built around needing to parry enemies at the last possible moment in order to break their defences. As for stealth, it’s your usual game of sneakery and distraction, with players able to toss firecrackers, ring bells, or drop smoke bombs to get the slip on opponents, grappling to higher ground if need be.
Ghost of Tsushima – Gameplay Walkthrough Watch on YouTube
None of which sounds like a particularly radical deviation from similarly styled games but that’s hardly a complaint if it’s sufficiently satisfying to play. And besides, I’d wager most people won’t be signing up specifically for Ghost of Tsushima’s action, but rather to get thoroughly lost in its staggeringly beautiful world, which we were offered another tour of today.