PlayStation fans were treated to a pleasant surprise during a recent State of Play, when it was revealed that the long-awaited sequel toGhost of Tsushuima, known asGhost of Yotei, is indeed on its way. While the most notable part ofGhost of Yoteiis its separation from Jin Sakaiand the events of the first game, it may introduce other structural or mechanical distinctions that set it apart in unexpected ways.
Something that will obviously return from the first game is its open-world design, thoughGhost of Yoteimight be making more changes than one would first assume. In an interview with The New York Times, Sucker Punch Creative Director Jason Connell spoke about the challenges of creating a vast, open-ended sandbox for players to explore, highlighting the balancing act that developers need to perform between freedom and repetition. Connell’s sentiments may strike a chord with many in the gaming community, as one of the most divisive elements of open-world design is what some might call “copy-paste” content, or any repeated activity that feels more prevalent and monotonous than it needs to be. Of course, the obvious solution would be to simply make a wider variety of gameplay opportunities, but that is easier said than done.
Ghost of Yotei: Maintaining Freedom-of-Choice Alongside Variety
The Role of Repetition in Open-World Games Like Ghost of Tsushima
Exploration is an essential part ofGhost of Tsushima, and the game uses a number of clever, well-planned mechanics to facilitate it. For example, the much-lauded guiding wind system makes open-world discovery and locomotion far more organic, encouraging players to actually look at their surroundings rather than at a minimap or compass. Generally speaking, it features one of the stronger open-worlds of the last few years, at least in the AAA space.
But it’s not free from repetitive activities. Open-world facets like hot springs, shrines, and bamboo strikes areconsistently enjoyable activities inGhost of Tsushima, but they appear several times; they are never novel for very long. It would be easy to level copy-past accusations at Sucker Punch for its repeated inclusion of this sort of content, but such repetition actually works remarkably well within the context of the game.
Unfettered freedom, specifically in open-world games, can come at a cost: it gives developers much less control over the pacing and distribution of content, making it hard to ensure a well-rounded and structured experience for players. For example, ifall ofGhost of Tsushima’s bamboo strike activitieswere located on the west side of the map, then players who spent most of their spare time in the early game exploring the east side of the map would miss out on these activities and their associated upgrades. It would make the game less repetitive, as the regions would be remarkably different, but this would come at the cost of a significantly unbalanced, potentially awkward, player experience.
How Ghost of Yotei Can Manage a Less-Repetitive Open-World
If Sucker Punch’s goal is tomakeGhost of Yoteiless repetitive than its predecessor, then it should be sure to toe the line between variety and freedom. One possible way to achieve both of these goals would be to curate content a bit more, shrinking the player’s locus of control by adding more restrictions to the open-world—something that is notably lacking in games with an emphasis on freedom.
Naturally, the trade-off here would be less freedom in favor of more gameplay variety, reducing repetition by introducing more structure. But most players will want to be set loose onGhost of Yotei’s all-new setting, unshackled from an overly rigid structure, so maybe Sucker Punch shouldn’t throw repetition out the window entirely. Instead, offering variety within broader activity archetypes, similar to how the first game handled things like haikus, could be the key to maintaining a good balance of freedom and novelty.
Ghost of Yotei
WHERE TO PLAY
Discover a bold, new story of a warrior in Japan who is on a mission of vengeance all her own.Set 300 years after the critically acclaimed Ghost of Tsushima, Ghost of Yōtei is standalone experience set in 1600s rural Japan. The story follows a haunted, lone mercenary named Atsu. Thirsty for revenge, she travels through the beautiful, rugged landscapes of northern Japan, hunting those who killed her family many years earlier.
