The weight of expectation that Sucker Punch Production is carrying is reasonably heavy. As one of many few first-party PlayStation video games of 2025, many gamers will probably be trying to it to scratch the story-driven AAA blockbuster itch that has been out of attain for lots of the yr. But, past that, it has the unenviable process of following up the beloved Ghost of Tsushima.Ghost of Yotei has been stored behind the scenes all through most of its growth, however lately, it had a giant displaying as the point of interest of a State of Play broadcast. Depending on who you ask, they will both say it seems gorgeous and has some doubtlessly thrilling gameplay evolutions or it seems good… but in addition very acquainted.That break up in perspective is not shocking to administrators Jason Connell and Nate Fox. In reality, that very a lot is the intent. The problem, nonetheless, is find a superb steadiness between the 2, which is less complicated mentioned than executed. Following the State of Play, GameSpot spoke to Connell and Fox in regards to the success of Ghost of Tsushima and the way Sucker Punch approached its sequel, in addition to what gamers can count on when the sport launches in October.GameSpot: Ghost of Tsushima was a spectacular recreation and I feel it is honest to say that it elevated consciousness across the studio considerably. What was that like afterward? How did you’re feeling after that and did you begin to really feel the strain of getting to satisfy that top bar now?Jason Connell: Making Tsushima, there is definitely a number of ardour that goes into that venture. Nate and I really like samurai cinema, so attending to make a recreation in that kind of method was thrilling, however I feel it is definitely very thrilling to see it land with a bunch of people–way extra folks than perhaps we anticipated. And that is a really constructive feeling; sort of an awesome feeling too.The quantity of people who have been posting photograph mode [shots] on Twitter and reaching out and making comments–whenever you’ve gotten one thing that many individuals play, there’s going to be issues they hate about it, there’s going to be issues that they love about it. And you simply hear all of it. It’s definitely a brand new feeling.But I do know for me, and Nate would possibly really feel completely different, it definitely makes it really feel formidable to go make no matter comes subsequent, as a result of inevitably persons are going to be like, “Oh, is this as good as your last thing?” That’s only a regular a part of the creation course of, although, so I feel it is a present. We have nice [intellectual properties]. We’re a part of an incredible studio. Sony, normally, lets us be actually artistic. It appears like we’re sitting in a very superior spot the place we will construct off the shoulders of an superior recreation that we created, however then add all these additional new options in and contemporary parts that perhaps we did not have time for within the final recreation as a result of we have been simply making an attempt to get the fundamentals transferring. It feels each exhilarating, overwhelming; actually a number of gratitude, but in addition on the identical time actually creatively fulfilling to have the ability to make Yotei the best way we need to make it.Nate Fox: I discovered it actually inspiring, truly, to see folks play the sport on YouTube or Twitch and discuss what they favored, they did not like. It fuels all of us right here within the studio once we’re making the sequel to see the place folks get a lot enjoyment out of the sport. And it is a new expertise. When we have been making Sly Cooper and Infamous, folks did not do stay playthroughs of Sly, so I did not know what degree hit. It’s actually thrilling to have this degree of transparency into how persons are having fun with the online game, you hope and also you dream they are going to like this half or react on this method to that half.Now we get to see it and see the place we’re proper and the place we’re improper, and it impacts the way you select to work on the following recreation. But general, it is a actually unimaginable change in how online game creation works as a result of earlier than, you made a factor that you simply threw over a fence and also you hoped folks favored it, not like a film, the place you would go right into a movie show and sit amongst folks watching it and see in the event that they laughed or did not snicker. It is new now. We get to see how folks actually take pleasure in it or how they react.With that in thoughts, has the method of developing with or making a sequel modified in any respect? Because I think about so quickly after you go, “Oh, we’ve done Tsushima, let’s go to the next one now,” you presumably have to sit down there and begin poking holes within the recreation that you simply simply made and love to determine the place you may go subsequent. Is that made any simpler by having the ability to flip on a YouTube channel and have folks simply break down all the things that they do not like? Or what’s that course of like for you each?Fox: [Laugs] Sorry. I began laughing since you’re like, “Oh, you have to go through the process of pointing out the things you don’t like” however at Sucker Punch, we’re relentlessly essential of our work.Connell: Every week.Fox: That is our love language. We simply do criticism in a constructive method. We positively are exhausting on ourselves, but it surely’s as a result of we wish [our games] to be actually nice and we’ve a number of ardour to manifest this factor. So, once we get executed with Ghost of Tsushima, we sort of know, “Oh, here are the parts we think are lovely. Here are the parts that we don’t like as much. How can we invest more in the parts that seem very alive?” But it is such a protracted course of of creating the sport. Of course, you are on-line articles, photograph mode posts, or YouTube, and it modifications a number of the ways in which you think about the sport as a result of you may see [those things].Connell: For certain. I do know that, for Nate and me, all these issues are true. And then earlier than we even actually began on the following factor, we kind of [said], “Here are the core pillars.” Because once we’re making Ghosts of Tsushima, it is simply popping out of us and we’re altering stuff each day. Now it is like, “Oh, we have this whole thing we built, now we want to turn it into a franchise, so what are the things you have to carry forward?” So, we created an entire pillar sheet: deadly precision and fight; samurai cinema film-inspired, gorgeous artwork path and exquisite depiction of the world; not simply photorealism however a mode that sort of matches; surrounding ourselves with advisers. Whatever these pillars have been, and there is a entire host of them, we’re like, “Okay, these can’t change. We have to do all of these. Now where’s our sandbox? Where are we going to play? What do we want to push on?” And that was a sort of enjoyable experiment.How do you strike a steadiness between making progress in design and concepts with out compromising these pillars, understanding that lots of people would possibly come to it on the lookout for one thing drastically completely different? Connell: This sounds silly, but it surely truly actually helps and it actually works: we truly use this time period, “Fresh but familiar.” There’s variations of this recreation which may have been hyper acquainted and there is clearly variations of the sport that might be hyper contemporary and also you lose the identification of Ghost. But once more, a part of that’s, what are you going to hold over? And for instance, the artwork fashion, we may have taken a route the place we’re like, “Let’s go for photorealism on the next one.” But the artwork fashion is a part of the identification to Ghost, so why would we transfer away from that? In my opinion, and I feel our group’s opinion, it’s a longer-lasting, impressionable feeling to have a mode that resonates with folks, that resonates with the sport.Now, some folks may be like, “Oh, it kind of looks like the last one.” I’m like, “Yeah, we love the art style of the last one. I think it’s integral.” And so what we mentioned is, “Okay, now how do we expand upon that?” We have method longer sight traces. There’s higher visible rendering high quality in every single place. Performance is healthier. There are all types of issues that we enhance and we may discuss that without end.But the purpose is, that’s acquainted, however including a bit of little bit of freshness on it. And some issues [are] purely contemporary, like our reminiscence mechanic [where you can relive Atsu’s younger days] that we’ve that is inside the house. So, that is purely a story instrument that you are able to do at any cut-off date. That is completely only a utterly contemporary factor. There’s nothing like that in any of our earlier video games. And to have the ability to simply bop forwards and backwards instantaneously; completely new. Or certain, there is a relationship with animals in our video games, like foxes and birds within the final one, and the sense of nature, wind, no matter. And this one, you’ve gotten a wolf. The wolf is a a lot deeper expertise than something we have ever executed earlier than. So, it is a good combine. It’s the familiarity a part of it, as a result of wolf, animals, and many others., however [it’s going] method deeper that makes it a bit extra contemporary.For us, Yotei is clearly a possibility to face on the acquainted as a result of we’ve a number of followers that love that, however actually suppose exhausting in regards to the core points of the sport we needed to convey the freshness to. Exploration is a giant one. Combat. I’m certain Nate will need to discuss fight. Those two are most likely the largest areas the place we spent a while on.Fox: I do need to discuss fight. I feel it is an incredible instance of that contemporary however acquainted technique that Jason was speaking about. In Tsushima, we had this sense of deadly precision that was born of basic samurai motion pictures, and we beloved it. So, we needed to not change [that], however after all, we need to convey one thing contemporary. An amazing instance of that is, in Tsushima, we had 4 stances you would use, and for Yotei, we elevated that. Now, you’ve gotten 5 stances, however they don’t seem to be simply stances in the way you maintain your weapon. We mentioned, “Okay, we’re going to change those to actually be different melee weapons,” despite the fact that, as a system, it is the identical factor. It’s only a radical visualization distinction.Oh, however wait, it is not, as a result of when you change over to, say, a kusarigama, which is the best weapon in opposition to an enemy holding a defend, it additionally has advantages due to the character of what the weapon is. In that case, when you get surrounded by a bunch of enemies, you may swing the weighted chain above your head and do an space impact assault to hit a number of enemies without delay. Or when you’re holding the spear and also you’re combating close to a cliff, you should utilize it to knock an enemy backward off the cliff to kill them. So it is a much wider utility of instruments than we had in Tsushima, however the basis is identical fashion of deadly precision that was in that recreation. We needed to present gamers extra freedom, extra choices, however not depart or stroll away from the core feeling that was established in that earlier recreation.You talked about beforehand the identification of Ghost. For me, one of many key elements within the identification was the character Jin, and the mythology that you simply constructed round him–the samurai code being corrupted and turning into one thing new. Is {that a} main component of Yotei and its identification? Because it looks like Atsu is a bit more fashioned in her identification and is slowly turning into extra lethal over time. Is there that very same sense of mythology constructing round Atsu and the Onryo?Fox: So Ghost of Tsushima, as you level out, was completely a couple of samurai who sacrifices his codes to develop into a stealth fighter, and that was his arc. Ghost of Yotei is a religious sequel. It’s not the identical story in any respect.Atsu begins the sport, she’s a sellsword. She does not stay by some code of the samurai. She’ll do no matter it takes to win. And she is so relentless in her hunt for the Yotei Six, and she or he overcomes a number of odds that ought to kill [most] folks, so the oldsters round Ezo begin to consider that she is a people story sort of monster, an Onryo, a vengeance ghost. Early within the recreation, folks consider that about her. She has that identification due to her relentlessness.And despite the fact that she has that high quality that individuals consider her as bigger than life, her transformation within the recreation is not essentially, how does she develop into increasingly the Onryo? It’s a query of how her identification as Onryo modifications her. We get to see her remodel from a damaged lone wolf warrior who does not actually care if she lives or dies to [someone that grows] to encompass herself with a wolf pack that helps deal with her, and she alters in that journey. It’s a novel story. It’s a unique tackle a unique aspect of what it’s to be a ghost in feudal Japan, and we’re blissful that individuals quickly get to expertise it.It seems like a type of “what does Batman do to Bruce Wayne, as opposed to how does Bruce Wayne become Batman” tales. One of the issues that actually caught out to me was the reliving reminiscences stuff that you simply mentioned. It appears like a sort of John Wick “You killed my dog” impact, the place it is such as you want one thing to humanize the principle character in a recreation the place the first purpose is to inflict brutal violence. What was the method for that mechanic and the thought behind that, and what are the restrictions of it? Is it that you are able to do it anyplace, or simply particular areas?Connell: Yeah, there are particular areas within the recreation that Atsu will go to which can be very wealthy with reminiscences for her, and we needed to let folks expertise these reminiscences via an interactive method the place you may hit a button, return and really play as younger Atsu to essentially expertise her life. But that freedom is basically essential to us as a result of as players, as you understand, whenever you’re in management, you actually really feel such as you’re that character. You establish with them. Being capable of commute from reminiscences to the current allows you to do a before-and-after shot [showing] the heat of her youth, juxtaposed with the chilly loneliness of her grownup life. And since you’re in management, I feel you’re feeling it extra.Just as you say, we needed to ascertain that feeling of what it was once in order that you would perceive Atsu’s loss, and I feel all people has had this expertise the place you perhaps go house to your mother and father’ home and also you see the bed room that you simply grew up in and whether or not you prefer it or not, you keep in mind who you have been at the moment. These reminiscences come again and it is a very human expertise. And to make it interactive simply helps drive house the universality of it.One of the opposite issues that you simply actually emphasize is the liberty and the concept that Ghost is rarely going to hurry you to do something earlier than you need to do it. How do you method that freedom when it may disrupt the pacing, in case your character is all of the sudden operating round doing one thing else for 25 hours whenever you’ve bought this goal that could be very well timed? And, secondly, how do you account for FOMO? I’m a type of individuals who is continually like, “What else am I missing?” It’s that two-pathway gamer factor the place we’re like, “I’m going to go halfway down this one and halfway down this one and see what’s up.”Connell: We may be tapping into some anxiousness for you.Absolutely. Massively.Connell: [Laughs] We actually need to reward completely different play kinds. If there are individuals who simply need to rabbit run the golden path–we do not suppose that is one of the best ways to play the sport, but it surely’s a superb story if you wish to do that–go forward, you are able to do that, and we do not need to obscure that from folks. We do not need to make it exhausting for individuals who purchase our recreation and that is what they need to do as a result of they’re invested in your story they usually prefer it. We do not need to power them to exit to do a bunch of stuff they do not love to do within the open world and say, “You got to do these six things before you can go do their golden path.” That does not look like an incredible expertise.But on the identical time, we additionally do not need to shove that in your face and put all of the development there and all of the cool stuff which you can get on the golden path. We need to have fun the people who wish to play large, and there is a number of them. People wish to play the sport for 70, 80, 90 hours and use photograph mode at each nook of the map, uncover the wonder, and discover the little issues, the medium issues, the large issues. That’s why we create issues like weapon sensei. To get weapons within the recreation, you need to search out the weapon sensei, you have to discover them on the planet, construct relationships with them, after which interact with them in sub-missions, and you will get to get these new weapons they usually’ll practice you the right way to use these cool new issues.That’s one of many the explanation why we put that stuff on the aspect path and out within the open world–such an enormous a part of the play expertise. If you need to spend all of your time within the open world, it’s best to be capable to try this. We’re not going to power you to go over right here and do that factor. It’s actually a easy philosophy that does manifest into some precise recreation mechanics in the best way that we current the sport. But actually and actually, it is simply making an attempt to precise to folks which you can play it the best way you need to play it. The finest method to play it’s, pull out the spyglass and discover round. We actually do consider that, however on the identical time, when you actually are focused on that golden path story, we’ll make it straightforward so that you can interact in it as a result of there may be a number of emotion and a number of coronary heart and a number of construction that does come from that. We do not need to obscure that from folks. We’re making an attempt to have fun each.It’s a type of issues that I do know is hard to design for. I’m a type of individuals who loves the liberty, however I additionally need the sport to be gravitating round me to inform me the place to go a bit of. I feel I’m simply an annoying particular person on the subject of open-world gaming.Connell: But I feel [the] clue playing cards are that, a bit of bit. We removed this exhaustive journal that is simply pages and pages and texts and texts and simply what you have executed, what you are able to do, what you are doing proper now. It’s exhaustive when folks spend far more time on the map, visible, and pictorial references.Getting these clues, you would possibly get a bit of little bit of a clue as a result of you have not gotten a weapon shortly or one thing like that. We would possibly provide you with a bit of little bit of a clue the place a weapon may be and perhaps we inform you the place it’s for this one and perhaps we provide you with a normal location. If weapons are your factor, cool, go do it. Or perhaps we’ll inform you about armor over right here. If armor is your factor and that is what you need, nice. We attempt to provide you with a few of these alternatives so you are not utterly aimless, and you may by no means be aimless when you’re on the golden path, however we attempt to feed you adequate cool issues to whet your urge for food for what you presumably may do within the recreation.One of the issues that caught my eye was the phase the place you have been shopping for a map from a cartographer and it appeared such as you have been putting the map piece. Can you inform me extra about that?Connell: We suppose maps are cool and we truly spent a number of time determining methods we’d be capable to work together with the map a bit of bit extra when any individual sells you a map or when you uncover one. In this time interval, cartographers have been mapping out these areas, so it is a good connection level there. But you should buy these maps that may take you to quite a lot of issues that you will find out about and you may need to get a few of them, so there’s a bit of mini-game the place you need to determine, primarily based off the map that he offers you, the place it goes, and when you determine the place it goes, it rewards you. It’s a bit of little bit of a mini-game within the map expertise.I’m an individual who performs primarily in stealth and whenever you have been presenting Atsu she very a lot appears to be partaking head-on in fight. Will stealth gamers nonetheless be capable to scratch their itch?Connell: You can completely sneak up on enemies and assassinate them once they’re unaware. I feel it is a actually essential a part of the fantasy. Atsu isn’t burdened down with the sense of the way you’re speculated to honorably assault enemies. She’ll do no matter it takes. We confirmed within the State of Play how you should utilize a kusarigama. There are extra instruments and completely different behaviors we have developed for Yotei to make {that a} richer expertise, however I wish to suppose that the stealth, despite the fact that you may simply interact vis-a-vis stealth if you would like with most enemies, it is a couple of dance between stealth utilizing ranged assaults and melee fight. The participant isn’t locked into any certainly one of these items. You can transfer between them whenever you’re up in opposition to a gaggle of enemies, and it simply presents a number of freedom of play fashion to customers.I’m a ranged participant, the uncommon weirdo who likes to shoot at issues with a bow, and the sport works for ranged assault people. Again, I used to be speaking about earlier, the place providing the participant a number of choices implies that they get to play and method the sport in the best way that most accurately fits them. It’s extra than simply fight or stealth. It’s additionally whether or not or not you wish to go after the principle story or do a number of exploration. That is a giant part of how we need to make the sport be what it’s to you, in order that it meets you the place and the way you need to play.Working with two consoles now, PS5 and PS5 Pro, is there something distinguishing between them? Are there any benefits to 1 over the opposite? What was it wish to work with that additional horsepower?Connell: The broader reply to your query is that we’ll truly do a bit extra of a deeper dive on all of the specifics of the Pro options and have all these particulars prepared. Unfortunately, we do not have these right here at the moment.I’ll say I can converse much less particularly about that and extra normal about PlayStation and making the sport. There are an entire host of issues that, and a few of it on the Pro too, that has actually helped us visualize the world in a brand new method, and advance that inventive, stunning fashion in an acceptable method that also celebrates that. It does not simply go into photorealism, but it surely actually props up our artistic and inventive targets.For instance, method longer sightlines than we had within the final recreation. We’ve been capable of vastly enhance our far terrain rendering and I feel people who see Tsushima and examine will probably be like, “Whoa,” as a result of it is loopy. I used to be a bit shocked when these options got here in. Or issues like native 4K rendering or improved hair and pores and skin. Snow deformation–we did not have that within the final recreation. If you’ve gotten a battle within the snow, your weapons make slices within the snow, your toes trample in every single place. The characters get all snowy, there’s blood going in every single place. It’s a messy, cool expertise due to the deformation. We even prolonged the deformation into issues like chunky mud, so when you’re in actually thick and deep mud. These are simply issues we did not have earlier than and that we do have on this recreation. We’re actually enthusiastic about that, however particularly for the Pro and the distinction between the bottom and the Pro, we’ll have a pleasant breakdown sooner or later relating to that.What was it like getting Shinichiro Watanabe for the sport? It should’ve been a wild journey to get him concerned.Connell: Each certainly one of [the directors] have their very own distinctive journey to attempt to convey ahead the thought with them, and every one has their very own method to method it. Shinichiro Watanabe was additionally doing Lazarus on the time, and I feel they have been simply launching it. It was in its first episode. It was a very thrilling time, and I watched it and I used to be like, “Oh, man, I love this. This is good.” It actually simply jogged my memory how a lot I beloved Samurai Champloo, Cowboy Bebop.See, these Samurai video video games, it does not matter what they’re. People do playthroughs of them they usually throw lo-fi beats excessive of it, only for their stream or no matter. I’m like, “Man, we should do a mode where we celebrate that genesis point, really.” Even although it is anime, it is not classical Samurai cinema, however there’s an enormous overlap with our followers like your self or anybody, myself, that actually is drawn to that and acknowledges that. I used to be like, “We should celebrate that.”We reached out, had a gathering with them. They have been tremendous psyched on the thought, actually excited.Really, virtually instantly [Watanabe-san] went into like, “Oh, I’m going to get these artists. I think these people might be really great fits.” And inside a really quick period of time, we have been already getting music. We have a number of authentic tracks he is created. We’ve bought some remixes of our precise rating. It was a very constructive and really thrilling journey for us, and actually, actually, actually honored that he was keen to and was enthusiastic about it. Our followers get to listen to that when it comes out.
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