Sucker Punch Productions took many by surprise when it dropped a new trailer for Ghost of Yōtei and announced a release date. As Atsu, players embark on a revenge tour to slay the Yōtei Six, who slaughtered her family and left her for dead.
Interestingly, the overall structure differs from its predecessor, Ghost of Tsushima. Atsu will pursue leads in Ezo and choose which member to slay first, with the region promising more complex locales. Speaking to Variety, creative directors Jason Connell and Nate Fox discussed how the Edo period influenced world design.
“This is the most open game we’ve ever made,” said Fox. “One of the greatest joys is just getting lost. You let your curiosity guide you through the landscape. We view that as this holy moment that we want to uplift players so they can feel very present inside Hokkaido or Ezo, as it was called back when our game takes place. Ezo is a character in and of itself, filled with hidden secrets and an anthology of stories.”
Connell added, “It’s just so wild and nature-filled. There’s an opportunity to tell a slightly more wild and rural version of this story than if it was in a major city. There are so many biomes to bring to life and so many majestic and beautiful locations to take inspiration from. There’s no way we could take it all, so we get to cherry-pick some of the most beautiful locations and bring them alive to our players.”
That “wild” approach is also evident in the gameplay, as players seemingly have a wolf companion to fight alongside them. Though there’s still a lot to unravel, Atsu can also unwind with some non-combat activities returning from Tsushima.
Ghost of Yōtei launches on October 2nd for PS5 and supports PS5 Pro on day one. Pre-orders start on May 2nd. Head here for details on the Digital Deluxe Edition.
