Ghost of Yōtei is Sucker Punch’s follow up to the swan song of the Ps4 generation, Ghost of Tsushima. Ghost of Yōtei did have its dedicated state of play teased at the end of June’s PlayStation State of Play. And luckily for us impatiently waiting to see what Sucker Punch has in store, we won’t wait much longer.
Ghost of Yōtei State of Play Announcement
In a tweet from Sucker Punch Productions twitter account. They dropped the big news that the state of play gameplay deep dive will go live on Thursday, July 10th, and will include over 20 minutes of footage from the game.
Here is what the PlayStation blog states will be on display in this State of Play for Ghost of Yōtei.
“Sucker Punch’s creative directors Jason Connell and Nate Fox will be hosting this state of play. Beyond sharing more about Atsu’s quest for vengeance, we are excited to show off her new weapons, new ways to personalize your journey at the edge of Japan, new special modes and much more”
Enhanced Exploration and Immersion
I fully expect them to lift the curtains on this title. Giving us a taste of the immersive world, exploration, and a glimpse into the story and what drives our new Protagonist, Atsu. I foresee the State of Play demonstrating unique elements of gameplay, including combat, world activities, stealth, and mini-games, alongside several modes for players to engage with across this new adventure.
Now, as for what I predict we will see. Let’s start with an exploration of the world. Tsushima was a gorgeous and immersive title, albeit exploration was shallow so an update to the traversal system is something I will keep my eyes out for.
What is clear is that the giant mountain will serve as one of the key world monuments. The promotional material demonstrates the location, and I believe the State of Play will explain why it’s so important. Another aspect I think will be empathized, is how Sucker Punch will evolve the guiding wind mechanic from Ghost of Tsushima.
Drunken Mini-games?
My next prediction is that they will show off their big mini-game in action. This will be a bit more intricate than the short but sweet minigames present in Tsushima. And I hope that it has the depth of something like Gwent from The Witcher 3 or Queen’s Blood from Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. The ESRB labels a Mature rating for Yōtei, and this brief description includes a note that caught my attention.
“Players can purchase and consume sake throughout the game, resulting in screen-blurring effects; players’ character can also participate in a drinking game”.
Maybe this drinking mini-game will be it. Another idea as to what this mini-game may entail is in the collector’s edition trailer. In this brief 1-minute rundown of what is included in the collectors’ edition. There is a few-second clip of a first-person minigame, and the item that corresponds to that mini game is called Zeni Hajiki Coin Game & Pouch.
While trying to uncover information about this, I found a Reddit thread stating further clarification. Reddit user Altcon971 notes that this minigame is inspired by a coin-based skill game called Ohajiki. On the wiki page for this game, it is described as.
“The objective is to flick one’s own pieces into the other player’s pieces. Each player gets one flick per turn. Hitting a piece means the flicker now “owns” that piece. The player who owns the most pieces at the end wins. Other variations of this game include flicking the pieces into designated spots, pushing other players’ pieces out of bounds, dropping pieces on top of another piece, and so forth.”
So we may get drunk while playing a coin-based mini game as Atsu.
The Return of Legends in Ghost of Yōtei
My last prediction, and this is more of a ‘hopes and dreams’ type prediction. I hope they will show off a follow-up to Ghost of Tsushima Legends. This Legends mode was a pleasant surprise back in 2020. Roughly 3 months after the launch of Tsushima, we got treated to a fully featured multiplayer suite of modes that was free for all players who purchased the title.
This mode, in my opinion, is excellent, offering co-op story missions, horde-like wave-based survival missions, 4-player raids, and a more competitive team-based rivals mode. All of this is wrapped up into this supernatural Japanese folktale experience, with the voice actor of Uncle Iroh (from Avatar: The Last Airbender) providing narration. So I hope we get Legends 2 of some sort.
Conclusion
Some minor things I believe will get some screen time are an updated photo mode. And the return of a Kurosawa-like mode. This will continue to give players that old-school samurai cinema feel. We do not have to wait much longer for this direct. And I am excited to see how Sucker Punch evolves past Ghost of Tsushima.
