Ghost of Tsushima Receives New Details on Combat, Weapons, and More

We’ve been treated to a flurry of new gameplay details on Sucker Punch’s upcoming Ghost of Tsushima of late, and as its release date approaches, we’re likely going to hear a lot more about the game. Recently, in fact, in an video interview with French journalist Julien Chièze (via ResetEra), creative director Jason Connell dropped some new details about combat, exploration, and more.

Combat is perhaps the aspect of the game that’s been detailed the least by developers so far, but they have been speaking about it relatively more of late. Connell explained that every time players hit an enemy, they will fill up Jin’s Resolve meter (the little yellow balls we saw in the bottom left during the combat section of the recent deep dive), which will be used for healing and various abilities. Meanwhile, standoff duels can be initiated against enemies at any time- including during stealth.

Connell also confirmed that Jin will have access to several different combat stances in the game (of which we saw two in the recent State of Play), and each will be effective against different types of enemies. Jin’s katana and bow will also be the only main weapons throughout the entire game, though players will be able to use several other tools and gadgets during combat as well.

Details on armour have also been revealed. As explained during the recent gameplay deep dive, each armour will be suited to different approaches. Heavy armour, for instance, will be more effective during combat, but it will make you less agile and nimble, and thus put you at a disadvantage during stealth. Players will be able to find different armours and outfits by doing main quests, side quests, exploring the world, or simply purchasing them from NPCs.

Connell also confirmed that Ghost of Tsushima will have various side quests with their own stories that will allow you to build relationships with secondary characters- though players can, of course, ignore these quests completely if they want. He also mentioned other details- such as being able to reduce the shine of crafting items you can pick up in the world, or the game’s art style being inspired by the likes of Zelda and Shadow of the Colossus.

Ghost of Tsushima is out for the PS4 on July 17 and will require 50 GB of free space on your console. Sucker Punch recently also confirmed that it will be about 40-50 hours long with side activities, and that it won’t have a karma system and instead focus on a set narrative.