Why a New Setting and Protagonist Are an Excellent Choice for Ghost of Yōtei

Instantly upon its launch back in 2020, Ghost of Tsushima became a fan favourite. Its gorgeous open world setting, its Kurosawa-esque cinematic sensibilities, its slick and scintillating combat, its incredible visual aesthetic all came together in what was widely considered to be developer Sucker Punch’s best game ever- which, considering the Sly Cooper and inFamous studio’s track record, was high praise, to put it mildly.

Naturally, then, anticipation for a sequel to the open world samurai epic has been high, and in September, Sony and Sucker Punch finally officially unveiled a follow up in the form of Ghost of Yōtei. In the lead up to its reveal, many had wondered what kind of a sequel to Ghost of Tsushima we were going to be in for- one that would see us stepping into the shoes of Jin Sakai once again and continuing his story from where it left off at the end of the first game? Or one that would start fresh with a new protagonist in a new setting? And upon its reveal, Ghost of Yōtei made it clear that Sucker Punch is going with the latter option.

NOTE: There are spoilers ahead for Ghost of Tsushima.

Some have had reservations about that creative decision, and bad faith arguments aside, you can understand why some would have preferred a direct Tsushima sequel- a Twoshima, if you will. The first game told a great story, and protagonist Jin Sakai clearly has his fair share of fans, so it’s understandable that there are some out there who’re disappointed that we’re not going to get another game with him, especially given how Tsushima ends.

But then again, from a storytelling perspective, others would argue that a direct sequel was very much not needed. No matter which of the two endings you pick in Ghost of Tsushima, there’s no arguing that its story is done. Jin’s arc is complete, and the game doesn’t leave a single narrative thread unresolved by the time the credits have rolled. Is the door left open for a direct sequel? Possibly- sure, you could maybe see a game where, say, Jin heads to mainland Japan and has to deal with being declared a wanted man by the shogun. Or maybe one set several years after the first one, with Jim back in the fray to deal with the second Mongol invasion. But though there was room for a direct sequel, Ghost of Tsushima itself wasn’t really begging for a follow up in any way, and Jin’s arc was wrapped up regardless of which of the two endings you get. Oh, and another bonus for Sucker Punch with an indirect follow up? They don’t have to figure out which of the two endings is canon. Now they can both technically continue be canon, just as the devs probably always intended it.

Not being a direct sequel is probably also going to help Ghost of Yōtei feel much more fresh than you’d ordinarily expect from new instalments in iterative franchises- which is an issue that some would argue first-party PlayStation franchises seem to keep running into. The likes of God of War Ragnarok, Horizon Forbidden West, and Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 are all undeniably excellent games, but they do get criticized by some for not being new and exciting enough, for sticking too closely to how their predecessors did things.

Obviously, it would be foolish to expect Ghost of Yōtei to be a wildly different game from Ghost of Tsushima– but it is very much the sort of sequel that can be the best of both worlds. From a gameplay and design perspective, it goes without saying that it will be largely building upon the first game’s foundations. We can, of course, likely expect improved mechanics and gameplay additions, some of which Sucker Punch has already confirmed, like new weapons, and even firearms, thanks to the game being set three centuries after the first one, in 1603. Hopefully, we can also expect similar improvements being made to stealth, traversal, and what have you.

Largely, however, from a gameplay perspective, Ghost of Yōtei will be building on familiar foundations, with similar parry-based combat mechanics, an emphasis on stealth and nimble movement, a large and diegetic open world to explore, and a historically-inspired setting to immerse yourself in. At the same time, however, from a narrative perspective, Sucker Punch basically has free reign to once again do whatever it wants. Rather than being shackled by the story already told in Ghost of Tsushima, starting from scratch with an entirely new protagonist will allow Ghost of Yōtei to have the freshness and storytelling freedom that you don’t usually see with sequels.

And yes, anthology style franchises are obviously not some big new revelation. But by that same token, their clear benefits have also been known for a while. For instance, just look at something like, say, The Legend of Zelda, or hell, even Assassin’s Creed, which is a franchise that Ghost has been compared to for pretty much as long as people have been aware of its existence. With both of those franchises, though we’ve surely had a handful of direct sequels, they’ve largely not been shy in terms of wiping the slate clean, and by and large, things have worked out great. The developers get to build on an established gameplay foundation, while also having the opportunity to do whatever the hell they want from a storytelling perspective. Ghost can just be a series that Sucker Punch uses to tell a bunch of different stories set in different time periods across Japanese history, with similar motifs and themes, but new protagonists and settings in each instalment.

Atsu is also looking like an intriguing new protagonist. We know little about her so far, but we do know that she’s a shinobi and seemingly a wanted woman- and, of course, we know that she’s going to be at the center of what Sucker Punch is describing as an “underdog vengeance story”. The game’s announcement trailer also seemed to suggest that she has an affinity with wolves (or at least a wolf), which could be interesting from both gameplay and story perspectives. Whether she turns out to be a sufficiently strong protagonist remains to be seen, but based on what we’ve seen, we’re optimistic.

Above all else though, you have to argue that Sucker Punch has earned a bucketload of trust. Ghost of Tsushima was a great game. It had some dents in the armour, yes, but it was a fresh and stunning experience that stands out in memory and has gathered a massive fan following. Clearly, the studio is capable of making incredible games, and with its next project being a Tsushima follow up, we can’t help but be excited. Is it maybe a little sad that we’re not going to see Jin Sakai again, at least for the time being? Sure- but by and large, there’s every reason to be excited about the prospect of a game that promises to build on the gameplay foundations of Ghost of Tsushima while telling its own story in a gorgeous new open world setting. You can absolutely sign us up for that.

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.