There’s a fair bit of new Ghost of Tsushima news today thanks to two interviews with the game’s developers. Central to the theme is the Ghost of Tsushima samurai or ninja choice that players worry they might have to make, and you’ll be happy to hear that that won’t be a big problem — the worlds of these two styles of fighting are merging together as one.
“When [Jin Sakai is] a Ghost, he can turn around and play as a samurai because he’s always a samurai,” the game’s Creative Director and Art Director Jason Connell said to IGN. “All his training, using the Katana, that stuff is buried in him deep. On the stealth [State of Play segement], if you wanted to jump off the roof and start fighting like a samurai, you could totally do that. We don’t spec you out and suddenly you can’t play as a samurai. He’s always at his core, his heart of hearts, a samurai. The Ghost is this legendary warrior that he’s evolving into.”
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This won’t be without its challenges, though. As we’ve seen in videos like the State of Play trailer and The Game Awards, not everyone is going to be happy that Jin might step away from the path of the Samurai.
Will you choose the Ghost of Tsushima ninja or samurai path?
Regardless of which path you choose, some things will change and others will stay the same. In addition to the IGN interview, French YouTube and game journalist Julien Chièze also spoke to Jason Connell. The game’s subreddit translated portions of the interview which revealed additional details.
Jin will be using a katana as either a ninja or samurai; it doesn’t look like there will be a ninjatō/shinobigatana in the game. That said, there will be a ton of other weapons in the game including a bow and arrow and various other gadgets and tools.
While you won’t be locked into a single style choice, there will be consequences for how you decide to fight in Ghost of Tsushima. One such example is armor; heavier armor will make you less agile and may make the stealthy, higher-speed gameplay of the ninja more difficult. Players will also have the opportunity to try out more combat stances than the ones we’ve seen thus far.
These are far from the only reveals today; be sure to check out of both of the respective interviews for more details. You’ll be able to play Ghost of Tsushima when it launches for the PS4 on July 17, 2020.