Ghost of Tsushima 2 Shouldn't Jump The Shark in One Area

Summary

With not a ton of first-party games currently on its future schedule, fans are getting a little antsy about what PlayStation’s got going on behind the scenes. Over the last few years, Sony has acquired a bunch of excellent developers, and they’re all presumably hard at work on their own various projects. However, the vast majority of those projects still haven’t been revealed to the public, and that’s the case forSucker Punch Productions, a studio that fans are convinced is currently hard at work on aGhost of Tsushimasequel.

Finding some decent success upon its initial July 2020 release, even despite being overshadowed byThe Last of Us Part 2’s releasea month prior,Ghost of Tsushimahas gradually become one of PlayStation’s most popular first-party games over the last few years, and it’s only natural that fans would want a sequel. While aGhost of Tsushima 2hasn’t been officially confirmed in any capacity, a sequel would make a lot of sense, though there’s one classic trope trap that Sucker Punch shouldn’t fall into: leaping head first into mythology.

Ghost of Tsushima Tag Page Cover Art

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Ghost of Tsushima 2 Should Maintain Historical Realism

Ghost of Tsushima’s Realistic Setting and Art Style is Key

WhileGhost of Tsushimahas plenty of unique selling points, one of its standout features is its adherence to historical accuracy. Of course, as should be expected of any video game,Ghost of Tsushimatakes its fair share of liberties with the real-world history behind its setting and core narrative, but it’s still a game very much based in reality and centered around actual events, and that’s something that really helps to ground the whole experience. And with a more realistic historical setting,Ghost of Tsushima’s story and characters also end up feeling more grounded and real.

What really cementsGhost of Tsushima’s realism, however, is its art style. Realistic lighting, shadows, and cutting-edge texturing, character and face models are all present inGhost of Tsushima, and they all help to make the game feel realistic. The same can be said forGhost of Tsushima’s animations. While main character Jin Sakai can counter attacks with lightning-quick precision and even slow down time while firing his bow, the realistic animations behind all of his movements keep the combat feeling weighty, deliberate, and grounded.

Ghost of Tsushima’s Abilities Shouldn’t Fall Into the Same Trap as Assassin’s Creed

It might not be the most realistic game in the world, butGhost of Tsushima’s naturalistic aesthetic is one of its defining qualities, and something that should definitely be carried through to its eventual successor. This is also true for any abilities that Jin might receive in a sequel. It’s often the case that an action-adventure sequel will up the ante by introducing some mysterious new powers, usually from some kind of mystical origins. WhileGhost of Tsushima’s Feudal Japan settingnaturally lends itself to a leap like this, it should try to refrain from doing so, and theAssassin’s Creedfranchise is the perfect example as to why.

WhiletheAssassin’s Creedfranchisehas always had supernatural abilities like Eagle Vision, these have usually been justified by some kind of in-universe logic that fans have always been on board for. However, as the series has progressed, its playable characters have ventured a little more into the supernatural territory with their late-game abilities.Assassin’s Creed Miragewas the recent straw that broke the camel’s back in this regard, giving players an Assassin Focus move that let players teleport between a group of enemies for a few instant kills, seemingly with no in-universe logic to support it and thus breaking players' immersion for good. IfGhost of Tsushimawants to include some more mythology in its sequel, then its Legends multiplayer mode is the perfect spot to do so, having already dabbled with it.