One of the four big games during the Sony conference of E3 was Ghost of Tsushima, a game I had begun to forget about, but with the incredible looking gameplay reveal, one that has burrowed its way into my hype machine.
We hadn’t heard of this game since Paris Game Week in 2017, when this teasing trailer was dropped.
At E3 2018 however, Sony decided to treat us to several minutes of real-time gameplay, and a deeper look at what this new IP will be about.
The weather is dreary, the clouds, albeit their exquisite rendering, are grey and dim – harkening to what’s likely a brewing storm.
Whistling for our horse, we vault into the saddle and gallop down into the grasslands, the heads of what looks like a type of corn waving aside under the path of our horse’s hooves. It’s this that catches my attention, the feel, the atmosphere, and the wonderfully lilting tune only has me more enraptured.
It’s at this point, I should probably mention I’m a terrific fan of Japanese history, and have loved games such as Shogun and Nioh before this, so this game is capturing what I want perfectly, what I feel past games could’ve been like.
As we dismount, a group of what could only be Mongols descend upon us, and we engage in brutal combat. The first dies to a drawslash, a trickle of gore displaying our victory, and the others go down after a series of parries and dodges. From what I’ve seen, the combat of Ghost of Tsushima seems similar to Assassins Creed, and the way in which enemies begin to glow when we can achieve a stealth kill enhances this for me.
Now, I’m not a total fan of the combat in Assassins Creed, but this seems much more fluid, less clunky, and as the gameplay went on I ended up much more confident in what we’d be getting. But, I shan’t ruin the whole video, so you can find it below to see what I mean for yourself (along with the antics of obscure Japanese instrument man).
The game itself is set in Feudal Japan, during one of great Mongol invasion attempts. Though, instead of being on the mainland, you’re stranded on an island close by, free to be ravaged by the hordes of Mongols that will inevitably raid. What part our character has to play in this, it’s not yet known, but this looks to be a single-player game you’re not going to want to miss. Especially if you’re as into the setting as I am.
The release date? Who knows. Though, I would expect it not to release this year, more like late 2019 or 2020. Either way, welcome to hype machine Ghost of Tsushima!
What did you think of the latest gameplay of Ghost of Tsushima? Let us know in the comments, or over on Facebook & Twitter!
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