Last year, Seattle-based developer Sucker Punch Productions celebrated the 20th anniversary of their first game release, Rocket: Robot on Wheels for the Nintendo 64, which has likely become the developer’s only title to release on a non-Sony platform. After signing a deal with Sony in 2000, Sucker Punch went on to produce two prominent PlayStation-exclusive trilogies, starting with the stealth platformers of Sly Cooper on PS2, and followed by the open world super-powered adventures of InFamous that spanned across PS3 and PS4. The largely-positive receptions of the six games has led Sucker Punch to become one of Sony’s predominant first party developers alongside Naughty Dog and Insomniac, but since releasing Infamous: Second Son (and its spinoff First Light ) in 2014, the team has slowed down their release schedule as they work on their most ambitious game to date, Ghost of Tsushima. Originally revealed near the end of 2017, Sucker Punch has returned to the realm of open world journeys but turned the clock back to the 13th century, as one of the last samurai of ancient Japan looks to defend his people against the invading Mongols. With Sony yet to provide any hands-on opportunities with the title despite it being less than three months until release, one would be better suited to look back at Sucker Punch’s history and the strongest elements of their games to potentially determine the key lessons that went into developing Ghost of Tsushima.
While the PS4 has seen its fair share of sequels or reboots of older properties from PlayStation's past ( God of War , Infamous: Second Son, Uncharted 4: A Thief's End ), Sony has also brought about entirely new worlds and characters for us to fall in love with for the first time. In a time where many games that are released annually have started to feel a bit derivative and by-the-numbers, PS4 exclusives like Horizon Zero Dawn , Death Stranding , and Until Dawn have been some of the most captivating and enjoyable games for me on a personal level these past few years just because of how fresh they f
(Image: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EsN6v4aVEAAgPnt.jpg)I'm also just stoked for Ghost of Tsushima though because, hey, I love action games. If you know my gaming tastes whatsoever, you're probably aware that I have become obsessed with the Souls games in recent years. Other standout favorites of mine from recent memory include Judgment , Assassin's Creed Odyssey , and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice . While I'm unsure of how much DNA Ghost of Tsushima will share with games like this, based on the extended gameplay demo we saw in 2018, I got some major Batman: Arkham , Assassin's Creed , and Sekiro vibes. If Ghost of Tsushima's final version is anything close to games like these, I'm all
Story has always played a key role in Sucker Punch’s history, from Sly Cooper’s journey to understand and recover his family’s history, to the various superhuman Conduits’ paths to saving or ruling over their respective cities. But what grounds these plots and makes them relatable comes down to the supporting cast, as Bentley’s gradually increasing confidence, Murray’s happy-go-lucky demeanor and Zeke Dunbar’s outgoing nature all compliment the behaviors of their respective companion, with each of them remaining dedicated to assisting their friends as best as possible in these difficult times. While traditional samurai stories can often rely more on introspection and seclusion, Sucker Punch has already begun teasing some of the key figures that will play a role in Jin’s fight , including the conflicted ally Masako and his concerned uncle Shimura. With many elements of Ghost of Tsushima’s plot yet to be revealed, there’s room for additional characters to come in and both encourage and challenge Jin on his quest, and Sucker Punch’s past with deep and relatable characters is a testament to the potential of this promise being fulfilled when the game launches on June 26 for PS4.
There's also the fact that Ghost of Tsushima quite literally looks like it could be one of the prettiest games ever made. Speaking of that gameplay demo from 2018, I'm hard-pressed to actually believe that what we were shown was running on a PS4 Pro. Seriously, how is that even possible? The level of detail and the high-fidelity visuals that we were shown look like they should only be possible on a PC, or maybe an Xbox One X. If these kinds of graphics are possible on even the weakest „premium“ platform around, then that's pretty incredible. Games like this are why I invested in a 4K TV and a PS4 Pro in the first place and I'm hoping Ghost of Tsushima missions|https://tsushimagame.Com/ of Tsushima's finalized iteration will look just as stunning as what we've been shown thus
Sucker Punch has set the bar very high for themselves with their past success making Sly Cooper and Infamous games. Throughout three generations of PlayStation consoles, the developer has been a mainstay for gamers on the platform. It seems like Ghost of Tsushima is up to the challenge of raising the bar higher than ever before, as Sucker Punch looks to cap off the PlayStation 4 with perhaps it's last AAA exclus