This story is updated with new info regarding Sucker Punch’s latest.

In a recent interview with VG247, Ghost Of Tsushima creative director Jason Connell elaborated more about the game, and what Sucker Punch wanted to achieve with it. Here’s what he said:

• Almost everything is animated and can move in Ghost Of Tsushima. This includes grass, bushes, leaves, birds, and hair, as well as the clothes on protagonist Jin Sakai and everyone else in the game.
• The player’s health only appears when the katana is unsheathed and will disappear when it is sheathed. Both of these actions are manually done by the player, and sheathing the katana will often result in a special animation like flicking the blood off or wiping it clean.
• The developers had dedicated forestry and biome teams to make the open-world in the game more varied and distinctive. Places can be recognised by their distinct designs like a massive bamboo forest or a giant field covered with red flowers.
• The sun will rise and fall in real-time (and other dynamic weather) in Ghost Of Tsushima.
• The intricate particle effects engine from Infamous: Second Son is back in Ghost Of Tsushima but is now used to power the detailed visual effects in situations like scattering leaves when the player ruffles them, falling leaves, and blood splatter.
• There will be special armour sets that augment specific combat playstyles; either Samurai or Ghost. Some will have perks for stealth, higher defence, exploration, and more.
• Every player will experience the same story in Ghost Of Tsushima, regardless of which playstyle (Samurai or Ghost) that they favour.
• Stealth combat will be less about playing in the shadows and more about relying on ranged weapons, close-ranged sneak attacks, and gadgets.

After years of anticipation, Sucker Punch recently revealed actual gameplay footage for Ghost Of Tsushima. Speaking with YouTuber Julien Chièze (translated via ResetEra) Ghost Of Tsushima creative director Jason Connell has dished out even more juicy details about the upcoming game.

Connell said that the map in Ghost Of Tsushima will be bigger than 2014’s Infamous Second Son and will be the developer’s biggest game yet in terms of content and sheer square footage of traversable landscape.

He also said that the map seen in last week’s Ghost Of Tsushima trailer was “very zoomed in”, and that it was just a “small portion of the starting area”. Conell reassured that although the map is huge, it won’t feel empty as it will be “packed with people, items and stories to explore”.

Other details mentioned by Connell for Ghost Of Tsushima include:

• Ghost Of Tsushima was inspired by The Legend Of Zelda franchise and Shadow Of The Colossus in regards to artistic direction.
• Players can reduce the shine effect on pickable items (like Red Dead Redemption) for more immersion and even pick up items while riding their horse.
• In last week’s gameplay trailer, Ghost Of Tsushima protagonist Jin Sakai can be seen playing a musical instrument of some sort. It will be the only one in the game, but it also plays a role, one which Connell chose not to divulge.
• Players can hunt animals in Ghost Of Tsushima, but there is apparently nothing to be gained by doing so.
• The line of yellow balls above Jin’s health bar is his Resolve Meter. It will increase as Jin hits enemies and can be used for many things, including healing.
• There will be more than two combat stances available in Ghost Of Tsushima.
• The main weapon of the game will be the katana and will remain so throughout the game, but there will also be other weapons and gadgets.
• If Jin wears heavier armour, he will be less agile, which will make infiltration and stealth harder.
• There are several ways to obtain more outfits, which includes via completing the main story, completing side quests, buying them in villages or simply by exploring the world.
• There are a lot of side stories in the game where players can build relationships with different characters to learn more about their stories. However, these will actually be missable.
• The music in Ghost Of Tsushima is composed by Shigeru Umebayashi but Sucker Punch also hired a second composer, Ilan Eshkeri, to work with him.
• Players won’t have to choose between playing as a Samurai (honourable combat) or Ghost (dishonourable stealth) in the game.
• Ghost Of Tsushima won’t feature a Karma system like the Infamous franchise.
• Connell didn’t specify how much time Ghost Of Tsushima will take to complete, but he did say that players can take about “30, 40, 50 or more hours if they do the optional activities”.
• Combat will be grounded and challenging, so several hits from enemies will already kill the player. Fighting too many people at once can cause players to get overwhelmed and die easily.

Ghost Of Tsushima is slated to release exclusively for the PS4 on 17 July 2020. For the Malaysian prices and details for different editions of the game, head on over here.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ur0pQblaZcE&w=560&h=315]