Ghost Of Tsushima Won't Force You To Choose Between A Samurai Or A Ghost

In the recent Ghost of Tsushima State of Play, developer Sucker Punch showed how you'll be able to play as its protagonist Jin in two ways: the Samurai and the Ghost. While the game distinguishes the two as honorable and dishonorable paths, it won't force you to choose one or the other.

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In an interview with IGN, creative director on Ghost of Tsushima, Jason Connell, explained that the team initially thought about putting in a morality system to govern your actions as Jin, akin to the one in the studio's previous Infamous games. But ultimately, the team decided against it, letting Jin's transformation unfold naturally.

"We thought about [a morality meter] because we had the karma system in [Infamous: Second Son], but we realized it was more important to us that we wanted to tell a human story of someone who is this way and has to evolve into something else, versus transform completely into something else," Connell explained. "He doesn't flip flop back and forth, it muddied it up for us. We really wanted the story to reflect his transformation."

This means that you won't have to choose between playing either as the combat-focused Samurai or the stealth-inclined Ghost. Instead, you'll be able to fluidly transition between the two styles at will, and according to how the situation at hand is unfolding.

"There's definitely important story moments that are more reflective of this change than others. But the reality is that even as you have gotten to some story moments, you can still play the game as this Samurai, you may just be more potent or more powerful. We don't make you choose between [samurai and ghost]," Connell concluded.

In a separate interview with IGN Nordic, game director Nate Fox also stressed that Ghost of Tsushima's combat was designed around the influences of classic samurai films. As a result, Jin will die after just a handful of hits, making combat challenging.

"Beating the Mongols in battle will be hard, but it's that challenge that makes it feel alive and the victory rewarding," Fox explained. "You can't just run into a camp and fight 5 people at the same time, you will get overwhelmed and die."

Ghost of Tsushima is scheduled to launch on PS4 on July 17, after being delayed from its original June date. It is Sucker Punch's first game since Infamous: Second Son, which was a PS4 launch title. It's also the largest game the studio has made yet.