Who Cares If Yotei’s Map Is Similar to Tsushima’s? It’s What’s Inside That Counts
The recent gameplay deep dive for Ghost of Yotei, which is now a little more than two months away from its highly anticipated launch, got us thinking about how Sucker Punch has been clever to expand its sequel to Ghost of Tsushima in scope, but not size.
Reports about the new game’s map being roughly the same size as the original game point to an approach that many other PlayStation exclusives could have taken for their sequels, making them better instead of just larger. Sucker Punch’s decision to fill the lands of Ezu with more to do in a limited space could make Ghost of Yotei a sequel like no other.
But why is it a clever decision? That’s because of the studio’s approach to making the world it has built for us to explore as much of a main character in the new game as its new protagonist. The gameplay deep dive from Sucker Punch brought many interesting facets of its world building to the forefront of its examination of how it built on its phenomenally successful 2020 release, and there’s a lot to justify its decision to keep the size of its new world more or less the same.
The World Tells A Story
Ghost of Tsushima put the titular island in the spotlight of its narrative, making Jin Sakai’s fight against the Mongols a reflection of his love for the land that he called home. It was a smart way to make his story deeply personal with the added advantage of reflecting the inner conflict between his upbringing and journey to becoming the Ghost.
Sucker Punch cleverly interspersed beautiful meadows, fields, and villages with areas that were ravaged by the war, painting the Mongols as an ever-present antagonist that showcased the overwhelming odds Jin would face off against and the need for him to become something more than just a samurai. The world it had created justified its narrative in many ways, and by retaining a similar size for Ghost of Yotei, the studio can recreate the integration it so deftly handled the first time around.
For instance, allowing players to look at flashbacks of Atsu’s past life with a simple button press actually addresses one of the few complaints we had with Jin’s story. His own flashbacks often came up during crucial moments in the present, suspending the tension for a trek through his memories that was quite jarring. By giving its players control over when they would like to take a trip down memory lane, Sucker Punch has ensured that its new map puts its players in the driver’s seat.
It also makes narrative sense for the new game to feature a similarly sized map, considering that Atsu doesn’t face an invading army in her tale of revenge, although there are plenty of enemies standing between her and the Yotei Six. As far as the story in its sequel goes, a bigger map, was unnecessary and Sucker Punch has certainly made a good call not to expand on its size.
Sucker Punch keeps Atsu’s feet firmly on the ground even as it makes her even more of a deadly killing machine that Jin. And for the story it is trying to tell, that’s a good thing.
So Much to Do, So Much to See
As far as gameplay is concerned, a map that’s similarly sized to Tsushima once again makes sense for Ghost of Yotei. Sucker Punch’s emphasis on organic discovery of all the content it has brought to the table. Despite its many strengths, Ghost of Tsushima’s side content was among its weak points with repetitive activities of which only some offered rewards that were beneficial to its gameplay loop.
Its side missions were also a sore point, largely devolving into fetch and carry quests that saw Jin go from point A to point B with a few platoons of Mongols to take down. While there were notable exceptions like the Mythic Tales, it was a design flaw that several open world titles at the time fell prey to. However, with current-gen systems raising the bar for the quality of games on offer, it’s high time that changed.
Atsu’s adventure does not run the risk of such needless bloat. Ghost of Yotei’s gameplay loop is primed to be an argument in favor of a more ambitious approach to its world, and having a map that’s full of substantial activity is certainly better than a larger one with that content merely spread out to pad out an already significant playtime.
Indeed, retaining the same map size could allow Sucker Punch to present a world that seems larger than it actually is considering how Atsu must painstakingly assemble clues about the people she hunts by actively engaging with the world around her. It’s an approach that can make her the ultimate predator in a world where her prey is quite good at remaining unseen.
A larger map runs the risk of ruining the engagement that Sucker Punch’s new approach to world building aims to establish. It wouldn’t make sense for Atsu to spend more time in her saddle than she does hunting her targets in a tale that’s focused on presenting a lone wolf hunting what feels like the entire jungle.
It could also help with the main narrative’s pacing and solve a glaring issue that Ghost of Tsushima’s third act brought to the fore. The northernmost part of Tsushima felt empty and barren, with only a handful of activities to dust off before taking on Khotun Khan and the remnants of his dismantled army.
Although Tsushima was by no means small, it could have had so much more variety to its side activities. Sucker Punch’s ambitions for its sequel are better served with a map that does not place size over scope on almost all fronts, allowing for a more focused gameplay loop that sustains the freedom to explore that its players would expect from its open world.
The Quality of a Life
Another reason in favor of Sucker Punch’s decision to not go for a bigger map in Ghost of Yotei is the manner in which it has implemented quality of life changes that make sense for its players. For starters, the ability to make camp while you’re out in the world means, with important NPCs finding you instead of having to hunt them down.
It’s an important change that once again justifies the decision to avoid a larger map in Ghost of Yotei as it simply removes the necessity for it. That’s exacerbated by a more streamlined approach to quests involving NPCs as the new menu that Sucker Punch presented makes managing their different objectives quite easy and is sure to work well with the fast travel system from Ghost of Tsushima that we believe is sure to make a return in the new game.
Moreover, the addition of flower streams that add a boost to your speed while you ride through them is another meaningful tweak that can work in Sucker Punch’s favor. The added speed would have meant nothing if the distance Atsu had to cover was also quite large. However, foregoing the added size ensures that the new addition makes sense from a traversal standpoint, emphasising Sucker Punch’s determination to bring quality over quantity to its new title.
Retaining the same map size is also an opportunity for the studio to integrate more verticality into its world and potentially improve on the climbing mechanics it established in the first game. While they certainly got the job done, it’s unlikely that players would have anything negative to say about more climbing points as they try and hunt down new abilities, or particularly elusive targets who may think that the high ground makes them safe from Atsu’s steel.
Bigger Does Not Translate to Better
All things considered, we believe that Sucker Punch has deftly set itself up for success by going with a map that’s as big as the one it first established for its wildly successful franchise. Doing so ensures that the open world it brings to its players never outstays its inevitable welcome, allowing the studio to craft an experience that puts its players first.
A bigger map would do nothing to elevate the ambitious changes that the studio is bringing to its narrative, gameplay, and exploration mechanics. It would only serve to limit all meaningful things to do while you’re out exploring the region in Ghost of Yotei, taking away from the experience by making players traverse larger distances for the same reward.
In short, a map similar in size to Tsushima is not a disadvantage. It’s an opportunity for Ghost of Yotei to outshine its predecessor on almost every front. And we believe that Sucker Punch saw that right off the bat when it sat down at its drawing board for its upcoming title.
Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.
