Ghost of Tsushima may not be the most groundbreaking of open worlds, but it sure is gorgeous, and with some stylish close-quarters combat Sucker Punch has still brought the traditionally breezy fun.
What’s most interesting, of course, is the influence behind it. Sucker Punch and publisher Sony have leaned heavily on the film references, both in the marketing up to launch and the numerous nods in-game. Speaking before the game’s launch to Sucker Punch’s co-founder and producer Brian Fleming, along with art director and creative director on Ghost of Tsushima Jason Connell, what immediately interested me was how broad those influences were, as well as how deep that influence went. Has the studio tried to do more than just copy the look of mid-century samurai cinema? And how does such a distinctively American studio tackle the culture and history of Japan? The feudal era is one that’s steeped in misconceptions, and Japanese culture as a whole can slip so easily into stereotype when replicated from the outside, I was intrigued to know how they bridged the gap. (Since this interview was conducted, there’s also been a fantastic discussion raised around whether the game has gone too far in the other direction, playing into a more glorified idea of a complex point in time.)
There are lots of little things that hark back to previous games from the Washington-based studio, too, like some remarkably pretty particle effects and, interestingly, an above-average emphasis on getting the most out of the PlayStation 4’s controller, so alongside the questions of cultural influence and sensitivity there was plenty more to talk about, from the studio’s evolving DNA to its (largely still unsaid) plans for the PlayStation 5.
Ghost of Tsushima Review – Ghost of Tsushima PS4 Pro Gameplay Watch on YouTube
How much of some of your previous games like Sly Cooper and inFamous have made it over into Ghost of Tsushima?
Brian Fleming: I mean, obviously, the history of the company has been important in building the path of our corporate journey. And so sure, you know, I think those games and the people who worked on them do carry forward. But I think Ghost was also super transformative for the company because of its scale, the fact that it’s melee based – all these things caused us to uproot a lot of that and rebuild it. But that’s part of the reason we wanted to do new IP: to challenge ourselves to renew a bunch of what we’re doing and to rebuild the company, to make it better, to make it stronger, to make it capable of doing this. The last thing I would say is, I think it’s unequivocal that we could not have built Ghost – especially at our size, we never could have done that – had we not had those previous experiences to build on and ratchet ourselves up.
Do you feel there’s an identity of what makes a Sucker Punch game at this point?
Brian Fleming: Yeah, I think so – and Jason, you should tackle this too. I think for me, the throughline on all those franchises is the feel of the controller in your hand and trying to get that to disappear so that it has this immersive quality – when you’re in combat, it doesn’t feel like you’re pushing buttons. It feels like you’re doing the action. I think that’s something we’ve always viewed as one of the principle pursuits, trying to find a way to get the game to feel right. And I think that that began with Sly and continues into Ghost.