'Ghost of Tsushima': Release Date, Trailer, Rumors, Reactions, and More

Even with all the leaks and early announcements made prior to the E3 press conferences, there’s always going to be some surprises and a new game from Sucker Punch Productions was one of them.

Ghost of Tsushima made a splash during the Sony E3 Press Conference on Monday night, and it caused a lot of people to keep their mouth agape watching it. Originally announced last October, this was the first time seeing the game in action and there was a lot to dissect.

Exciting Gameplay

To start, Ghost of Tsushima takes place on the island of Tsushima in 1274 during the first Mongol invasion of Japan. This leaves one samurai, Jin Sakai, left to fight for his country.

The E3 footage shows Jin traveling into the Ostuna Grassland. It’s an impressive sight, showing off how big of an open world the game will offer. He enters a forest and comes out the other side to find three enemy soldiers, offering a display of the game’s fighting mechanics. Based on the video, players will be able to parry enemy attacks and unleash what appears to be both weak and strong attacks before finishing off enemies with executions.

Jin then meets up with Masako and the two make their way into a temple to save a monk. At this point, the game goes into stealth mode, with Jin sneaking up on enemies to take them out. To climb the temple, he can use a grapple hook and rope. This is where Jin can also unleash drop down surprise attacks to attack multiple enemies at once using a slow-mo “bullet time” effect.

When Jin leaves the temple, Masako attacks the monk for betraying her family. The action changes into a sword duel with slower, more calculated movements. Certain attacks will slowdown, and there’s a big emphasis on timing parries and blocks just right.

An Authentic Experience

Sucker Punch Production, known best for making the Infamous series, worked to create a faithful game about this period of Japan by working cultural guides and kendo experts.

“We’re going for lethal precision,” said creative director Jason Connell during an interview after the Sony E3 press conference. “There’s not a lot of wasted energy. Having that visceral combat that was our goal.”

The Sony E3 press conference had other surprises, but the biggest was arguably the appearance of the Resident Evil 2 Remake.

Ghost of Tsushima has no release date set and will be a PS4 exclusive.