Ghost of Tsushima wants to be both narrative-driven and discovery-driven, separating both of those design features into different parts of the game. It is true that Ghost of Tsushima has similarities to Assassin’s Creed as a result, but that could be said about almost any open-world game on the market. If a potential Ghost of Tsushima sequel wants to break that mold for itself, it needs to lean more on what makes the first game impressive.
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Ghost of Tsushima’s Formulaic Quests Do Nothing for Its Narrative
Ghost of Tsushima’s tale quests are bogged down by having to follow NPCs to a desired destination, tracking footprints and other interactables in the mud, and surveying different areas. These patterned quest designs would be fine if used sparingly, but they saturate the entirety of each quest.
This may not be as discernible to players if they are mixing main quests with supplementary tales and side activities that they come across in the open world, but it is easily noticeable if players make their way through the golden path exclusively. The main narrative is spread thin between three acts that are largely anticlimactic, with Lord Shimura’s cinematic rescue that occurs early on followed by a slow second act. The story’s pacing is not entirely disruptive, but it is marred by how each quest is formulated, boiling down to the same tedious patterns. The ideal experience encourages players to progress through the main quest and indulge in open-world discovery, but each quest’s mission structure is alarming in comparison.
This is similar to how Monolith’s Middle-earth franchise is designed, where there are quest structures that are linear, restrictive, and dissociated from the open world that players can explore. If Ghost of Tsushima receives a sequel, it would be great to see the leash loosened for its quest design in order to reflect the freedom of its open-world design.
Ghost of Tsushima 2 Should Be Completely Discovery-Driven
Ghost of Tsushima’s quest repetition may not be as irksome if the game’s open world was not so starkly freeing. There is another side of the game that allows players to ride around wherever they would like depending on which act they are on. Ghost of Tsushima’s navigational wind guidance system is fantastic because it lends to the authenticity of discovering events naturally.
Therefore, players can feel as though they have come across a natural occurrence on the island instead of having been led there by an interpolative waypoint prompt. Taking from Skyrim’s own discovery-driven design, it would be wonderful to see a Ghost of Tsushima sequel lean on the original’s most rewarding features.
Skyrim does have a fundamental compass system of its own, but its main quest is often put on the back burner or dismissed as players would rather indulge in side quests and discoveries across the open continent. Speaking to seemingly random NPCs will almost always incite a new quest, and there are landmarks and other interactions seen on the navigational compass wherever players travel to.
There is currently no concrete confirmation on whether Ghost of Tsushima will receive a sequel. But if it does, that sequel could embellish what made Ghost of Tsushima special and earn more comparisons to Skyrim than Assassin’s Creed.
Ghost of Tsushima is available on PS4 and PS5.
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