Plenty of new Ghost of Tsushima gameplay nuances and details have been explained by Sucker Punch Game Director Nate Fox and Creative Director Jason Connell on the PlayStation Blog. In addition to confirming things people might expect, like there being certain animals to hunt, that armor pieces can be mixed and matched, and the existence of multiple difficulty options, it also confirmed a lot of gameplay elements. For example, the only Ghost of Tsushima playable character is the “ghost” himself, Jin Sakai.
Fox explained the reasoning behind Jin being the only playable character in Ghost of Tsushima in the interview. He noted, “…Jin is the hero of this story. Players are there, each step of the way, guiding Jin as he transforms from the honorable Samurai he was brought up to be, into the Ghost that Tsushima needs him to become.”
The post also explained details about Jin’s potential activities, equipment, and even morality. For example, some aggressive animals will be in the world and would drop materials. He can’t dual wield, but could also use a weapon like a kunai when fighting with his katana. He also will have a bow he could use. (He will also have a flute that he can play too.) Jin will also only have one horse, which players will pick when his story begins. He also won’t have to deal with karma, as Fox confirmed there is one story and the fighting style someone chooses wouldn’t be considered “right” or “wrong.”
As far as how the Ghost of Tsushima difficulty options will work, here’s what Fox had to say about the easy and hard difficulty levels.
The game does feature three levels of difficulty—Easy, Normal, and Hard. On Hard, the game is fair, but very challenging. Mongols are more aggressive, and players must be precise to pull off extraordinary moves. By comparison, Easy is for players who want to explore the island, enjoy the story and still be occasionally tested by a worthy opponent.
No matter which difficulty players choose we never increase the health of enemies; this is to maintain the lethality of the katana. Our combat is all about the player’s skill.
Ghost of Tsushima will come to the PlayStation 4 on July 17, 2020. Japanese and English voice acting will be available.
