While playingGhost of Tsushima, it’s easy to get swept up in the beauty of it all.The island of Tsushima itself is absolutely gorgeous, the exploration it is incredibly fun, and even the story is full of compelling characters and moments. Despite all of that, it’s hard to walk away from the game and not have an immense appreciation for its combat system. From the very start, players will notice how crisp and clean the fights in the game are, and this only becomes more apparent as players tackle some of the more challenging duels. As it happens, great work like this doesn’t happen overnight, and it took the developers six years to perfect this combat system.
For those that aren’t aware,Ghost of Tsushimais developed by Sucker Punch, the same studio responsible for classic titles like theSly Cooperfranchise and theInfamousgames. Its latest endeavor has proven to be one of its most well-received yet, withGhost of Tsushimawinning the Player’s Voice Game of the Year award at the Game Awards in 2020.
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At the recent GDC showcase, Sucker Punch’s co-founder, Brian Fleming, hosted a virtual Ask Me Anything event in regards toGhost of Tsushima. During this event, he was asked what the most difficult feature to add toGhost of Tsushimawas, and without giving it a second thought, revealed that the combat was the hardest thing to implement. According to Fleming, the programmers, designers, and animators that weretasked with puzzling outGhost of Tsushima’s combat"worked non-stop for six years" to get it just right.
During this time, Fleming says that these hard-working developers created multiple different builds of combat, each with a unique approach, before deciding on the one players are familiar with. In explaining why so much emphasis was put on the combat, Fleming says that it is one of the few features in the game that has to be able to work in any setting.Combat could break out at any time inGhost of Tsushima, so whether players are fighting on a stormy cliff or a sunny beach, the experience needs to be flawless.
Fleming closes this statement by saying that Sucker Punch is very happy with how the combat inGhost of Tsushimaturned out, but he acknowledges that “it was a long, difficult road.” Everywhere one looks inGhost of Tsushima, this type of care and attentionto detail can easily be seen.
