Open-world games are supposed to offer players a sense of ultimate freedom, letting their creativity run wild without many constraints. Despite developers doing their best to meet these expectations, there are still challenges that prevent the experience from being as varied as players might hope. Sucker Punch, known for its acclaimed creation, Ghost of Tsushima, faced similar criticism. While many loved the game set in feudal Japan, a common complaint in reviews was how repetitive it felt. As Sucker Punch gears up to launch Ghost of Yotei later this year, they aim to cut back on monotonous activities—but they should proceed with caution.
“Don’t fix what isn’t broken” is an adage worth remembering as Sucker Punch works on refreshing its approach for Ghost of Yotei. While it’s easy to criticize Ghost of Tsushima’s rare shortcomings in hindsight, the developer must preserve much of what originally worked for the sequel. However, simply repeating side quests, combat, and exploration from the first game might not sit well with players, so there are a few enhancements Sucker Punch could introduce to enrich its depiction of 17th-century Japan.
In Ghost of Tsushima, the combat was praised for its fluidity and engaging encounters, but the repetitive nature of enemy types could quickly make the game feel tedious. For Ghost of Yotei, Sucker Punch should diversify enemy types beyond the familiar spear, shield, and archer foes from Tsushima, while also cutting back on the frequency of random encounters that occur while navigating the map. These elements, though useful for testing one’s combat skills, became tiresome when simply trying to travel from one destination to another.
Side quests represented another point of critique among players. Although these missions were crucial for exploration, their content often involved rescuing villagers from adversaries, typically leading to cutscenes and dialogues that could not be skipped. Many gamers looking for distinctive stories that deviated from the main narrative were disappointed, fueling claims of repetitiveness against Ghost of Tsushima.
Games often try to break this cycle by offering diverse environments in their side quests, such as the variety seen in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, where players explore mountains, army camps, and even the sea. Ghost of Tsushima struggled with incorporating such diversity, with limited architectural and environmental variety, which is expected in a fully fleshed-out open-world RPG.
Nonetheless, repetition can be a natural part of role-playing games, necessary for character growth and development. The process of gradually becoming stronger, acquiring new gear through traditional means, and engaging in repetitive tasks to gain experience is often seen as a vital part of gameplay. Sucker Punch should be careful not to overreact in their attempt to inject more variety and should remember what made their previous work successful. While adding variety to side quests and environments would likely improve the game, some level of repetition can act as a benchmark for progression, showing players how far they’ve come. In Ghost of Tsushima, the overwhelming presence of Mongols and bandits played this role, and in Ghost of Yotei, it will likely be something else just as compelling.
