Jin Sakai was the weak link inGhost of Tsushima. In a world of stoic, noble Sony protagonists, he failed to stand out. He had more personality in a few of the side quests that allowed for more storytelling away from the linear plot, but generally felt a little lacking. He wasn’t unsalvageable though, and prior to the reveal ofGhost of Yoteiand its new protagonist, I was looking forward to seeing how the sequel gave him the depth he was lacking. But only a decade or so ago, we could have had both.
Ghost of Yotei is set to release in 2025, which will make for a five year gap between Tsushima and Yotei. Add in Legends and the Director’s Cut, plus the PC port, and that’s a fairly regular rate for games of this ilk. It’s the same gap between the twoHorizongames and the twoSpider-Mangames, and just one year longer than the gap betweenGod of WarandRagnarok. It’s standard stuff.
These Days, A Ghost Of Tsushima Trilogy Would Take Too Long
However, what that means is ifSucker Punchwanted to make a trilogy of Jin games to allow his story to unfold, it would take the crew 15 years and three console generations. If we generously say that a career as a games developer lasts from the age of 20 to the age of 65 (both ambitious extremes), that would meanspending a third of your career on Jin Sakai’s story, assuming you could stick at a single studio for a decade and a halfin these precarious times.
It feels as if Ghost of Tsushima andAssassin’s Creedare never too far apart, so let’s bring in Ezio Auditore. Assassin’s Creed’s strongest character did have the luxury of three games to evolve and tell richer stories, and those three games came out one after the other across three years. I have no doubt that if games were still made at that pace, or even half of it meaning a game every two years, we would have seen more of Jin.
Tsushima’s ending offered enough closurefor Sucker Punch to move on, and I think making it a Japanese anthology series is a more interesting move with greater potential than telling the story of a samurai who has already gone through his darkest hours. But had there been a Jin-based sequel in 2021 or 2022, I would have said ‘pass me the mint’. Because you add mint to gin based cocktails?
Jin Sakai Could Have Been Improved, But A Fresh Start Is Better
In any case, I think both players who felt Jin was a little bland and devs who would be spending every workday until the game shipped obsessing over this project would have been more enthused to give Jin another try if, two or three years later, there was still the chance to move on to a different location, era, and character as we get with Yotei.
In the end, knowing how long games take to make these days, Sucker Punch had to choose one or the other, and opted to start fresh. Maybe Atsu will get a longer saga, or maybe we’ll have a new hero in a new era in 2030 or 2031. Feels depressing when you see that three in the year, doesn’t it? That’s gaming, baby.
We’re already seeing this in otherSonygames.Insomniachas a character as legendary as Peter Parker, and has done a great job with him, but already has an exit strategy lined up. AMiles Moralesspin-off followed by a joint starring role sets Miles up to lead the next game, while another spin-off starring Venom is also on the horizon before the studio heads away from Spidey entirely with Wolverine. God of War is leaving the Norse mythology behind after two entries, and seems to be preparing Atreus for a larger role.The Last of Uskilled off Joel and I don’t think the third game will even include Ellie.
A general sentiment that Jin weighed the first game down slightly may have been a factor in him not even getting the second go around that these other games were offered. It might just have been thatthe 17th century had too strong a pull for the devs, or they didn’t feel they could add much to Jin’s story that his admittedly fairly strong ending hadn’t already said. But I fear chronology is a bigger factor than anything creative - when these games take five times as long to make,the choice to stick or twist is five times as important.
