Ghost of Tsushima: Yotei's Secret, AC2 Moment?

There are numerous reasons to compare Ghost of Yotei to Assassin's Creed 2. Both are the second entry in a historical action-adventure series, and both introduce new time periods and protagonists. Ghost of Tsushima has already been compared to Assassin's Creed, so much so that Ubisoft's saga finally featuring Japan with Shadows feels too late. But beyond surface similarities, Yotei feels like Assassin's Creed 2 on a deeper, spiritual level.

Assassin's Creed 2 is the best Assassin's Creed game. I don't necessarily mean my favorite (it's close, but falls behind at least Black Flag), and I understand it lacks modern features like ray tracing. But in terms of fulfilling its potential, Assassin's Creed 2 is the only game in the series to have perfectly executed every aspect of its ambition and vision.

Assassin's Creed was a good game. It introduced a compelling feature in the Animus, offered an evolution for stealth and sandbox gameplay, and had the kind of traversal you could build an empire around. It was also slow, with maps that often felt cramped and repetitive despite being impressive for their time, and featured a fairly flat protagonist who embodied dull virtues but lacked personality.

I enjoyed Ghost of Tsushima, but its instant elevation to a Sony masterpiece has always puzzled me given its rough edges. The samurai fights, framed as mano a mano, immersed you in a world where a man is only as good as his blade. Kurosawa Mode was heavy-handed, but the game offered excellent visuals. However, the central narrative felt predictable, the maps were bloated with open world filler, and Jin Sakai was a flat protagonist who embodied dull virtues but lacked personality. Sound familiar?

Tsushima laid fantastic foundations. Each stance felt fluid and meaningful, offering a balance between the reckless button-mashing of action games and the laborious parry combat of Soulslikes - similar to the blending of stealth and sandbox gameplay in Assassin's Creed. While you often wandered the map for empty fetch quests or collectibles, it offered stylish ways to get around. The series can also tell stories. Many of the side quests and supporting characters had more depth than Jin, and perhaps moving away from the stoic samurai defined by his honor can inject the series with more personality.

It's likely never going to shake off the criticism of being a Western studio playing dress-up as samurai. Even that can be improved with more loyalty to the time period. During Jin's time, katanas, haiku, and hwacha did not exist, yet they are all in the game because they're cool and Japanese. Yotei's time jump allows for more historical elements to be included - we see a historically accurate early firearm in the trailer - and hopefully this will address the issues that plagued the series.

It's harder for games to establish themselves as notable series these days. Yotei is coming out five years after Tsushima, which is a respectable pace by modern standards. Assassin's Creed 2 came out two years after the first one, which was slightly slower than the pace of its time. Brotherhood and Revelations, the two direct sequels to 2, released on a one-year cycle. Add in that 3, another time jump, also came out a year later, and that's five Assassin's Creed games featuring three different protagonists and one complete trilogy in the time it took Tsushima to get its sequel out.

With the success of Tsushima, Sucker Punch faces a critical choice: follow the well-trodden path or venture into uncharted territory. Providing more of the same could expose existing flaws, but deviating risks alienating fans expecting the familiar. The challenge lies in finding a balance between satisfying expectations and introducing fresh elements.

The temptation is to simply expand the world of Tsushima, but doing so might exacerbate its existing bloat. A sequel should refine the formula, not simply replicate it on a grander scale. Sucker Punch's bold move to introduce a new hero and jump forward in time suggests a willingness to take risks and elevate the series. This approach holds promise for a truly better Ghost of Tsushima, not just a bigger one.