The video game “Ghost of Tsushima” was first announced at last year’s E3 conference with a teaser and a gameplay trailer. Yet till today, there’s no confirmed release date or any updates on the game at all. And so, rumours are flying high about a possible 2020 release.

According to Dark Horizons, there was a leak online about PlayStation 5 launch plans where the console’s official reveal was supposedly due to take place on 12 February next year. As a result, Sucker Punch Studios is reportedly delaying the release of Ghost of Tsushima due to “extra technical work on the software’s textures and framerates” so that they can optimise the game for better play on the PS5.

So far, neither Sucker Punch nor Sony PlayStation has commented on this. I really hope someone does soon, especially about Ghost of Tsushima as the wait keeps on dragging.

And that’s not entirely a good thing because have you seen the game yet? It’s so beautiful!

About Ghost of Tsushima

Ghost of Tsushima is an action-adventure stealth game with the story set in Japan during the Mongol invasion in 1274. You play a samurai named Jin Sakai who’s on a mission of revenge and liberation. He is also the last samurai on Tsushima Island.

Here’s the official description: The year is 1274. Samurai warriors are the legendary defenders of Japan–until the fearsome Mongol Empire invades the island of Tsushima, wreaking havoc and conquering the local population. As one of the last surviving samurai, you rise from the ashes to fight back. But, honorable tactics won’t lead you to victory. You must move beyond your samurai traditions to forge a new way of fighting–the way of the Ghost–as you wage an unconventional war for the freedom of Japan.

For those looking for a more authentic experience, you can switch the audio to Japanese with English subtitles. The development team were very careful to make sure the game accurately represents feudal Japan.

They had sent an audio team to Japan to record various sounds like birdsongs and consulted with cultural experts like historical sword-fighting expert David Ishimaru when creating the game’s foundation.

Gameplay

The game takes place in an open world where you’re free to explore as Jin without any waypoints to guide you. You can travel by foot or a horse (faster transportation to different parts of the in-game world). Jin also carries a grappling hook that you can use for access to difficult-to-reach places.

In direct combat, you can use weapons like the katana. You can also chain up a series of fatal assaults that make for a real badass sequence. To activate this, you’ll need to highlight the baddies quickly as you go.

If not, you can take the quieter approach by utilising stealth mode where you evade enemies and strike them without making any noise.

From the gameplay demo, the game feels like the Assassin’s Creed franchise with a touch of the most recent Tomb Raider games.

But it definitely has way better aesthetics, a type of cinematic quality reminiscent of Japanese samurai cinema like the Akira Kurosawa films which the game reportedly drew inspiration from.

Here, watch the official Ghost of Tsushima gameplay debut to see what I mean: