Ghost of Tsushima was finally given another trailer, this time during The Game Awards 2019 in December. The trailer shown off there is the extended version of the trailer initially shown off at PlayStation’s State of Play just two days before. That trailer teased a standoff between protagonist and samurai warrior, Jin Sakai, and a group of Mongol soldiers hauling a cart of goods in the woods. As the Mongol clan of soldiers gave out a warning and then charged, Jin brandished his samurai sword and pulled out what appeared to be a smoke bomb. This is where the State of Play trailer ends and The Game Awards trailer continues for Ghost of Tsushima.
The extended trailer at The Game Awards showed additional contextual scenes for the standoff in the woods. Before the battle with Jin, the Mongol clan were disposing of dead bodies, presumably those of corpses belonging to the local village. They then proceeded to pack up the cart full of supplies, also potentially implying that the clan raided the village. As the showdown happens, the trailer cuts away right after Jin pulls out his smoke bomb. The trailer flashes back to another scene where a brutally injured Jin is seen limping across a battlefield filled with arrow ridden corpses as narration talks talks about the elusive Ghost of Tsushima. This is not to mention the arrow already sticking out of his back.
Jin tries to walk over to pick up his sword but is then shot with an arrow once more by a sniper way out in the distance. The narrator states that “some say he died,” as the arrow strikes him down. The next shot contradicts this as he is seen riding a horse through a wide open field. This is where the gameplay is shown off in the trailer, as the first bit of playable action that is shown is the horse riding through the field.
Notably, the horse is going considerably fast in this trailer. Generally that would not be a significant thing to note, but this riding momentum suggests that the game is going to feature a map with a considerable size, as traveling devices in games, such as horses and cars, must be modified within the game to make sure that it does not break the game in any way. Basically, the faster the horse, the bigger the potential map size.
The next shots show the ghost, Jin, approaching a camp full of Mongol soldiers with stealthy tactics. The game is going to allow the player to survey areas before striking enemies, as Jin is seen on top of structures. As was already shown off during the E3 2018 demo, Jin is capable of Assassin’s Creed-like assassinations, as he jumps off of rooftops and slams his sword into his opponents.
Close-up combat is shown off in the following shots in the trailer. Jin is not only capable of stealthy assassinations and up-close sword techniques, but he is also equipped with stun projectiles and can use his bow in most situations. Before the flashback ends, in the middle of a battle, Jin jumps off of his horse mid-gallop and strikes an opponent with his sword. This seems likely to be another mechanic that is going to be featured in the game. Horseplay and horse combat, in general, seems to be a key feature in Ghost of Tsushima.
When the flashback ends and Jin is left standing as the victor of the standoff with just one soldier left lying before him, he lets him go as a message. Before readjusting his samurai facial armor and heading off, he stands for one last glamour shot, with the trailer officially dubbing him the ghost. What is interesting to note is the potential implementation of facial armor as a game mechanic. If the samurai of feudal Japan used these masks to scare off enemies, then maybe masks in this game will play a similar role (besides defense).
The trailer then ends with rapid shots of the vast open world of the game, as Jin rides his horse through various environments including those filled with blooming foliage, horrid snow, and everything in between. The climbing mechanic is also briefly shown off in a mountainous area. Shots of great temples are also briefly shown, as is one slow motion shot of Jin rushing through a barrage of falling arrows. A release window of summer 2020 is shown at the very end, to the satisfaction of many PlayStation gamers.
Ghost of Tsushima is scheduled to release summer 2020 on PS4.