A recent gameplay comparison between Ghost of Tsushima and its upcoming successor, Ghost of Yotei, has shed light on the impressive visual leap that Sucker Punch Productions has achieved. The side-by-side analysis, shared through a detailed breakdown video, highlights just how far the studio has come in harnessing the power of the PlayStation 5.
The footage showcases numerous categories, ranging from character models and weather effects to foliage interaction and environmental physics. Ghost of Yotei demonstrates sharper textures, more realistic lighting, improved draw distances, and a higher level of interactivity within the world. Fire now leaves burn marks, grass and small trees can be cut down, and snow deforms dynamically as players move through it. These refinements contribute to a richer, more immersive environment than what was seen in Ghost of Tsushima.
Performance is another key factor in the comparison. While Ghost of Tsushima originally ran at 1080p and 30 frames per second on the PlayStation 4, Ghost of Yotei targets 1440p resolution and 60 frames per second on the PS5. This leap not only enhances visual clarity but also delivers smoother gameplay, which fans have long requested.
Sucker Punch’s development team has emphasized the technical strides made possible by PS5 hardware. In an interview with Automaton Japan, art director Joanna Wang explained how the console enabled the rendering of Hokkaido’s vast landscapes with high fidelity. “Early on, we realized we needed to improve draw distance,” Wang said. “To portray the vastness of the Hokkaido map, we needed to render distant views with high fidelity and accurate depth of space.” She noted that the PS5 allows for millions of assets to be loaded, with tens of thousands visible at once, while also handling snow, leaves, fog, and ash across large distances.
Wang also highlighted how DualSense features are integrated into gameplay, with haptic feedback making sword clashes more tactile and the controller speaker amplifying environmental sounds like the resonance of a shamisen. The studio’s painterly art style remains intact, relying on careful use of color and denoising techniques to maintain visual clarity while guiding the player’s attention.
Ghost of Yotei is scheduled for release on October 2, 2025, exclusively for PlayStation 5.
