Today, Ghost of Tsushima is considered one of the most celebrated open-world games that released for the PlayStation consoles. It was developed by Sucker Punch Productions, and when it first went for sale back in 2020, it shattered everyone’s expectations. It was a beautiful game set in historical Japan, featuring a disgraced samurai.
On the other hand, its core gameplay loop was in itself pretty incredible. It has one of the best hand-to-hand combat systems other than titles like the Batman Arkham series, Sleeping Dogs, and Sekiro. Yet, some suggest that if its developers ever decide to work on a sequel for this game, they must go ahead and leave one thing out of it.
Would Ghost of Tsushima 2 be much better without this essential feature?
Open-world games come a dime a dozen nowadays. Every developer out there is seemingly dedicated to giving fans the bang for their buck. In that attempt, they always end up deciding to develop an explosive open-world game.
Ubisoft is a developer publisher that cannot let go of this way of thinking. They are always churning out open world after open world without making an attempt to make them stand out. As a result, each of their games looks like a rehash of its last title.
But one thing that every open-world game, good or bad, has is fast travel. Imagine traveling through a vast world, from one corner to another, then having to travel that distance back. This can be hard, and it can be annoying in some cases too. This problem has only one solution: fast travel.
Their explanation of it is different in every game. But fast travel is always there; it’s like a player character is traveling at super speed from one place to another. The best part is that players do not have to intervene. Sometimes it does come in handy.
Some say Sucker Punch should do away with fast travel in the next Ghost of Tsushima. This is an unusual ask, but what’s the reason for it? They say it should be removed to make the game more immersive. This means that some people think a game’s immersion is dependent on traveling from one location to another instantly.
Maybe they are right; after all, who in reality is able to do that? There’s no technology that allows for teleportation; hence, that is impossible. In Ghost of Tsushima, they don’t even explain it like in some other games. For example, in GTA 5, players fast-travel by riding a cab. Hence, breaking the immersion.
Ghost of Tsushima, on the other hand, is not a game explicitly indulged in realism. It has a number of fantastical elements too. The legend tales and special abilities are the most prominent ones. Then again, the decision to keep or remove this feature comes down to what developers want. If they ever decided to announce a sequel to Ghost of Tsushima, that is.
How much does fast travel matter when it comes to a game’s immersion?
It should not. Players often get fast travel options in a number of games, but they choose to just travel through the map. But that only happens when the developers decide to design a world worth exploring, as the Ghost of Tsushima did. And if someone does not want to use fast travel, they can just not use it.
Or developers can just make fast travel dependent on a limited component. And make that component harder to get. This would make the game much more immersive.
