When I reviewed the PlayStation 5 back in November of 2020, I was already impressed by the graphical capabilities of this spaceship-like machine — I even mentioned how bittersweet it was to review Ghost of Tsushima on the PS4 Pro earlier that year, because of the fidelity leap negotiated by the PS5. Well, here we are, just shy of five years later, and I’ve been playing the sequel, Ghost of Yotei, on my humble review unit. It’s safe to say that it doesn’t feel like a compromise this time around. You can read my full review here, but alongside slaying open-world fatigue with an innovative approach to exploration and map design, Ghost of Yotei is also a stunning game, even on the most basic hardware configuration.
Clearly, some developmental wizardry is at work to get this gorgeous simulacrum of Hokkaido looking as sharp as it does. Across the review period, I was enthralled by the way the wind ripples through the grass and how the accelerated day-night system colors Ezo’s climate-marked regions in warm amber or brooding turquoise. Just now, I turned Atsu around to face another direction for some visual inspiration, and caught a shimmering aurora in the sky over Lake Shikotsu. Perhaps the most significant shift in the sequel is how vast Ezo feels — the draw distance is enormous, which is valuable for piquing your attention towards points of interest, but it also allows for jaw-dropping set pieces to slide into view as you chart its canyons and Great Lakes, and meet its impeccably-dressed inhabitants.
So, when Sony offered me an interview with Ghost of Yotei’s Art Director, Joanna Wang, I was brimming with questions about how Sucker Punch Productions managed to research and transmute the finer visual details of this singular setting. What follows is my full interview with Wang, edited for length and clarity.
Ghost of Tsushima’s visuals were, arguably, the most well-received aspect of the game. When you wrapped that project, what were you guys thinking about how you could improve on that high bar, like, where do you go from there? How did you become more visually ambitious?
Joanna Wang: When we started development on Ghost of Yotei, we took a trip to Hokkaido in preparation, and we were blown away — the nature is so beautiful and rich, and it’s very different than mainland Japan. It was different from the landscapes we had made for Tsushima, more vast, vibrant, and dynamic. We wanted to build on what was well-received in Ghost of Tsushima, while also incorporating the shocking feeling of vastness that we experienced during our visit to Hokkaido into the game. The big grass fields fade into the forest, the forest fades into the mountain, and the mountain disappears into the clouds. It feels like the wind is stronger here, and the sky is bigger, too.
The other thing I think is really cool about Ghost of Yotei is how it reflects the indigenous people of Ezo. I’ve learned a great deal about Ainu culture while playing the game. What was it like going out and doing that kind of research and folding in the details, like the instruments, lowercase names, and Ku-e-shinok?
JW: So we made multiple trips to Hokkaido, and we had an advisor who we were working with, and they were in the Ainu community. We visited the Ainu museum and had a very detailed tour; it was amazing. We forged a close connection and met with the advisor’s family. The moment I’ll always remember — because it was so heartwarming — is when we met their grandma, and they took us to the forest to forage. She was showing us how to recognise plants, what you can’t eat, what is fresh, and so on. However, they also taught us how the Ainu respect nature by taking only what they needed, always giving thanks, and giving back to it.
Later on, we went back to their house and cooked those vegetables, and it was probably the best meal I’ve had for a very long time. But that simple connection had a lot of meaning. We were sitting there, sharing the meal, the food we had just picked, and it reminded me of my own grandparents and their lifestyle and connection with nature. We have a foraging minigame in Yotei, which was definitely inspired by that. Throughout development, we worked closely with the advisor to share our costume designs, fabric designs, and the process of building the Ainu town. And they were really patient in sharing their culture and discussing the details, so we simply became students and followed their guidance. It’s way out of our range to understand the Ainu culture, and a huge responsibility for (Sucker Punch) to share the culture like that. Hopefully, we are representing Ainu culture in the game and helping the world learn more about it.
Well, it’s already led me down a lot of Wikipedia rabbit holes! I love it when games can do that.
JW: We’ve been hearing they are trying to teach other people about the Ainu language, too, because some of the cultural stuff is disappearing — and so again, that made us feel like we had an even bigger responsibility to represent everything in the right way.
The guiding wind is such a massive part of both games. I have hearing loss, so particularly, I think it’s really cool how the Ghost games use visual design as a signifier for curious exploration — you don’t have to rely on your hearing too much. Can you discuss how you utilize visual design to guide the player in a game like this?
JW: We are super passionate about making the world feel alive, so we added a lot more visual elements, like the horse boost flower, the white strips that let you go faster, but oftentimes they’re also placed to lead you towards an interesting area if you go with the flow. At nighttime, there are also fireflies, and you’ll see something glowy over there, and be drawn towards interesting content. We want you to feel that you are the person actually discovering this area naturally. I feel like this world is a living character that walks alongside you — kind of whispering and hinting at you — ‘go there, do this.’ However, in a subtle way that still allows you the freedom to choose your own gameplay style.
Yeah, like even the way you work through the map, I’m pretty sure I’ve done it differently by going to Ishikari Plain over Teshio Ridge first. All because I’m following my nose.
JW: Exactly, and I think this is the beauty of the game, beyond show and tell, it allows the player to step inside the world and feel the emotion of the landscape — it makes it feel very personal.
Another thing that has been brought forward for Yotei is the cute in-game references to previous Sucker Punch games, like the Sly Cooper / Infamous cosmetics and stuff like that. Is it challenging to fit easter eggs into this realism-focused natural environment?
JW: It’s a fun kind of challenge because you know this is all a different style, cartoony or futuristic. It’s fun for the art team; we challenge ourselves as we’re trying to fit two different things together. We had a lot of fun making them and getting that fine balance. Little things like, if there’s a belt in the middle, if it’s too thick, then it feels more Western, so we need to make it skinnier, or we need to use cloth.
Did the art team work a lot with the haptics team, like when you’re riding through this patch of grass, you want it to feel like this, for example — there’s a lot going on with the DualSense here, and it feels like everything is connected, more so than most games.
JW: The way I like to explain it is, we are building a big ecosystem for the world. So, the terrain, the ground, is showing you ‘where’s the mountain, where’s the river’, and there’s a very bottom layer showing you where you can travel through. On top of that, we have the foliage, all the rocks, the cliffs, we can decide where they go — some of that is done procedurally because we’re able to read the information from the ground. And then all the wind, all the audio, all the sound, can read information from the assets on the top. For example, the little bird will fly off on the edge of the forest, the fish will stay only in the river, and the deer will remain in the large, open area. There are a lot of those rules we’re setting up for the whole world. And then when we’re talking about the haptics, it’s a similar thing where they’re able to read this information from the overall map, and understand what assets are needed, like a sword clashing, or the sound of a shamisen, it’s all dynamically together. We’re building those layers on top of each other that can speak to eachother to immerse you in this world.
On your trips to Hokkaido, I imagine you would have taken a lot of pictures and tried to replicate things in the game — is there a specific set piece or, maybe an artefact, a plant, or something that caught your eye and made it into Yotei?
JW: So on our research trip, we went from the northern side of Hokkaido all the way down, kind of like how (Yotei’s) map flows. We went to the National Park, this massive landscape, and then Hell Valley, which is very different with the sulfur and all the different coloured materials, and then Matsumae Castle, a man-made structure. It was cherry blossom season when we visited Matsumae Castle, so there were pink petals all over, and we strived to literally build that moment in our world (in Oshima Coast).
Of course, we were also hugely inspired when we first saw Mount Yotei, towering over the entire space; everything looked so small in comparison. We saw it from across the lake, reflecting down into the water, mirrored, and it felt like seeing both the real world and a dream; it was mind-blowing. And, as you know, that’s where we built Atsu’s home, right underneath the foot of Mount Yotei. Additionally, our bio artist took numerous pictures of the actual tree bark in Hokkaido, which is featured in the game. This is very special to us because we felt like we were capturing some of the true essence of Hokkaido.
