Ghost of Tsushima PS4 PlayStation 4 1

Enemies drop relatively quickly in PlayStation 4 exclusive Ghost of Tsushima, as evidenced by the title’s enormous gameplay demo during this week’s State of Play. Of course, that means that you’re just as vulnerable, so don’t expect to be feeling too comfortable during intense combat encounters, because one bad move could see your skewered by an invading Mongol.

“We describe the combat in the game as mud, blood, and steel,” game director Nate Fox revealed as part of the latest PlayStation Blogcast. “We wanted it to feel really grounded and lethally precise. If you've ever seen a samurai movie you know what it's like. These men cut each other down with a single stroke of their sword and, to capture that samurai movie, fighting is very different than a lot of other games because it means you can die very quickly and your enemies can, too.”

One element perhaps not immediately obvious in the broadcast is that you can use terror to turn the tides. “You can perform actions that cause some actions that cause Mongols to become scared and use that to your advantage,” Fox continued. “You don’t have to kill everyone in a samurai fashion. Fear is a weapon like your sword.”

[source soundcloud.com]