Ghost of Yotei was announced during the most recent PlayStation State of Play, and it lit a spark within the gaming community after seeing another high-profile first-party title in development. The release window is not that far off; however, this project has the opportunity to break the curse of lacklustre sequels, or it may fall into the same pit of mediocrity.
There is no denying that Sony Interactive Entertainment has established that its first-party games feature the best the industry has in store after years of consistent releases. Unfortunately, the game developers might have bitten more than they could chew.
The Game Developers of Ghost of Yotei Should Reflect on Where Other Sequels Went Wrong
For years, the gaming community has been reaping the high-quality games of Sony Interactive Entertainment on previous PlayStation generations, and the company has hit a new high for the PlayStation 4 era. Games like God of War, Horizon: Zero Dawn, Marvel’s Spider-Man, The Last of Us Part 2, Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, Days Gone, Death Stranding, and many more carried the console generation and it is natural for fans to expect more for a sequel.
Ghost of Tsushima was released near the tail end of the PlayStation 4 life cycle, and it was ported to PC and received a native PS5 version. Most fans assumed a sequel was in active development after a job listing leaked online, and these were put to rest after the official reveal at the State of Play; however, some fans can’t help but think the game developers might fall into the same rabbit hole.
The game developers will likely carry over most of the gameplay mechanics and add a few extra features like new weapons as teased by the announcement trailer. This is an aspect where most sequels have passed with flying colors new traversal methods in the Spider-Man sequel paired with gadgets and Symbiote skills and a new skill tree for Kratos in the God of War sequel. Both sequels were great but somehow the original games are still tough to beat.
PlayStation Studios and Sony recently celebrated the first anniversary of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. Expectations were high after the original 2018 game and the Miles Morales spinoff, but it didn’t take long for the gaming community to turn on the game immediately. The project itself was a fantastic sequel and improved upon many gameplay elements from the original version, but it somehow fell a little flat and arguably not as good as the first.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 Was a Great Game but Most Fans Think It Is an Underwhelming Sequel
The problem about being a sequel is that fans assume what was done in the original game will be replicated in the sequel. The 2018 game received a handful of post-launch content with The City That Never Sleeps expansion featuring new single-player content, and fans thought Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 would have the same treatment, especially after the massive data breach that all but confirmed more post-launch content was planned.
Unfortunately, the game developers confirmed that there are no plans for an expansion while revealing the PC release date. As a matter of fact, Insomniac Games did not promise a DLC, and this all started after the leaks; perhaps there were plans for more post-launch content, but the studio shifted its resources to other incoming projects like Marvel’s Wolverine and was satisfied with how the Spider-Man sequel ended, leaving room for the final chapter.
The game was everything the 2018 version was but dialled everything to an eleven except the quality of the story. The developers added plenty of new combat features, incorporating the unique abilities of the respective Spider-Men like Miles’ venom powers and Peter’s Symbiote abilities, and new traversal methods like the web wings for gliding the New York skyline. Unfortunately, the story was shorter than expected, and it did not resonate the same way the first game did with fans.
The sequel was impactful and emotional, but it was nowhere near the emotional weight as Spider-Man fought against countless villains, turning his back on his mentor, and was faced with an impossible dilemma: save the entire city or one person. The stories of the two heroes were more about themselves, and there were a few rare instances when they were together as a team, which many thought this game would be about.
God of War Ragnarok Was a Perfectly Rushed Sequel and Ending to the Norse Saga
2018 was a great year for PlayStation after releasing both God of War and Spider-Man in a matter of months. The first part of the Norse Saga is arguably one of the greatest games ever made after the developers revamped most of the franchise’s identity. It still carried over the action and gore but dialled the emotional story beats to another level with Kratos and Atreus’ father-son bond.
God of War: Ragnarok was all but guaranteed after the successful project and heavy world-building, and fans expected the twilight of the gods to be epic, and it was, but not in a good way. The sequel was still a great game, but the pacing was all over the place given the dual protagonist setup akin to The Last of Us Part 2.
Most fans did not enjoy playing as Atreus, especially when his combat is different from his father’s. The game developers upped the ante by introducing a new cast of characters like Odin and Thor with a unique characterization inspired by Sons of Anarchy that expanded the lore and made players feel this will all end with an epic battle.
The pacing was off, and certain characters like Thor were swept under the rug after given a significant amount of character development. Players felt the story was rushed to be in line with director Cory Barlog’s idea of shortening the saga into two games rather than a full trilogy that could take a decade to tell.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 and God of War: Ragnarok are still great games without a doubt; however, they could have been better. The developers improved on the gameplay mechanics but somehow fell flat on the story, which is one area Ghost of Yotei could improve before the release date.
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