E3 2018: Ghost Of Tsushima Gameplay Debuts On PS4

Sony presented the first gameplay trailer for Ghost of Tsushima during the company's E3 2018 press conference. It opened with a samurai walking out of a forested area with his horse, he keels down and picks up a leaf, before the wind carries it away. Text appears on screen to denote it's Day 9 of the Mongol invasion, indicating the game will track progression by splitting them into days.

The character walks up a hill and looks over Otsuna Grassland, a beautiful field where wheat gently sways in the wind. The samurai calls his horse and begins riding. The game looks absolutely stunning. Eventually the samurai makes his way deep into the forest, where he encounters invading forces killing someone. The three enemies square off, but the samurai adopts a defensive stance, delivers a devastating counter, and cuts his foes down.

Enemies begin to converge, but the samurai uses defensive moves to negate their attacks. There's a very slow, deliberate pace to it. A second, female character called Masako appears and addresses the samurai as Jin. They're on their way to a temple to rescue a monk, and opt to use a quiet approach to avoid detection. They sneak up behind two enemies and kill them in unison. Jin hops onto a fence and then leaps onto a nearby roof, using a rope to swing higher and enter a building.

He skulks around the rafters, taking stock of the enemies, before leaping down and delivering a crushing stab. In that moment, time slows, and the camera moves to nearby enemies, giving Jin the opportunity to seamlessly move to another character and stab them. With the monk saved, Jin leaves the temple, but Masako fires an arrow at the monk, revealing he killed Masako's family.

Jin and Masako, in a crimson field of leaves, square off for a duel. "Give me the monk," she tells Jin, before lunging forward. The gameplay in this scene seems to involve adopting the proper stances to counter incoming attacks and exploit openings. Throughout the conflict, Jin tries to reason with Masako, reminding her that the Mongols are coming, and that those invaders are the true enemy. The two eventually are besieged by the Mongols, but stand to face them together.

Created by the minds behind Infamous, Ghost of Tsushima is an open-world game that takes place on the island Tsushima during feudal Japan in 1274. Players take on the role of a vengeful, yet honorable, samurai who targets those responsible for wronging him.

For more from the Sony press conference read our wrap-up article here.