Ghost Of Tsushima 1.1 Update Lets You Pet The Spirit Dog

Developer Sucker Punch Productions detailed the new free content coming to Ghost of Tsushima for PlayStation 4 on October 16, including the Legends multiplayer mode. In announcing the new add-ons, Sucker Punch confirmed that there is a spirit dog you can absolutely pet.

Legends is a cooperative mode in Ghost of Tsushima, where you can team up with either one other person for story missions or up to three other people for survival and raid experiences. In Legends, you can choose between four classes--the Assassin, Hunter, Ronin, and Samurai--each equipped with their own abilities and weapons. But it's the Ronin that can summon the spirit dog.

On the PlayStation Blog, senior game designer Darren Bridges said you might choose the Ronin because they can not only revive the entire team (fulfilling a support kind of role) but can also "summon a Spirit Dog. (And yes, you can ABSOLUTELY pet your Spirit Dog!)"

This is just the latest instance of games letting you interact with and pet animals. A variety of games have implemented dedicated petting mechanics. Both Assassin's Creed Valhalla and Cyberpunk 2077 let you coddle and pet the cat, Ghostwire: Tokyo has a good doggo you can pet, and even Ghost of Tsushima's main campaign lets you pet the fox. There's even an entire Twitter account dedicated to informing the public about whether certain games give you the freedom to pet the dog.

In addition to petting the spirit dog in Ghost of Tsushima: Legends, the game's 1.1 Update adds a bevy of new content. This includes a New Game+ that lets you retain all your previously unlocked abilities and gear, a brand-new merchant that sells various dyes and vanity items, and a loadout feature that lets you switch between different equipment to better arm yourself for the challenge ahead.