Destructoid Community Showdown: Ghost of Tsushima vs. Sekiro vs. Nioh 2

For the Kurosawa heavyweight title

If there’s one thing I was hyped for and wanted to ask the community about, it was the reveal of three new, high-profile samurai games. There have been a lot of samurai games in the past, but that era not only passed, but it passed us pretty quietly without much fanfare. Now, three major samurai titles had screen time at E3 press conferences, all from major developers.

First is a follow-up to Team Ninja’s breakout hit, Nioh. Second is a new game from the biggest name in difficult games, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice from From Software. Lastly is the dark horse, Ghost of Tsushima, from Sucker Punch.

After getting a taste last year with Nioh, I knew this onslaught of samurai games was going to be exciting. But buying all three won’t be cheap. I asked the community which ones they’re excited for, if any or all of them.

Gokart Mozart hasn’t played Nioh and I recommend he does:

I’m least interested in Nioh 2, but that’s probably due to not having played Nioh 1 yet. I plan on doing it eventually, but I really want to work through my pile of shame that includes Persona 5, Dark Souls III, and God of War at the moment.

I’m very interested in Sekiro. The removal of RPG elements doesn’t bug me as I liked the more action-oriented focus of Bloodborne. Between my fondness for Bloodborne‘s combat (which this appears to build upon) and this game’s addition of traversal mechanics, my interest in this game is very high.

Then there’s Ghost of Tsushima. I’m also very interested in this game, and again it’s due to the developer’s pedigree. I like the traversal mechanics and streamlined nature of their open worlds from the Infamous series, and I’d like to see what they’ll do in this new setting. The melee combat looks like it may be more complex than what was in any of the Infamous titles, but knowing Sucker Punch, I suspect the controls will be intuitive and fun. I noticed that the protagonist had a rope with a grappling hook for climbing, so I’m also curious to see how that works and whether there’s some ninja-ass parkour going on in that game. I’m also curious to see whether the final version on Pro looks nearly has good as the stage presentation or whether that’s a PS5 game like some have wondered aloud.

GajKnight is interested in a respectable samurai game:

Least interested in Nioh 2. The loot grind got really tedious in the late game and almost unbearable in the DLC’s. And Team Ninja just fail at telling good stories with good characters. Should still be good fun though.

I’m edging toward Ghost of Tsushima myself. It is just so gorgeous looking and a grounded samurai game is something I really want (don’t remember the last samurai game with no demon stuff, perhaps Yakuza Ishin?).

Siddartha85 is looking forward to some Tsushima shenanigans:

Thank you for bringing this up. It’s been at the forefront of my mind, because I’m probably playing all three. They all look dope-as-fuck.

Weirdly, Sekiro is the one I least anticipate. Nioh was my favorite Souls-like, and in my mind, does it better than From does. So Nioh 2 ranks higher than Sekiro, although I still HAVE to try that grappling hook and parasol shield stuff, obviously.

But the real standout for me was Ghost of Tsushima. It apparently wasn’t designed to have Souls-like difficulty, but still looks like it has some Bushido Blade-style one-hits and high damage strikes. It also looks like Sucker Punch is attempting to hit us with feels. (Always an ambitious move in this industry.) It looks like they’re taking the setting seriously and semi-historically. My confidence is high for that one.

FakePlasticTree has a gut Arkham sense and prefers a female samurai:

Nioh 2 allows me to play as a female Samurai, the game that gives me a CC is a winner in my eyes. Grants more replay ability too I feel. Sekiro looks like it wants to be an action game like Bayo or DMC, but its protagonist and story doesn’t exactly seem to have the charm of either. The combat seems to take cues from their Souls games, which I’m not sure is enough to sell me on it.

And Ghost of SushiMama just looks like another Arkham offspring, the combat is turning me off. It does seem like it wants to portray a more faithful depiction of a rarely portrayed period in Japanese history (usually it is Sengoku or Bakumatsu), namely the Mongol invasion. That aspect is still interesting. But I’m gonna go with Nioh 2 so far as the combat in the original was still a lot of fun.

Vespy thinks Tsushima is Sucker Punch’s moment to truly shine:

I want to be wrong, but Sekiro doesn’t look that interesting to me. I’m sure it will be good at least, but it doesn’t look all that original and I personally like the RPG elements in Souls… I’m more interested in what Deracine is, tbh – VR turns me off but everything From’s done with Japan Studio is pure gold so far.

Nioh was just pretty good, imo, maybe a sequel can refine it for something special. I’m thinking it’ll probably just be more of the same, though. Character creator is a nice addition, hopefully they barely even bother with a story this time and focus on the gameplay.

I think Ghost might turn out great – Sucker Punch make fun games but they always fall short of true classics, I think. Maybe this will be their moment. No magic or spirit stuff is nice to see, and what they showed all looked really polished and pretty. The gameplay looks like standard Arkham stuff to me, but I like that so w/e. It pretty much comes down to the quality of the writing.

All three will at least be good, I’m sure. I’ll buy em all. If I had to pick one, then Sekiro just cos it’s FromSoftware.

Scrustle is pitching Ronin Simulator 2019:

It’s weird how samurai action games tend to be so rare, despite the idea seeming like a no-brainer. And now we get three coming along at once!

I’m only really interested in Ghost of Tsushima though. I’m sure both of the other games will be great, but I’m done with From games, and games like them. The only one I’ve enjoyed was Dark Souls III, so I think that was just a fluke and the genre/style just isn’t for me. Plus this open world “ronin simulator” in particular is something that I’ve really wanted to get my hands on. Seems like the other games are going in a slightly different direction.

Crank up the bloom for Major Tom’s Cup of Coffee:

Ghost, Sekiro, and then Nioh 2. Sekiro would have been 1, but it wont let me create a character so that makes me sad. Ghost is number 1 for me right now. The art style looks like it will have plenty of high bloomy “wow” moments and I am excited to play an open world samurai game. Nioh never interested me, but maybe the second one will.

Roager is piqued by some Soulsy-ness:

Sekiro might be the first soulsy game I actually want, thanks to no multiplayer and no RPG elements. Ghost of Tsushima looks badical, but the final game isn’t planned to be as minimal-HUD as the presentation was, and that worries me. Nioh 2… I genuinely didn’t realize was a thing. I thought people were doing jokes about the other two.

From Software has never failed Gamemaniac3434 before:

The From Software one, because they have a good track record so far and I want to see how this change turns out. I prefer doing new stuff to rehashing old stuff-leave them wanting more, and so on-so seeing them do something new and try something new gameplaywise is encouraging. Whether or not it pays off is another matter.

Sharukurusu is itching for some realism:

Ghost of Tsushima sits at the top of my list, mainly because of its real world setting. There are plenty of games that involve magic so I’d like to see how these guys handle the “realistic” samurai story and gameplay.

I picked the header because Pixie reminded me of Kurosawa:

Ghost of Tsushima is what I’m looking at first and foremost. I like the focus on quick, decisive combat and the whole Kurosawa look about it. I feel like we get a lot of samurai characters in games, but few games about samurai themselves.

vxxy has got top picks and top nep on Ghost of Tsushima:

Ghost of Tsushima is my top pick. It looked so good and I love the idea of playing what looks like a damn samurai film. That’s the shit right there. Sekiro might be good. No thoughts on Nioh 2 since I never played or seen much of the first one beyond a short demo.

DR Ubio dares to invoke the dead name that is Tenchu:

Sekiro, Nioh 2 and Ghost of Tsushima. I WAS interested the most in Ghost, but I was not expecting two different games that cater a lot more closely to what I enjoy to be presented.

As far as Sekiro goes it looks like typical (can we say that by now?) Miyazaki/FromSoft flair with a reimagined Tenchu style verticality to its level design (the hookshot and the fact we got a jump) and a more linear style of play. We won’t have the death/bonfire shtick this time, so I’m thinking something along the lines of Demon’s Souls, but with added verticality.

Then we got my boy Nioh. I’m actually kind of disappointed we won’t be using William anymore as I like the more streamlined approach and character… made me feel like I was in the middle ground between a Ninja Gaiden and a Souls game. I’m a bit worried as I feel they’re catering more to the Soulsborne fandom (which I’m ironically a part of as well) rather than the character action fandom (I’m a sucker for DMC, Bayonetta and Ninja Gaiden…also ANYTHING Platinum/Clover) and we could actually use the return of the big guys. The first Nioh was a test for them, they tried some stuff and some stuff worked. I fear they’re missing the non-apologetic nature of Itagaki. I’m one of the guys that enjoyed Nioh‘s alpha more so than the actual released game and I would love Team Ninja to be able to find marriage between both things and not cater to being derivative. Hopefully I’m wrong.

Finally we’ve got Ghost of Tsushima. This game had me interested since the first reveal and after watching the gameplay parts and knowing the developer this seems like the thing the Way of the Samurai games always WANTED to be. I’m hoping the combat is more Bushido and less generic western game combat. Really liking the details and am really excited for the game, this would have been my #1 “Eastern Samurai tale” game to be excited if I wasn’t so much of a Character Action Game/Soulsborne buff.

Now that we’re on it… Can we get Capcom to release a new Onimusha? Perhaps someone to release a new Shinobi? The time is now basically. Hopefully Itsuno can finish DMC V (thank god, thank you Itsuno-San) and he can get into developing a new Onimusha. I’ve been reading a lot of Capcom’s quarterly reports and they’re mentioning a heavy focus in porting games to PC, creating new IPs and reviving dormant IPs (Dead Rising and Dragon’s Dogma are mentioned as outstanding IPs saleswise, so expect news on those two soon enough) as well as bringing more HD ports (not surprising huh? They do talk about how they plan to support their IPs going forward setting Monster Hunter World as an example).

Agent9 needs more details on Sekiro before a judgment call:

I am interested somewhat in Sekiro. If it can still capture that souls like combat I’ll be happy. Overall however the more I look at it, the less hype I feel. Something about it just doesn’t jive with me. Perhaps it looks just a bit too plain. Time will tell however and I hope it does really well.

Ghost and Nioh also look great, but I would like to see more as well. I’m far happier with these at the moment. I can’t quite say why though, unlike Sekiro they don’t generate the same feelings on repeat views.

Kevin Mersereau is infamous for his interest in Ghost of Tsushima:

Tsushima is the only one I’m crazy hype for. I love the inFamous series, and I’ve been waiting for Sucker Punch’s next game announcement for a minute now. After seeing it in action, I’m all in.