Ghost of Yōtei Has Lots of Climbing Because Emphasis on Player Freedom and Hokkaido Being Vertical

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Jason Connell, creative director of the new open-world game *Ghost of Yōtei*, recently explained why climbing plays such a big role. He told GamesRadar that the game is designed to give players a lot of freedom, and that the real-life location it’s based on – Hokkaido, Japan – is naturally very steep and mountainous.

As a fan, I really appreciate how much freedom the developers put into letting you climb anywhere in *Ghost of Yōtei*. That’s a huge part of what makes it so immersive! I learned that they intentionally avoided things like teleportation, even though it would be easier, because they wanted to keep the game feeling realistic. They really focused on making all your movements – not just fighting – feel natural within the world they’ve built.

Hokkaido’s naturally mountainous terrain, combined with the game’s setting, created a specific design challenge for Sucker Punch Productions. As Connell explained, they could have made the mountains obstacles, but instead, they chose to reward players who explored them.

We really wanted a lot of freedom in the game, but it was tough to picture that without *some* kind of climbing mechanic. So, we focused on making getting *down* from high places faster and more fun. We added things like quick repels from the tops of shrines – those are super handy when you’re way up high! – and even slides, which were honestly one of my favorite parts of the game to design. Basically, we wanted to embrace the huge, steep landscapes of Hokkaido and make them exciting, not frustrating.

According to Connell, *Ghost of Yōtei* will give players more flexibility than any previous game made by Sucker Punch Productions, including the *Sly Cooper* series on PlayStation 2, the *Infamous* superhero games on PlayStation 3, and even *Ghost of Tsushima* on PlayStation 4. He explained that the studio is happy as long as players are enjoying themselves, and they don’t mind how players choose to use the freedom they’re given in the game.

We really wanted to give players more freedom in this game than we ever have before,” he explained.

It’s quite complicated, and the way the game unfolds differs for each part,” Connell explained. “The story’s pace is relatively easy to follow, making that section more direct. However, managing the pace in the open-world areas is much harder. We’ve had to use a lot of clever techniques to get it working smoothly.”

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2025-10-13 17:41