Summary
- Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2's success lies in its immersive medieval world that sets it apart from other RPGs.
- Ghost of Yotei can enhance player immersion by adopting crafting and skill systems similar to Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2's.
- Implementing a "learning by doing" skill progression system could deepen Ghost of Yotei's immersion and player engagement.
Warhorse Studios' Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 has soared high to a massive success since its February 4, 2025 release, drawing players into its realistic and historical medieval world where they can experience an unprecedented level of immersion. Of course, just as the case was with its predecessor, this is a significant part of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2's appeal, and the defining factor that sets it apart from other modern RPGs. While it's likely that future RPGs will now attempt to capitalize on what has made Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 so successful, perhaps Sucker Punch's Ghost of Yotei could benefit from doing the same as well.
Ghost of Yotei and Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 are strikingly different experiences, at least based on what has been revealed so far about the former. However, the two games do share one thing in common (if Ghost of Yotei does indeed follow in the footsteps of Ghost of Tsushima): they both want players to feel like they are actually setting foot in each game world. To do this, both games prioritize things like environmental storytelling to ensure players are fully immersed in each world, but Ghost of Yotei could still go even further in on immersion by taking note of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2's crafting and skill systems.
Ghost of Yotei Should Apply Elements of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2's Immersion
Ghost of Yotei's Crafting System Could Benefit From Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2
One of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2's most immersive systems is its crafting, which allows players to have more of a direct impact on the results of each recipe than most RPGs call for. With Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2's blacksmithing, for example, players have full control over the quality of the weapon or item they are forging, as they are responsible for every step of the process, from tempering the metal to hammering it on the anvil. Not only does this make crafting in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 a far more rewarding system overall, but it increases the game's level of immersion by actually placing players in the shoes of a blacksmith.
Ghost of Yotei could benefit from a similar approach to crafting, especially following the simplicity of what Ghost of Tsushima offered. In Ghost of Tsushima, players simply had to bring crafting materials to a vendor and exchange them for upgraded armor, weapons, and utility items. While this streamlines the gear upgrade experience, it arguably isn't as immersive as it could be. If Ghost of Yotei were to take a Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 approach to crafting, on the other hand, it might boost the game's overall sense of immersion by allowing players to have more of a hand in the results of a recipe coming together.
A more realistic crafting system in Ghost of Yotei wouldn't necessarily have to be as real as Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2's, but requiring more than a few clicks or presses of a button would undoubtedly be more engaging. A system like this would also make sense for Atsu, as she seems to be a lone wanderer on the run and would therefore be more likely to craft her own items.
Ghost of Yotei's Skill System Could Be More Immersive Following Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2's Example
Something else that Ghost of Yotei could look to Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 for is its skill system. Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2's skill progression system utilizes a "learning by doing" approach, which means players can only advance their skills by using them. For example, if players want to advance their Speech skill in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, they simply need to talk to NPCs as much as possible. This effectively replaces the most common RPG system of simply earning experience by any means to acquire skill points and then investing those points into abilities.
Despite not being an RPG, Ghost of Yotei could still up the ante on its immersion by applying the same "learning by doing" approach to its character progression. The more Ghost of Yotei's Atsu fights with a certain weapon or style, the more experienced she becomes in that area. This would not only increase the game's immersion, however, as it would also encourage players to experiment with all the game's systems.
If Ghost of Yotei were to take a Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 approach to crafting, it might boost the game's overall sense of immersion by allowing players to have more of a hand in the results of a recipe coming together.
By incorporating deeper crafting mechanics and a more organic skill progression system, Ghost of Yotei could take its immersive experience to the next level. Whether through crafting weapons by hand or refining combat skills through experience, systems like Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2's would further ground players in Ghost of Yotei’s world, enhancing both its gameplay and the narrative context of its world.
Ghost of Yotei
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 87 /100 Critics Rec: 94%
- Released
- October 2, 2025
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Drug Reference, Intense Violence, Language, Partial Nudity, Use of Alcohol
- Developer(s)
- Sucker Punch
- Publisher(s)
- Sony Interactive Entertainment
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- Action, Adventure, Open-World
