Summary
- Horse bonding mechanics in Red Dead Redemption 2 add emotional depth to gameplay, a feature Ghost of Tsushima 2 should consider adopting.
- Players bond with horses through interactions like feeding and grooming, enhancing gameplay and making the horse a true companion.
- Ghost of Tsushima 2 could improve on the first game's mounts by incorporating similar horse-bonding mechanics for a more immersive experience.
Ghost of Tsushima's open world is one of the most beautiful in gaming history, featuring plenty of captivating sights and sounds to entice players to explore. While exploring on foot can be gratifying enough, traversing the world on horseback is not only more efficient but also arguably more enjoyable, as players can develop a bond with their traveling companion while they experience the world's many wonders to behold. Ghost of Tsushima's horse is certainly a compliment to its open world, and witnessing the relationship between it and the game's protagonist, Jin Sakai, flourish over time is one of the story's most heartwarming features.
Red Dead Redemption 2 is notable for its realism and that includes its horse mechanics. While exploring the wilderness in Red Dead Redemption 2, players can find and tame a diverse array of wild horses, but rather than treating them as nothing more than useful traversal tools, the game encourages players to develop lasting bonds with them through the gameplay benefits that these bonds can provide. Ghost of Tsushima 2 could take note of these mechanics and utilize them for a much deeper mount system than its predecessor.
Ghost of Tsushima 2 Should Find the Courage to Take Its Darkest Moment Further
Ghost of Tsushima's darkest moment should serve as a starting point for more emotionally charged gut-punch moments in Ghost of Tsushima 2.
Ghost of Tsushima 2 Should Adopt Red Dead Redemption 2's Horse Bonding Mechanics
Red Dead Redemption 2's Horse Bonding Mechanics Lead to More Effective Mounts
Upon purchasing and/or taming a horse in Red Dead Redemption 2, players are then encouraged to build bonds with their mounts through a variety of means. To bond with their horse, players need to ensure they regularly feed it, reassure it when it becomes anxious, groom it when it gets dirty, and simply ride it. Performing each of these actions frequently will increase the player's bonding level with that horse, which can produce several different beneficial results.
Upon increasing their bond with a horse in Red Dead Redemption 2, players receive several bonuses. At bonding level 2, players can perform the rearing action with their horses. At bonding level 3, horses can be commanded to stop or turn. At bonding level 4, players can command their horses to piaffe and drift. In addition to these bonus maneuvers, the horse's stamina, health, bravery, and loyalty increase with each bonding level.
This system gives players plenty of reason to interact with their mount while simultaneously "humanizing" the horse by making it a true companion rather than a mere traversal tool.
Ghost of Tsushima 2 Should Feature Horse-Bonding Mechanics
While it was heartwarming to see the bond between Jin and his horse increase throughout Ghost of Tsushima's first two acts, there was very little opportunity for the player to personally bond with the horse, despite any companionship they may have formed with it vicariously through Jin. As such, Ghost of Tsushima 2 could improve upon this by allowing players to bond with their horses in the same way they can in Red Dead Redemption 2.
Incorporating mechanics that encourage players to keep their horses fed and maintained would constantly draw attention back to the mount, thereby giving it a more prominent role in the world. Furthermore, the ability to increase the bonding level by riding the horse would encourage players to use their horse more to traverse the world than on foot.
There's a lot Ghost of Tsushima 2 could do to improve the first game's mounts, but simply taking a cue from Red Dead Redemption 2's horse-bonding mechanics might do the trick. Then, rather than simply being another character in the game, the horse could essentially be an extension of the player and potentially add a little more emotional tension to the overall experience.
Ghost of Tsushima
- Released
- July 17, 2020
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Language, Partial Nudity
- Developer(s)
- Sucker Punch
- Publisher(s)
- Sony
- Engine
- Proprietary
- Number of Players
- 2-4
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5
- How Long To Beat
- 25 Hours
- Metascore
- 83
- PS Plus Availability
- Extra & Premium
