Ghost Of Tsushima OPINION: Sucker Punch should make a HUGE PS5 superhero game with Batman, Spider-Man, Daredevil or another iconic character from Marvel or DC


If you're trying to work out what Ghost Of Tsushima's gameplay reminds you of, it may well be the Batman Arkham games or Spider-Man PS4. This is why we reckon that Sucker Punch, the developers behind Ghost Of Tsushima, could make a brilliant superhero game for the PS5.

After all, Sony acquired Sucker Punch way back in 2011. And now that Ghost Of Tsushima is out in the world, Sony will want to see what Sucker Punch can cook up for the big new Sony hardware that is the impending PlayStation 5 console.

READ MORE:The best audio settings for Ghost Of Tsushima

Keep reading to find out our full thoughts on Sucker Punch's current situation, and why we really hope their first PS5 project involves a huge superhero IP like Batman or Spider-Man...

Ghost Of Tsushima is a superhero game set in feudal Japan

Once you're through the tutorial area and out exploring the open world, the similarities between Ghost Of Tsushima and the recent superhero games from Rocksteady (the Arkham franchise) and Insomniac (the Spider-Man franchise) become very clear.

If you were a very casual gamer, you might even assume that Tsushima was made by the same developers as those hugely popular Batman and Spider-Man games.

In all of these games, you play as a lone hero with an overarching quest to take down a big baddie, and you'll pick up new upgrades and handy fighting skills along the way to help you get ready.

You can also flit between side missions and explore a big open area, helping ordinary people and hoarding collectables as you go. Swap a sacred shrine for a Riddler trophy, or a Haiku-inspired headband for a Peter Parker backpack, and you'll see that Tsushima is built around the exact same sort of busywork that fans have come to expect from the superhero sub-genre of gaming.

Even the combat style is similar, with players given the choice between stealthily taking down their foes or jumping straight into a fight and trying to dodge, combo and generally slash their way to victory. Swap the roof of a small hut for a handily-positioned gargoyle, or a Samurai smoke bomb for some electric webbing... ah come on, you get the idea!

READ MORE:Spider-Man Miles Morales game trailer and more news

Spider Man Miles Morales FPS PS5
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MILES AHEAD: Sony already has Insomniac working on the Spider-Man IP.

The PS5 needs another big superhero game

Although Sony already has Insomniac working on the Spider-Man: Miles Morales game (and presumably also a full sequel to Spider-Man PS4), there's no denying that another blockbuster superhero character would be a nice thing for Sony to have on PS5 - and the team at Sucker Punch just proved that they know how to make one!

Sony already has a strong relationship with Marvel: as well as teaming up with Marvel Games for Insomniac's Spider-Man games, Sony also collaborates with Marvel Studios on the Tom Holland MCU movies. So perhaps a deal could be struck behind the scenes for Sucker Punch to develop a game around another iconic Marvel hero!

The chances of a PS5-exclusive DC Comics game currently seem a bit slimmer, because Sony's rivals at Microsoft are in talks to buy Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment. This deal, should it go through, could mean that the Xbox Series X bosses at Microsoft also own the Arkham franchise developers from Rocksteady, AND they'd pick up the Injustice team from NetherRealm.

If that acquisition does happen, it would provide all the more motivation for the PS5 team at Sony to get another superhero game of their own into production. They'll want to have something to fight back with if the Xbox team ends up owning some big DC games.

As for which heroes we'd love to see tackled in a Sucker Punch game, we'd really be looking for another superhero that has a cool skillset to play with and an eye-catching location to explore. How about a Daredevil game set in an open-world version of Hell's Kitchen??

READ MORE:The full list of confirmed PS5 games

But will there be a Ghost Of Tsushima 2?

Ghost of Tsushima
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SUPERHERO BLOCKBUSTER OR SAMURAI SEQUEL - what will Sucker Punch do next?

One thing that stands in the way of our dream to see Sucker Punch working on a big exclusive PS5 game based around a Marvel or DC hero is this: Ghost Of Tsushima is selling well (and rightly so, because it's great), which could mean that Sony would rather get Sucker Punch to work on a sequel rather than switching to a superhero IP.

After all, making another game using the pre-existing Tsushima code as a starting block would surely be a quicker process than creating a different franchise from scratch. And Sony would probably get a greater chunk of the profits from an original idea like Tsushima, whereas there could be licensing fees and profit-share situations attached to making a Marvel/DC game.

But still, household name characters can help to sell games (and consoles), so the big-wigs at Sony will have to weigh up the pros and cons and see whether Ghost Of Tsushima 2 is the most profitable way to fill the next few years of Sucker Punch's schedule. Perhaps moving them onto a superhero IP, or something else with a bit more pulling power, would pay out more in the long run.

Either way, we'll be excited to see what Sucker Punch does next, whether it's our dream superhero game or an awesome sequel to Ghost Of Tsushima (or something totally different). The studio's next big project has not yet been revealed, so we'll be sure to follow their upcoming announcements with great interest.

READ MORE:PS5 vs Xbox Series X console war countdown!

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