Ghost of Tsushima checks just about every box that players could want a singleplayer game to check, and now it's covering even more ground that player didn't know they wanted with its Legends expansion. This free multiplayer update is coming in Fall of 2020 and promises to give fans a cooperative experience for up to four players. For the most part, this type of thing is almost unheard of, especially in today's video game atmosphere where co op experiences are few and far between, but with any luck it will become a trend among singleplayer games moving forward.
Without a doubt, Ghost of Tsushima feels and plays like a singleplayer game. It's very clear from the start that this open world romp is designed specifically for that type of gameplay, so when Sucker Punch announced Ghost of Tsushima: Legends, fans were pleasantly surprised. Though more and more games had started providing free content updates, adding in multiplayer to a game that doesn't already have it doesn't happen that frequently. There isn't a very specific release date for the expansion as of yet, but fan excitement remains high nonetheless. It's also caused many to question what other games would benefit from the inclusion of a multiplayer update.
Ghost of Tsushima: Legends Multiplayer Approach
Ghost of Tsushima: Legends is approaching multiplayer from an interesting perspective, having it be completely separate from the main story. This works well as there wouldn't really be a great way to justify multiplayer within the game's universe since Jin's adventure is mostly a solitary one. It also gives the developers the ability to use enemies and features that they wouldn't have in the main game. Ghost of Tsushima avoids supernatural elements for the most part, but Ghost of Tsushima: Legends will be full of monstrous enemies and mystical powers.
There will also be three different game modes within Ghost of Tsushima: Legends. The survival mode will pit groups of up to four players against waves of increasingly difficult enemies, and a small coop campaign will see pairs of friends do battle with hordes of mythological Japanese creatures. A while after release, players will be able to tackle a four player raid, which will no doubt add new levels of challenge to this free multiplayer offering. All of this lets Sucker Punch keep the core mechanics of Ghost of Tsushima without treading on its delicate story.
Singleplayer Games That Should Add Multiplayer
There are countless singleplayer games that could benefit from the addition of a cooperative mode in a similar way to Ghost of Tsushima, but a few of the more popular ones stand out. For example, Final Fantasy 7 Remake seems like it was made for multiplayer, as each of the player's party members already have fully designed and playable movesets. It wouldn't require much in the way of game design to allow players to take on VR battles with friends or something to that effect. There are a lot of other ways that multiplayer could be incorporated into this game as well.
For years, players have been asking for a multiplayer Elder Scrolls game, a request that has never been answered outside of Elder Scrolls Online. Modders have attempted to achieve something like this with varying levels of success, but most don't make it far enough for it to be readily available. If Bethesda were to add multiplayer either to Skyrim or to the upcoming Elder Scrolls 6, fans would be thrilled and it would be a first for the series. Unfortunately, this is all pretty unlikely, though perhaps if Ghost of Tsushima: Legends does well for Sucker Punch, other developers will follow suit.
Ghost of Tsushima: Legends releases Fall 2020 exclusively for PS4.
