Sucker Punch Productions’ samurai action game Ghost of Tsushima finally has a release date, and the PlayStation 4 exclusive will launch on June 26, just under a month after The Last of Us: Part II.
Along with the release date, Sony and Sucker Punch also revealed that Ghost of Tsushima will launch with three editions beyond a regular standard one: Special, Collector’s, and Digital Deluxe. Let’s break down all three:
If you’ve got the internet connection to merit an exclusively digital library, the Digital Deluxe Edition will be available for $69.99 USD / 89.99 CAD MSRP, and includes the game, a digital art book, director’s commentary (okay that’s pretty rad), a theme for your PS4 home screen, and some in-game items like skins and perks.
If, however, you’re like me and the rest of people living in rural areas who could not dream of downloading an entire AAA game on a single-digit per second download speed, you might want to look into physical copies that will carry the weight of that massive download for you. Sucker Punch is putting out two physical editions, the cheaper of which is simply called the Special Edition, and costs the same price as the Digital Deluxe Edition at $69.99 USD / 89.99 CAD MSRP. This includes almost all the same digital content as the Digital Deluxe Edition other than the theme, but it also comes in a slick Steelbook case.
Then, if you’re feeling especially fancy, Ghost of Tsushima has a Collector’s Edition, which will run you $169.99 USD / $219.99 CAD MSRP. This comes with everything included in the other two editions, but also some physical doo-dads to take up your shelf space or wall space. The art book included in the other editions is no longer digital with the Collector’s Edition, and is instead a 48-page mini art book to go on your shelf. From personal experience with Sony collector’s editions, I’ll tell you now that if the art book is what you want specifically, there’s a strong chance that a coffee table-sized book will come out in a few months, as that’s been the case with games like Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, which I bought the collector’s edition for, mainly to get the Nathan Drake statue, but ended up buying a second, larger art book a few months later because it was just better product. So keep that in mind if art books are what draws you most to these editions.
Beyond that, there’s also a cloth map, a war banner, and a wrapping cloth that resemble in-game items, as well as the headliner of the edition: the Sakai Mask, with a stand so it can take up space on your shelf.
Along with all of the above, Sucker Punch and Sony also released a story trailer which fills out the backstory of protagonist Jin Sakai, going back to his childhood where he was beginning his training as a samurai, all coming full circle to his adulthood when tragedy strikes and he gets put on a path of vengeance.
When Ghost of Tsushima launches it will be Sucker Punch’s first original IP since 2009’s Infamous, which the studio then followed up with two sequels and a spin-off. While there’s no word on whether the Infamous series will continue, the Sly Cooper series was taken over by Sanzaru Games, who made a fourth game following Sucker Punch’s original trilogy, but was unable to see its vision for the game through after Sony cancelled planned DLC. Since then, Sanzaru has been bought by Facebook and Oculus, meaning the series is probably gone for good now.
