Sony is making sure the PlayStation 4 era is going out with a bang, releasing a number of high profile and highly regarded games only a few weeks apart from one another. The most recent title,Ghost of Tsushima, is Sucker Punch Productionsswan song for the PS4 era, fitting considering the studio also helped kick off the current console generation withinFAMOUS: Second Son.
WhileGhost of Tsushimais likely going to be remembered for its lush and gorgeous open world, one of its more defining characteristics is the game’s Photo Mode. This shouldn’t be a surprise to fans of Sucker Punch as the studio has become known for this trend in its recent games. Fans have already flocked to the mode and produced some stunning screenshots of protagonist Jin Sakai and the world of Tsushima.
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The photo mode inside ofGhost of Tsushimais incredibly powerful, taking the studios previous work and expanding the amount of customizable options significantly. While fans have the standard options like controlling the camera as well as lens focus, the game also allows players to control the wind speed and direction, add particle effects, leave the background animations, and much more. With how versatile the feature is combined with the amazing visuals, Photo Mode is proving to bemore than a little distracting in the best way possiblefor players.
While this is no doubt a fun past time for some, the idea of a photo mode itself is incredibly powerful, not simply for player engagement but from a business standpoint as well. With so many screenshots, gifs, and videos being produced and shared online,Ghost of Tsushima’sPhoto Modehas almost become a marketing tool for the game. Through social media connections, this content is able to reach an even broader array of potential players, more so than Sucker Punch or Sony could reach. Therefore, shared screenshots and videos become another way to capture people’s attention and perhaps even sell some on picking up the title.
It’s because of this that next generation games may want to follow Sucker Punch’s lead in this regard, as adding a Photo Mode helps market a game through word of mouth. Not only that, it’s essentially free advertising as well. Although the game proved to be a bit divisive with fans, one thing that everyone agreed on is thatThe Last of Us 2’sphoto mode was also incredibly impressive.
Guerrilla Games has proven to be adept in this regard as its last major title,Horizon: Zero Dawn, also came with one and was then further enhanced in an update after launch. Images and video were constantly shared around social media and even highlighted by Guerrilla themselves. As such, fans are likely expecting an even more fleshed out system when the game’s sequel,Horizon: Forbidden West, arrives in 2021. As stunning as the game looked in it’s reveal trailer, there’s no doubt that fans are going to be making some equally impressive content once it launches.
While it’s unrealistic to expect that every game will ship with a dedicated photo mode, the feature has taken off more as of late with games likeDeath StrandingandBorderlands 3also giving fans an opportunity to mess with the camera. With even more technology and power behind the PlayStation 5 and how wellGhost of Tsushima’sPhoto Mode has been receivedby fans, perhaps more companies will start to take a feature like this a bit more seriously in the next generation as a way to latch on to a bit of free promotion from players. In a race to be the best, Photo Mode could be one way Sony can overcome its competition.
Ghost of Tsushimais available now exclusively for PS4.
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