Ghost of Tsushima’s sequel,Ghost of Yotei, originally revealed a 2025 release window when the game was announced. Now,Ghost of Yoteiis committing to 2025 with a release date reveal of October 2, announced alongside abrand-new story trailer introducingGhost of Yotei’s six key antagonistsand a Collector’s Edition full of goodies (sans a physical copy of the game).
Not much ofGhost of Yoteihas been showcased beyond gorgeous vistas, bits of gameplay with new weapons, and brief teases of what the story will entail. Still, the Collector’s Edition boasts something that could occupy players for a majority of time in-game, depending on how in-depth it is as a minigame: Zeni Hajiki.
Ghost of Tsushima’s Collector’s Edition Subtly Reveals a Minigame in the Sequel
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt’s gwentis hardly the first game—open-world action-RPG or otherwise—to feature a collectible-based minigame with comprehensive, absorbing mechanics. However,The Witcher 3and gwent’s impacts on gaming since are impossible to overstate as new baselines for a golden standard in each of their respective genres and functions.
Gwent has inspired multipleWitcherspin-offs centered around the card game, includingCD Projekt Red’sThronebreaker: The Witcher Tales.
Horizon Forbidden West’s Machine Strike andFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirth’s Queen’s Blood are the latest PlayStation outings to dabble in such a minigame. Meanwhile, withGhost of Tsushimahaving other open-world activities to tend to, such as Bamboo Strikes and Haiku,Ghost of Yoteihas revealed Zeni Hajiki, which is reportedly “a game of skill you’ll play throughout Ghost of Yotei,” via a real-life version of it.Tsushimahad more than enough going on with an open world encouraging free-roaming exploration, to be fair, yet Sucker Punch’s epicGhostIP is arguably the perfect foundation for a recurring minigame akin to gwent, especially ifYoteihas players meet new NPCs on their journey to slay the Yotei Six.
Ghost of Yotei’s Zeni Hajiki Joins a Blossoming Catalog of Rich Minigames
It’s presently unclear what Zeni Hajiki is and how it will be played inGhost of Yotei, but context clues could help discern how players may go about this minigame. First, the name ‘Zeni Hajiki’ potentially alludes to players flicking coins a la the Japanese children’s gameohajiki, made evident by the Collector’s Edition’s “coin game and pouch.” Zeni Hajiki may only be one of many minigames inYotei, but its coins and pouch being produced for the Collector’s Edition demonstrates the significance it has in-game.
The fact that the Collector’s Edition’s Zeni Hajiki comes with instructions implies that there is at least an iota of depth to it. Moreover, Zeni Hajiki being “a game of skill” could have players pressing timed inputs as skill checks.
If Zeni Hajiki is anything likeohajiki, players may be competing against whatever RNG or AI difficulty NPCs wield when flicking coins at one another. This wouldn’t be dissimilar to when players encounter gwent competitors with preposterously overpowered decks inThe Witcher 3, though Zeni Hajiki may not require nearly as much strategy unless there are a number of unprecedented mechanics involved.
It wouldn’t at all be surprising ifGhost of Yotei’s Atsu indulges in Zeni Hajiki when approaching applicable NPCs or merchants, too, and it would be neat if players must collect various zeni in order to amass a pouch of coins to play with. Of course, this is all speculation. Until more about Zeni Hajiki is formally detailed, it’s simply a boon either way and will hopefully be as satisfying or compelling asgwent, Strike, andAssassin’s Creed Valhalla’s Orlog.
