Ever since the firstInfamousgame back near the beginning of the PlayStation 3 generation, Sucker Punch has become known for visually stunning open worlds where players meaningfully interact with every element,crafting some truly amazing games. While rarely realistic, the stylized worlds of Sucker Punch games pay loving tribute to their pointed inspirations, making them unforgettable in the minds of many gamers.
Whether they are set in the fantastical comic book worlds ofInfamous, or the historically inspired (and Kurosawa-infused) world of feudal Japan inGhost of Tsushima,Sucker Punchworlds have something for everyone, and there are no doubt even greater settings to come from this legendary studio.
While far from a bad open world,Infamous: Second Son’s depiction of real-world Seattle suffers only due to the higher quality of the rest of Sucker Punch’s work. Most Sucker Punch worlds are highly stylized and don’t conform 1-to-1 with reality, instead adapting more comic book-y or dramatic film settings. That isn’t to sayInfamous: Second Son’sSeattle is hyperrealistic, but it’s not quite as visually gripping as its peers.
That being said, Seattle makes for a great accompaniment to the superhero antics of protagonist Delsin Rowe, who can fly around the skyscrapers and urban sprawl with a variety of innovative new powers. It’s not the best open world Sucker Punch have ever made, but it certainly delivers a fun time, and it remains a stark reminder thattheInfamousfranchise should definitely return sometime soon.
Sucker Punch’s first adventure into the open-world space has become one of its most memorable and is widely consideredone of the best in the franchise— and for good reason.Infamousas a superhero fantasy takes clear inspiration from superhero comic books, and Empire City is a clear send-up of cities like Metropolis or Gotham that are stand-ins for their own parallels in reality.
Empire City is a bit of a gray urban sprawl, which does hurt it in terms of visual splendor, but it is still a striking playpen, especially when things get really chaotic in the back half of the game. It’s just a shame that it’s so emblematic of the often drab, washed-out visual aesthetics that were so popular in the late 2000s.
While Tsushima was a fantastic open world for Sucker Punch to explore, the decision to include a brand-new island in its DLC paid off massively. While Iki Island doesn’t innovate in any major ways on the source game’s Tsushima, it is still stunningly beautiful,chock-full of Easter eggs and secrets, and offers a great setting for Jin’s emotional journey throughout theGhost of TsushimaDLC.
Returning players may find Iki Island’s stark beauty a little too familiar from what they’ve already played, but with some particularly memorable sections — such as the rock-strewn beaches and the radiant pink cherry blossom fields — there’s still more than enough here to rate Iki Island as one of Sucker Punch’s best open worlds.
The setting ofInfamous 2proves just how much Sucker Punch wanted to improve from the original game, transferring Cole (who underwent a somewhat controversial mid-development redesign) from the drab Empire City to the vibrant and very different streets of New Marais, a colorful comic book stand-in for New Orleans. The change in setting allows for a beautiful Southern Gothic setting to permeate every aspect of the game, leading to a brilliant and moody new atmosphere.
With a boost in the graphical department and a clear mandate to lean further into its comic book inspirations, New Marais is a clear step up in every regard. As a bonus, the Southern Gothic atmosphere also allowed the setting to be reused for the fantastic standalone expansion —Infamous: Festival of Blood —that brought more horror undertones to the surface with avampire-based narrativethat fit right in with the dark splendor of New Marais.
1Tsushima (Ghost Of Tsushima)
The Best Japanese Open World Ever
Frankly, it’s hard to imagine how Sucker Punch will ever surpass the visual splendor of Tsushima as a setting inGhost of Tsushima. The real-world island, situated almost exactly in the center between Japan’s southwestern coast and South Korea’s eastern coast, is rendered in loving detail. However, Sucker Punch took a clear choice to not let realism get in the way of style, which paid massive dividends.
Sucker Punch’s version of Tsushima is a sweeping island that is filled to the brim withgorgeous Akira Kurosawa-inspired vistas. Whether that be forests drenched in amber leaves or endless grain fields, it seems that nowhere on the island is immune from the visual splendor needed for a truly epic samurai duel to the death. It’s no wonderGhost of Tsushima’s photo mode was extremely popular— the Kurosawa mode that ups the grain in the picture and turns the image into a high contrast black and white was an instant fan favorite.
