Opinion

A newly-leaked 10-minute vertical slice of a shelved game dubbed Prophecy reveals just how different of Ghost of Tsushima could have been.

  • A 10-minutes vertical slice of a shelved Sucker Punch game has leaked online.
  • The project, dubbed Prophecy, was seemingly canceled to make way for Ghost of Tsushima, with certain mechanics and animations carrying over.
  • Prophecy may help explain why Ghost of Tsushima is Sucker Punchs first game in over six years.

Last week, developer Sucker Punch Productions revealed it explored numerous concepts, including pirates and musketeers, before settling on the Feudal Japanese setting of Ghost of Tsushima.
A newly-leaked 10-minute vertical slice of a shelved game dubbed Prophecy reveals what the game could have been.
A protagonist named Abel trawls a medieval city-scape in search of a lost subterranean chamber. Hunted by guards, Abel uses chemistry, stealth, and melee combat to extract himself from sticky situations while parkouring across scaffolding and rooftops to evade his pursuers.
Its a mix between Assassins Creed, the Uncharted series, and The Order: 1886 with stealth reminiscent of the Dishonored series thrown in.
Prophecy is a far cry from the vast and gorgeous feudal-Japan in Ghost of Tsushima. | Source: Sucker Punch Productions/Sony
From the looks of it would have been a radically different experience to Ghost of Tsushima. Still, we can see how certain elements transferred over to Sucker Punchs latest effort first-person crawl mechanic, sword-fighting, and character animations, to name a few.
The detail and quality of whats on show suggest Prophecy moved beyond the conceptual, embryonic stage before Sucker Punch canceled the project. The environments, animations, and combat all suggest the studio put a considerable effort into bringing Prophecy to life.
Prophecy explains why it took six years to make Ghost of Tsushima. | Source: Sucker Punch
Prophecy may also explain why it took Sucker Punch over six years to create and release Ghost of Tsushima following 2014s Infamous Second Son.
The file data suggests the video dates back to 2016 and bears the hallmarks of a reveal teaser youd expect to see at E3. Its unclear how long Sucker Punch worked on Prophecy or when it changed directions in earnest, but it seems the developer didnt settle on Ghost of Tsushimas setting until relatively late.
Although Prophecy looks intriguing and is a fascinating peek into a game that will never see the light of day, I, for one, am pleased Sucker Punch opted for Jin Sakais quest to liberate his homeland from the invading Mongols.
Samburaj Das edited this article for CCN.com. If you see a breach of our Code of Ethics or find a factual, spelling, or grammar error, please contact us.