Sucker Punch Productions initially planned to incorporate a climbing system reminiscent of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild into their upcoming game, Ghost of Yōtei. Project leads Nate Fox and Jason Connell revealed at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) that a working prototype of this mechanic was even created.
However, during development, the team decided to scrap the idea. Connell explained that the climbing system ultimately didn’t align with the game’s core concept: embodying a wandering ronin. The key question guiding their decisions was always, “Does this mechanic help the player feel like a wandering ronin?” If the answer was negative, the idea was discarded.
Fox, who personally wished for a system allowing players to climb almost any surface, admitted that universal climbing presented significant challenges for open-world design. Certain areas were not intended for players to ascend, and allowing unrestricted climbing without adequate rewards for exploration quickly demotivated players from using the mechanic.