The video game industry is often obsessed with the new: new franchises, new IP, new mechanics. However, some of PlayStation’s most impactful and beloved exclusives have found immense power not in radical innovation, but in thoughtful evolution. A fascinating trend within the PlayStation ecosystem is the development of “spiritual ahha4d successors”—games created by veteran developers that channel the core essence and design philosophy of their past classics into entirely new worlds and stories. These games act as a bridge between generations, offering the comforting feel of a beloved classic while providing a fresh canvas for new ideas, satisfying long-time fans while welcoming new audiences.

The most prominent example is Ghost of Tsushima from Sucker Punch Productions. For years following the conclusion of their inFAMOUS series, fans wondered what the studio would do next. Ghost of Tsushima answered that question by taking the core open-world action-adventure DNA of inFAMOUS—the fluid traversal, the moral-choice-driven narrative tension, the mastery of a unique set of combat abilities—and transposing it onto a rich, historical Japanese setting. The journey from neon-powered superhero to dishonorable samurai felt both radically new and comfortingly familiar. It was a spiritual successor not in name or story, but in soul and structure, allowing Sucker Punch to mature their craft while retaining the core appeal that made their previous work resonate.

This phenomenon extends beyond a single studio. When Keiichiro Toyama, the creator of the seminal Silent Hill, left Konami and formed Project Siren at Japan Studio, he created Gravity Rush, a game that, while utterly unique in its gravity-bending mechanics, carried the same torch for atmospheric, quirky, and character-driven storytelling with a tinge of the surreal. More recently, Stellar Blade by Shift Up carries the unmistakable DNA of character-action games like Bayonetta and NieR: Automata, aiming to capture that specific audience. These games provide a vital function: they preserve and iterate upon beloved genres and design philosophies that risk being forgotten in the push for homogenized, mass-market appeal.

For players, spiritual successors offer a rare guarantee of quality and a specific type of experience. They signal that a trusted developer is returning to the design principles they excel at, but with the wisdom and budget of a new generation. They satisfy the craving for “a game like that” without being a stale retread. In a landscape where franchises can be run into the ground by annualization, the spiritual successor is a purer form of sequel—one that honors the past by building something new upon its foundation, ensuring that the heart of a classic game can continue to beat strongly within a brand new body.