Ghost of Yotei lead was "saddened" he had to tone down the game's flashback mechanic, which was originally far more complex: "I knew it was the right choice"

Atsu looks out across the surroundings of Mount Yotei in Ghost of Yotei.

Part of developing any game is killing your darlings, and that goes triple for something on the scale of Ghost of Yotei. Among the ideas cast aside in the blockbuster sequel was an added depth for the flashbacks that creative director Jason Connell truly wishes could’ve been avoided.

He spoke about it with Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan, breaking down his idea, and why it failed to take shape. "[Atsu is] on this lone wolf quest and then you press a button and suddenly she's kind of feeling the warmth of her past, like what she's fighting for," he says. "To me, that is like, what a great narrative tool, if with a single button [it can] make you feel something that's on their own volition."