Ghost of Tsushima (2020)

Game #23/200 +awesome progression system that rewards you with XP for exploration and map task completion, which eventually turns into technique points. Techniques are incredibly varied and you can easily cater toward both a stealth and melee style of gameplay. Both are equally fun.

+it’s addictive to run around the map finding tasks. I may sound like an open world novice, but this game is the equivalent of having a huge checklist of tasks and crossing them off one after another. It’s super satisfying.

+quest menu manages to be stylish, sleek, and highly informative. Breaks quest info down into parts to allow you to easily get a summary of the quests events.

+historical setting is rather unique and cool. Gorgeous visuals and audio.

~kind of an expansion on the Shadow of Mordor/Batman style combat system utilizing a rock paper scissors type mechanic. It is fresh and fluid and simple though. It certainly works and is visceral and fun Maybe a little Witcher-ish, haven’t played that in years. You can die quite easily which adds tension.

+NPCs always have useful dialogue because their observations hint at quests or important map locations

+fast travel is essentially 0 load (On PS5 anyway)

-derivative open world tasks like lighthouses and outpost liberation. Some tasks feel pretty stale (even for me who rarely plays open-world games).

-several quests are 9 parts. I found myself zoning out a bit on many of the less interesting plots.

-story is so-so. Not mind blowing but interesting enough to follow.

-side quests are a little too samey. Redundant themes (mongols attack merchants or steal something, you kill them), and similar tasks. There’s definitely enough variety because of the many options you have in combat and how gorgeous the varied landscapes and action set pieces are, but you will be feeling the monotony a bit after 14-15 hours.

-stealth system is very generous. It’s a little silly that you can explode a group of enemies from 15 feet away with several arrows and they will have no idea where you are.

Optional music to listen to whilst reading: 'Lady Masako' from Ghost of Tsushima Soundtrack

Family, tradition, and honour. It's rare that I get sucked into a world that I know very little about. The characters, landscape, music, and the story are beautifully crafted to give you an overwhelming sense of place and appreciation for the culture. Sucker Punch have clearly done their homework here and although I am sure there are elements they may have missed, the end result is nothing short of a love letter to Japanese Culture and Kurosawas visionary film making.

The relationship between Jin and his uncle is goosebumps material and you'll often feel yourself being torn apart by the decisions that Jin has to make; decisions that he has to make, not out of choice, but out of necessity. It's for these reasons that Ghost of Tsushimas story is a standout for me. Choosing between family, tradition, honour, and doing whatever it takes to save his people is an incredible plot device and it goes far enough to carry the entire game. The problems these decisions create is portrayed beautifully through the various characters you meet in the game and is overall elevated to new heights thanks to the outstanding soundtrack.

The level of attention given to the story is carried across to other aspects of the game such as the combat and the open world. The combat is relatively simple yet undeniably satisfying. Playing on legendary after you've gotten the basics down is a must - there's nothing quite like calmly parrying attacks and slicing through enemies like butter. Just remember to pay your respects afterwards.

The world opens up to you in a 'fog of war' fashion as you progress through the story and clear out enemy camps and side missions. And what a beautiful landscape it is. Moments of calm crop up whenever you come across a single cherry blossom tree on a cliff top with a haiku kneeling spot next to it. Breathe it all in, take photos in photo mode, and just admire the painting-like landscape Sucker Punch have created.

So how does the game actually fare whilst playing it? Well its like your typical open world, there are main story missions to play and then secondary missions as well as open world objectives, camps to clear etc. Your waypoint is the wind itself and there is lots to discover as you travel around the island. My only annoyance with the open world is the fox dens as there are so many of them.

I hope everyone gets a chance to experience Ghost of Tsushima even if they think it won't be their cup of tea. The story Sucker Punch is trying to tell here is worth experiencing and shows that basic human struggles transcend all cultures.

Some of the combat and movement mechanics can be frustrating, but overall, I found myself totally invested in the story and characters. It's also incredibly beautiful to look at.

The part that shines the most is the story. I found myself doing the slow camera pans and using the gestures to try to play my part as well as I could in this awesome narrative. I'd love to see this turned into a movie or a TV series.

I platinumed this game.

This game absolutely allowed me to live out my fantasy of being a samurai in feudal Japan.

The combat was punishing but fair, and like many games is hardest at the beginning when you have so little health and resolve that you'll die in a few hits if you don't learn to master the skills of parrying, dodging, or breaking an opponent's stance. The more skills, weapons, armour, and resolve you acquire, the more forgiving the game becomes.

There are so many playstyles on offer that I never really got sick of any of them. I rotated through so many options; playing as an archer who was always in slow motion as long as I kept getting headshots, being a stealthy ninja who assassinated isolated foes with a quick stab to the neck, being an honourable warrior by having stand-offs and killing foes in honest one-on-one combat, breaking foes defences and keeping them constantly staggered, raining extra-strong knives and bombs down on my opponents, or just being a freaking bulwark and getting stronger every time someone hit me. The only playstyle I never really explored was the "terror" build, where certain actions could cause your opponent to fall to the ground in panic. These were all equally viable, and just depended on what seemed most fun to you though.

One of my favourite parts of any game is cosmetic changes. Fighting on behalf of a samurai family? Better don their armour and wear their colours. Going on a stealth mission? Ghost-suit up. Enterring a snowy part of the map? Better equip the armour with the fur cape and a facewrap. I switched outfits thousands of times throughout the game, and I wish there'd been a quick-load button for it, but I got pretty used to changing my hat, mask, sword etc. to create different styles for every occasion. Special mention to the Fundoshi armour, which you only get at the end of the game once you've visited every hotspring - I thoroughly enjoyed running around Japan killing bears and slaughtering mongols in that particular outfit.

I'm not normally a fan of sandbox games because I tend to get overwhelmed by seeing how many markers are on the map, so I really appreciated the "fog of war" that kept most of that information concealed from me. It was a pleasure to gradually uncover new missions, strongholds, and secrets: I especially loved the secret shrines, and the voicelines/reactions that came when Jin bowed in different circumstances.

Also special shoutout to queer inclusion and the lack of judgement around polyamory. That shit never gets old.

All in all, I spent ~60 hours playing this and came very close to 100%'ing it, but I felt like I'd derived as much satisfaction as I needed to. Maybe one day I'll play New Game Plus, but until then, a very well deserved 9/10 from me.

What an experience.

Sucker Punch did a phenomenal job capturing essence of Japan. The colors pop in every scenery. The story is beautifully written and the voice acting in both English and Japanese are both amazing and engaging. Experience what it means to sacrifice for the LOVE for your people definitely struck a chord for me. The sound design is top notch as well.

The gameplay is tricky though, this is an open world game which means that it has cliche tendencies. Liberating camps and territories, collectibles across the map. However, I would say it’s the best to do it with that formula. The combat is good, I wish they did a little more with it. Switching styles just to break the enemies’ guard gets a little repetitive. The stealth is pretty good, I enjoy it more than the combat itself.

Overall, this was a great experience. PS4 went out with a bang with this game. Is it the best PS4 game? No. But it’s up there.

Play this game.

Ghost of Tsushima is basically playing thru every Samurai movie ever, in the best ways possible.

The action is tight and fast paced, filled with glorious kill shots and duels. The stealth mechanics work well, but aren't quite as visually amazing, until you can start chain assassinating.

Perhaps the best part of this game is the amazing landscapes it takes place in. The island of Tsushima in many ways feels like a character of its own. Whether its riding your horse through the beautiful fields of flowers, or sneaking thru bamboo forests, or reaching the peak of hills only to see stunning mountains in the distance, nearly every moment of this game is packed full of breath taking views.

The story of the game itself has some phenomenal moments, and I think ends near perfect. However, in the middle, it drags a little bit. If, like me, you find the game to start to drag towards the end of Chapter 2/ start of 3, do yourself a favor and finish the main quest, and stop doing so many side quests, as post game you will still be able to do more questing.

The core conflict of the game between duty, honor, and actually accomplishing your goals is fascinating, and asks how far will you go to save people. The game does a decent job demonstrating the failings of thinking only of personal honor, but doesn't do as good a job showing the failings of the ends justify the means thinking.

I think the thing that holds this game back the most is a relatively small cast of characters, and a protagonist that I do not think is the most interesting. The people Jin gathers around him have a lot more interesting things happening in their personalities. Sensei Ishikawa being my personal favorite.

Overall, I think this game brings the feel of playing through a Samurai game perfectly, well worth giving a play!

This is a fun and beautiful samurai adventure. As you liberate the island with slowly growing renown, you really do feel like a legend. It’s got a fun world to get lost into and there is a LOT of downtime to appreciate the visual spectacle. I never felt in a rush but rather savoured all 60 hours of my time with the game. Especially frolicking about with a fox.

Video review below ↓

Ghost of Tsushima is a delightful surprise with its stunning rendition of medieval Japan, a refreshing take on the now well-rounded open world genre. Let’s be clear: it doesn’t revolutionise any of the usual mechanisms, and you will find them all (collectibles, stealth/all-guns-blazing combat modes, side quests, XP reward, skill tree, etc.), but that’s not where Ghost of Tsushima’s strengths lie.

A clear stress has been put on immersion and exploration. What you get is:

• a faithful effort to consistently replicate 13th century Japan with its architecture, lore, gear, landscape, people - I most definitely recommend playing it in Japanese with subtitles! - with references that will delight aficionados of the samurai genre
• a bare hud, no minimap, no directive pathfinding, a map size that is not daunting
• breathtaking colours, lights, ambient sounds, and moments of pure contemplation Ghost of Tsushima’s world is beautiful, and that’s what Sucker Punch wants you to see. Where AAA open worlds have recently failed us (Assassin’s Creeds’ overdose of boring mapped question marks, anyone?), Ghost of Tsushima puts the player in the explorer driver seat. Long after Jin has outgrown the skill or gear rewards you will still chase all the yellow birds to prolong that fantastic discovery experience.

Otherwise, the combat system, skill tree, XP progression system, AI, difficulty level, variety, are fine. There are a few points that could have been better: a main character with more charisma, some system flaws (enemy locking in combat, a shortcut to change outfits, please!). The writing would benefit from more maturity, even though I liked the fact that not all stories have a happy ending: it gives credibility to the war-torn world.

Overall I feel Ghost of Tsushima is where open world games should be headed: an immersive experience where nothing is black & white that transports the player to an otherworldly voyage where they get to be the master of their own crafted journey, leaving a long-lasting impression of gorgeous colours and sounds and stories, putting exploration back where it belongs - at the heart of the experience.

Critics' Score:

Metacritic: 83/100

Famitsu: 40/40

Game Informer: 9.5/10

EDGE: 6/10

Gamespot: 7/10

IGN: 9/10

Believe me, there is no one as disappointed with this game as me, the credits are rolling while I am writing this. This was supposed to be my GOTY, my favorite game of all time, I can't stress enough how much I love feudal Japan and the samurais, Kurosawa is one of my favorite directors of all time. And what do I get, this is a Far Cry with samurai skins.

While the combat mechanic is the only thing one could describe as "great" or at least "good", the rest is boring and repetitive. In fact, I have forced myself to finish it as I was already too disappointed with it. The stealth mechanic is incredibly simple and so is the parkour elements, they even retain the Infamous animations while Jin is climbing, making him look like almost floating in the air, which in this setting is ridiculous. The dialogue isn't even functional, is solely bad so is the story, incredibly cheesy and ridiculous, a compendium of all gaming cliches in the open-world genre we often see. The open world is astonishing, however, it does a great job in picturing that mythological Japan represented in the ukiyo-e artform. But a beautiful world doesn't work if what it inhabits it feels dead, the side missions are a pain and the only interesting activity I found was writing haikus, one of the few times I believe I had choice in the game. Those dialogue options were a joke. The graphics were great in some parts and incredibly disappointing in others; the light and wind particles were great, but some textures, the mud for example, terrible.

I can't understand how some will criticize The Last of Us Part II and laud this boring, repetitive and uninventive piece of pastiche open world, I suppose is a matter of tastes, but I am intrigued in what those people see here. As I said a Far Cry with a samurai re-skin and for all its beauty and colors it remains dull and lifeless from the beginning to the very end.

Score: 35/100