Ghost of Tsushima (2020)

This game is everything currently wrong with AAA gaming: a cinematic experience that completely forgets that gameplay is why people play games in the first place. Incredibly bloated, with side activities about as fun as a root canal. The story and characters are good enough to play through the game, but ultimately not memorable. The whole affair is seriously lacking in charm and personality. Everything is lifted from previous successful AAA games, the detective sections from Witcher 3, the enemy camps from Assassin’s Creed, the climbing sections from Uncharted, etc... and none of these feel like a design decision that really fits the game, rather the logical conclusion of a faceless think tank.

The game is polished and looks great, but in a very homogenous, uncanny valley way. Just like the Infamous series, Sucker Punch delivers a game that looked promising but is ultimately frustrating and uninspired.

And that is without going into the cultural appropriation of a Western team making a game that is about as Japanese as The Last Samurai.

6/10

The ubiquity of praise for Ghost of Tsushima is well-earned. I just want to give credit to Sucker Punch for their achievement in authenticity, story and gameplay. The story in particular deserves some praise. More critically well received games had worse or more basic stories than Ghost, yet this is one of the few aspects that critics targeted as a negative. This does the story a disservice. It is a hero's journey, yes, but its execution is nearly faultless.

The loading times are also without par on console for a AAA game. I don't normally like to fast-travel due to loading screens, but having both choices of enjoying the scenery or fast traveling being valid is a great boon. I must also praise the environment artists and level designers for creating such a varied and beautiful world.

The PS4/XBO era has seen some truly great games, but I hope Ghost of Tsushima is seen as an exemplary model of how open world games can be captivating, dense and not tiresome to traverse.

Gameplay= Mechanics, gameplay options (freedom), repetition, goals, difficulty

Story= plot, engagement, characters, world-building

Presentation= graphics, animation, environment/character design, Art direction, Script, music

Gameplay: 4.5/5 Story: 4.5/5 Presentation: 5/5

Great open-world action game. There is a lot to do and explore in this game. There is also a lot of diversity in playstyle whether you want to master sword combat or would rather be stealthy. Or if neither of those interest you archery is an option or direct combat using primarily combat tools instead. The game has one of the most beautiful environments I have seen in a realistic open world game. I took so many screenshots and recordings while playing this game. The pacing of the game is very dynamic. One moment you may be mediating on writing a haiku or honoring Shinto shrines while the next you may be liberating a farmstead through brutal combat. As far as the story goes there is the main plot which has great character development and apparent and impactful themes. There are many side missions also that are very unique and develop all of them main support characters you meet along the journey.

I've got quite a bit done, liberated the whole southern island, and getting some of t he mythic stuff done. Really digging in on the side quests and moving very slowly through the plot.

Reaching a point with the combat where I am deeply missing a lock on system. I know one of the devs said they wanted people to be able to quickly switch targets in combat but I keep finding times where I'm landing a combo, breaking guards, and when the enemy stuns Jin just slides by and starts attacking air behind them. I didn't change the direction I was holding...

Or, there's a cool move that does a bunch of bonus damage to an enemy with a broken guard so I'll do that, break the guard, and when I hit the buttons Jin will attack a guy behind him? I wasn't holding that direction?

Most of this didn't come through on weaker enemies, they die so quickly, but the tougher crowds take a bit more work, and it is beginning to feel like a big chunk of that work is just strange control hitches.

Still mostly enjoying though. The exploration is fun!

Yakuza Director Praises Ghost of Tsushima, Says Japan Should've Made It

Ghost of Tsushima is a worldwide hit, and it has been well received in Japan. In a recent Sega livestream (via Hachima), Nagoshi was asked about his thoughts regarding the game’s success.

“To be honest, we [Japan] were beaten,” he replied with a chuckle. “Yeah, of course, we’re losing. Honestly, I think that’s a game that should be made in Japan.” But, he continued, you can tell that the developers did a massive amount of research.

I bet Ghost of Tsushima is making a lot of people interested on seeing samurai movies, so I made a list of the best movies of the 'samurai jidaigeki' genre.

Obviously, I filled the list (in spanish, as usual) with Kurosawa movies because of course I would do that.

You can read it here.

My copy arrived in the post a day early, pretty pleased with that!

So far it's nothing revolutionary or particularly inventive. The exploration is pretty by the numbers, which isn't an issue if you like open world exploration, collectathon type games. Think Assassin's Creed but with a better combat system.

The fighting shines, having combat awareness is key since you can be overwhelmed and killed pretty quickly. Stealth mechanics are a bit "meh" but not really bad either.

It's competent, but nothing that'll change the world of video games forever. Obviously, have a whole lot more to play, but first impressions are pretty positive for me.

It's pretty glitchy and shallow at first. It's trying really hard to be a Kurosawa film. The cinematic aspects and the aesthetic are very much the point. The animations, the effects, the world, it's all lovely. The gameplay is a bit shallow and the story is very much of it's inspiration. it's not very entertaining or interesting, it's just an excuse to make this game. despite all that, it's fun. the combat is repetitive but satisfying. There is much to discover and unlock. wandering this vast world with a lot of empty spaces can be relaxing. there's a lot of eye candy to enjoy, both in the environment and in the costumes you can unlock, the gestures you can make (there's a lot of visual things you can do to get the aesthetic you want that otherwise serve no purpose) lots of neat photo opportunities. If you like that sort of thing, or if you really love old samurai movies, you're going to have a good time cutting down enemies, spouting cliches about the bushido code, blathering about honor, composing haikus, playing your flute, chasing foxes. if you want a very deep or challenging game, go play sekiro.

review to come when i've finished