Ten years ago, there was a time when it seemed like feudal Japan was the go-to setting for pretty much every video game under the sun. It makes sense; it was a time of wandering warriors and codes of honor. At least, the romanticized Samurai flicks want you to think so. While games like Nioh and Seikro are still plentiful, this sort of lone Samurai game feels less oversaturated in 2020. Thanks to that, Ghost of Tsushima is able to stand out a bit and carve its place as the Japan set Assassin’s Creed game we never got.
Ghost of Tsushima (PS4 [reviewed with a PS4 Pro])
Developer: Sucker Punch
Publisher: Sony
Released: July 17, 2020
MSRP: $59.9
The characters of Ghost of Tsushima are fictional, but it is based on a real event. In 1274 the Mongol Empire invaded Japan, starting with the island of Tsushima. You play as Jin Sakai, a samurai lord. After losing everything in a battle with Khotun Khan and his forces, he has to reevaluate whether his strict code of honor will cause the Samurai and his other remaining allies to fail at suppressing these foreign invaders.
As heroes go, Jin can be about as compelling a plank of wood most of the time. Jin’s character arc mostly centers around his obligation to follow the example set by his uncle, the Jito of Tsushima; Lord Shimura weighed against his need to adopt new and less honorable tactics to stand a chance at liberating his home. While the story goes to some interesting places, it takes a long time to get there. In this forty to fifty-hour journey I didn’t find myself genuinely interested in Jin as a character until the third and final act.
The more exciting story beats come in the form of character-driven side missions. Over the course of Jin’s fight, he will need to recruit allies, but they all have their own tasks that you can engage with. Characters likely lady Masako, the wife of a fallen Samurai, who takes up arms against the clan that sold out her family to the Mongols. There are five or six different character stories each spread out over anywhere from three to nine missions each. They all feel like their own self-contained Samurai films with Jin as a supporting player.
On top of these character quests, you’ll also find a few Mythic tales. These objectives have Jin tracking down sets of legendary armor or fabled sword techniques; all of these are given to Jin via tales from a traveling musician and are some of the best moments in the game.
Gameplay harkens back to the feel of older Assassin’s Creed games. Combat can be frustrating early on with an auto-lock system that easily gets in the way at first and parry windows that serve better once opened up using equipable charms you can collect. If you choose only to fight like an honorable Samurai I’m afraid you’re bound to be disappointed. With the proper upgrades to Jin’s multiple stances and good use of dodges and parries combat feels pretty great, but it takes a few hours of building up those skill trees and using said skills in conjunction with Jin’s ghost weapons like Kunai and smoke bombs that make it all come together.
The best combat encounters can be completed without the enemies ever laying eyes on you, but if You’re feeling particularly honorable, you can challenge your foes to a standoff. This timing-based mini-game lets you cut down a number of your opponents with a single strike each before they get the chance to attack you.
Outside of regular combat, you can square off in special battles called duels. During a duel, you only have access to Jin’s katana, and the camera changes to the perspective of a Soul Caliber like 3D fighting game. Early on, these fights are admittedly rough, but with the correct loadout of armor and charms, they can become some of the most rewarding encounters.
When you’re not throwing knives at folks and dueling wandering ronin, you’ll mostly be doing the things you come to expect from open-world games. Collectibles like hot spring locations and fox dens boost your health and charms, respectively; you can also collect resources to upgrade your sword and different equipable armor sets.
The use of a HUD is minimal, and Sucker Punch found a unique way to help the player track objectives without giving Jin a GPS in Feudal Japan. The wind is used to track your next target and a swipe up on the touchpad brings in a stiff breeze to help you stay on track.
Jin has a trusty horse by his side for his journey across Tsushima, but I found myself walking more often than not since this world is arguably the most beautiful the PS4 has to offer this generation. While the much-hyped Kurosawa mode that adds a black and white film grain is a fun novelty, using it for the entire adventure would rob you of the fantastic use of color Sucker Punch studios presents here.
The bright visuals let fields of gorgeous flowers pop and the use of wind and particle effects had me playing around with the incredible photo mode more than I ever had in a game.
Verdict: Ghost of Tsushima doesn’t do a lot outside of the wonderful photo mode and unique minimalist tracking to change the open-world formula, and that’s fine! The combat is fun, characters compelling, and while it’s a bit of a slow burn, the story goes places. If you’re in the mood for a checklist type of game I can’t recommend it enough. If that doesn’t sell you I liked it enough to grab the Platinum trophy by the time I rolled credits.
Buy it
Author: Rich Meister