Salutations Pixel Warriors! I wanted to review this game earlier, but I lacked motivation. So today I thought; “why put off tomorrow what you could do today?” With that said, follow me to Tsushima Island, year 1274 as we carve a path from Scrub Samurai to Ghost God!
THE MAN, THE MONSTER, THE MONGOL: KHOTUN KHAN
Khotun Khan, grandson of Genghis, tyrannical lord of death. The protagonist of Ghost Of Tsushima perfectly sets the tone for a bloody and brutal narrative that pulls at the heartstrings. From the opening cutscene, the sense of failure and loss is almost palpable. I originally played the game in Kurosawa Mode; a novel mode that changes the game black and white(and with Japanese language). I appreciate what Sucker Punch has done here. About thirty hours in, I switched to standard mode and I’m glad I did. Ghost of Tsushima is a visual feast.
BOUND BY BLOOD, A SAMURAI’S CODE
Ghost of Tsushima takes place in 13th century Japan, during the Mongol Invasion. Certain creative liberties have been taken for entertainment purposes, but you want to hear about the gameplay, yes?
You play as samurai Jin Sakai; a hard-edged, stoic and intrepid warrior. During your time on Tsushima Island, you’ll slice, slash and murder Mongols as if your life depends on it. Melee combat is the main focus here, but you also have a wealth of tools at your disposal. Including but not limited to: smoke bombs, firecrackers, kunai. (Trying to keep this relatively spoiler-free)
The game is split into three acts; with each region(Izuhara, Toyotama, Kamiagata) respectively. Early during Act 1, Jin is forced to choose between his Samurai Code, or doing what is necessary to save his island and its’ people. Long story short, Jin throws tradition to the wind and becomes The Ghost Of Tsushima; a symbol The Mongols come to fear.
STEEL ON BONE
Ghost of Tsushima’s combat system is fairly close to the modern Assassin’s Creed games(think AC Odyssey, not AC3). Some PWs will be put off by this comparison surely, but I love the combat system. At first, Jin can only use rudimentary slashes and blocks, but as you defeat Mongol Leaders, you unlock stances. Stances are basically combat styles that make it easier to handle certain foes. The Water Stance for example, handily defeats sword-wielding foes, but doesn’t work so well on shield users. You can kill any enemy with any stance, but using the right stance on the right enemy keeps the flow of death and chaos constant(as it should be).
Side content is standard fare, but still engaging. The swordplay and mechanics are so good, that I never really got fed up or felt it was too repetitive.
I AM LEGEND
Delivered to players in a Autumnal update, Ghost Of Tsushima’s Legend Mode features 4 player co-op multiplayer. I was surprised(as I’m sure you were too!) when it was announced. Most open world games these days don’t have multiplayer, let alone without loot box and micro transaction nonsense. Bravo Sucker Punch, Bravo.
Ghost of Tsushima is a top 5 game this year. If not for another game(hahahaha…review coming soon on that) this would be my undisputed best game of the year, but there’s no failure here, many critics and gamers disagree with me.
Peace out and enjoy!
DEVELOPER: SUCKER PUNCH
GENRE: OPEN WORLD
PLATFORM(S): PS4
PRICE: $39.99(Amazon)
AVAILABLE: NOW
Purveyors Of Pixels 