Ghost of Tsushima Review

Ghost of Tsushima

Developer: Sucker Punch Productions
Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment
Reviewed on: Playstation 4 Pro
Available on: Playstation 4, Playstation 4 Pro

I’m riding my horse through a lush field towards a distant cloud of smoke, a sign that someone may need my help. Along the way I come across a group of enemies in the middle of the road. They’re guarding a cart with supplies and intend to keep me from passing. I get off my horse and begin a standoff with them. After a tense moment, I cut them down with three swift and precise sword strikes. I collect the supplies they had and get back on my horse when a bird appears next to me, ready to guide me towards another mystery that I have yet to discover.

Moments like these permeate the entire experience of Ghost of Tsushima, and they go a long way towards making the game as fun and immersive as it is. Combined with its excellent combat system, gorgeous visuals, and great story, you get a game that’s an amazing first entry in the franchise, even if there are some hiccups along the way.

The story takes place in the year 1274 when the Mongol army is invading the Japanese island of Tsushima. Their attack results in devastating losses, with Jin Sakai being one of the sole survivors. In order to combat the Mongols and regain control of his home, Jin must go against his Samurai teachings and adopt new tactics that will lead him to become the Ghost.

Sucker Punch tells a good story with Ghost of Tsushima. I was quickly invested in Jin’s journey and was excited to see the road that it would take. The personal struggle that he goes through as he tries to hold on to everything he’s learned throughout his life, while also doing what he deems necessary to protect his people and win the war, is something that I latched on to very easily. Seeing how it affects the people around Jin as well and what they think of him also helps drive it home.

Jin’s transformation into the Ghost is also reflected in gameplay through the different abilities that you unlock. As the story progressed, I found myself falling more in line with Jin’s character development. I started to be stealthier and use his different Ghost abilities more often in the back half of the game, as opposed to the first half where I played like a true, honorable Samurai as much as possible.

Aside from Jin, the other characters in Ghost of Tsushima are also great. They’re each deep, nuanced characters with their own journeys, and I found myself getting attached to each of them. Whether it be the thief Yuna who serves as Jin’s right hand and helps guide him in his battle against the Mongols, or Sensei Ishikawa, the stern and disciplined archer who wants to stop a former student that’s aiding the Mongols. Each of the people that you meet and work alongside throughout the game has an intriguing journey that allows you to get a better understanding of who they are and what they stand for.

There are also a lot of side missions for you to do all across the island. Some of these missions are attached to your allies and their stories, while others are one-off missions that you get from people in the world. Each of the side missions is fun and helps further the overall goal of protecting the people of the island. They’re also host to some of the best moments in the game. One mission that I particularly enjoyed had me meet a man whose daughter had been taken by the Mongols. He was preparing to go fight them on his own to get them back, but he took me out on his boat to the ship that she was on, and I snuck on board to free her and get her back to her father.

One character who doesn’t stand as tall as all the others is the villain, Khotun Khan. He appears multiple times throughout the game, and although he does command the screen when he’s present, he’s not that interesting. There’s no real depth to him aside from being the big bad guy that you need to stop. He’s simply a fine villain, but that didn’t detract much from my overall enjoyment of the story or how immersed I was.

Player immersion is a key goal that Sucker Punch strived for with Ghost of Tsushima and they achieved that with not just the story, but the exploration as well. After a linear prologue, the game opens up the island for you to explore at your leisure one section at a time. The island of Tsushima is a vast place that’s just begging to be explored, and the game makes the act of exploring something that comes naturally.

There is no compass, mini-map, or waypoint marker on the screen that indicates things for you to check out. The world itself piques your curiosity with visual and auditory cues that make you wonder what’s around the next bend in the road. While you’re riding around, you may see some light smoke wafting into the air. This indicates an activity for you to do, whether it be a bamboo strike, or a traveler that has a side mission to give you. Darker smoke clouds that look like they came from a fire indicate a location that’s been controlled by the Mongols for you to clear out.

Then there are things such as birds that will fly alongside you and lead you to new locations or missions that you have yet to discover, or fox dens where the little animals will guide you to a shrine that you can honor. All of these things happen seamlessly as you play and go a long way towards encouraging you to see everything that the island has to offer. Most importantly, your exploration is always rewarded with something worthwhile. It never felt like a waste of time for me to go off the beaten path and look for stuff.

You do have a map screen that you can mark a waypoint on, but instead of having it appear in the in-game world, the wind itself blows in the direction that you need to go. Once you’ve headed off, if you ever need a reminder of which way you should be going, a quick swipe up on the touch pad will make the wind blow again so you can adjust your direction. It’s such a clever and non-intrusive way of guiding you to your destination, and it’s something that I hope more developers take note of.

If there’s anything that you’ll be doing more than roaming around on the island in Ghost of Tsushima, it’s engaging in combat. It’s a good thing then that the combat is incredibly fun and consistently engaging. There is a learning curve to it though. You can’t just rush into battle swinging your katana with reckless abandon and expect to win, but fights can be over very quickly if you play it right. Combat requires you to be smart and methodical with how you take your enemies down. Parrying attacks and staggering enemies to give yourself an opening is crucial to success.

You also have four different sword stances that you unlock throughout the game. Each stance is best suited for a specific enemy type. Enemies wield different weapons and have require different strategies to take them down. For a swordsman, stone stance would be best, whereas water stance would be best for a shield bearer. It gets more challenging (but still fun) when you have multiple different enemy types around you, forcing you to change your stances on the fly to handle the attacks coming your way.

There are also powerful special attacks that you can perform by using some of your Resolve. Resolve is a resource you gain by performing kills or parries. This resource is also used to heal yourself, so you have to wisely manage how you use it. If you don’t have any Resolve, you can’t heal yourself as Jin doesn’t regenerate health once a fight is over. This was something that I liked as it forced me to engage in combat when I was injured and not just run away and wait for my health to return.

Notably, there’s no lock-on system for combat. Instead, you target enemies by pointing the left analog stick in the direction of the enemy you want to attack. I wasn’t a fan of this at first, but after some time I got used to it and realized that it was best this way, as it’s very common to be surrounded by enemies. Having to constantly lock-on to each person as they’re coming at you would be very annoying and break up the flow of combat. The camera can sometimes be a hindrance though and get in the way of combat, but it’s not too big of an issue.

Stealth is the other key component of enemy engagements and it works well. Hiding in the grass or above enemies to get the jump on them never fails to be exciting. There are a number of tools at your disposal as well to help you sneak your way through enemy camps if that suits your play style. The only issue I had with the stealth in the game is the fact that the enemy intelligence isn’t that bright when you play this way. On many occasions, I would kill an enemy within view of another one, but they wouldn’t see or hear me when they clearly should’ve.

As you progress through the game, your weapons and outfits can be upgraded using resources that you find in the world. These resources are plentiful and never hard to come across. Jin has different types of outfits, with each one giving you different benefits. It’s easy to find the one that you like which fits your play style. There are also charms that you earn as rewards for completing missions. Charms give you extra benefits such as extra damage or slower enemy detection speed. When you put all these options together, your Jin will end up being unique to you and the way that you choose to play.

Ghost of Tsushima is quite possibly the most beautiful game on the Playstation 4. Playing it on PS4 Pro in Resolution Mode on my 4K HDR TV was a treat for my eyes. The environments are stunning and the lighting elevates everything to a whole other level. I kept having to stop and take pictures in Photo Mode every few minutes because there was yet another moment that I wanted to capture. Speaking of, the Photo Mode in the game is one of the very best. There are a lot of different tools to mess with such as particle effects and density, wind direction and speed, and even music tracks to add to the background if you want to record a video. This is the new gold standard for Photo Modes in games.

Playing in Resolution Mode on my PS4 Pro, I experienced very few minor frame drops. There’s also a Performance Mode, but it simply locks the game to 30 FPS. So if you have to choose, I recommend going with Resolution Mode to enjoy the game in all its beauty.

Final Thoughts:

Ghost of Tsushima is an amazing game. It tells a compelling story with interesting and likable characters, has incredible combat, and presents you with a beautiful world to get lost and immerse yourself in. While the villain may be a one-note character, and there are minor issues in regards to stealth and the camera during combat, these issues don’t detract too much from the overall experience. Sucker Punch is sending the PS4 out with one of its strongest hits yet, and I can’t wait to see what they do next.

*My play through took 46 hours and 45 minutes. I completed the story, completely liberated the island, and finished all the side missions. Only collectibles and a few undiscovered locations are remaining.*