Ghost of Tsushima: My thoughts so far.

 

By Sam Coles:

There are games that come and go that people let it fade into the void; however there are games that I would describe as a masterpiece and people talk about for decades. Ghost of Tsushima is one of those games that falls into the latter category; this game has captivated me with its world, story and brutal gameplay. I want to give my initial thoughts about the game, let me be clear this is not a full review as I have only played about 10 hours of the game. We clear? Good, let’s get into it.

Ghost of Tsushima takes place on the titular island during the 13^th century when the Mongols are invading parts of Asia; you play as Jin Sakai an honourable and devote samurai. He is fighting off the Mongol forces on the beaches in a massive and epic battle, however things go horrible wrong where his comrades are butchered and his uncle is captured. Jin is presumed dead as he takes two arrows in his back, but is ultimately saved and makes a speedy recovery.

What transpires is a classic tale of rebuilding his strength where he has to learn new skills, gather allies and of course rescue his uncle. What I like about the gameplay is that it ties in the narrative where Jin slowly drifts from the samurai code of honour; he gets flashbacks when he is training with his uncle where he almost retroactively scolds Jin for using cowardly tactics. The performances from the cast are excellent as well, you can play it in Japanese but the lips are not synced to the language. This is probably one of the few times I would say play in English, as the English dialogue works and is fantastic.

Gameplay wise I am enjoying it a lot, it’s an open world game and I know when you say open world these days most will respond with a resounding groan as most can be rather laborious (not naming names). However Ghost of Tsushima is a fresh take on the formula, it feels organic with its design and as corny as this sounds doesn’t feel like you are playing a game. The world is being begged to be explored every nook and cranny is visually unique, with towns, villages and general countryside that is fun to travel around. I have only used the fast travel system a handful of times, due to how fun it is to explore this world.

What I like with the exploration is that they keep the HUD minimal and make the way point organic in the way of the wind, if you swipe the touch pad on the Dualshock 4 wind will blow in the direction you have to go, I love this as you are not looking at waypoints or staring at a mini-map for the majority of the play time. This feature makes it feel like it is part of the world, and doesn’t appear to be video gamey for a lack of better terms.

Now onto the combat and this is my favourite part of the game, unlike Sucker Punch’s Infamous games the combat in Ghost of Tsushima is very challenging in places. It will get you nowhere if you just mindlessly flail your sword like a pensioner playing a Nintendo Wii, no it requires timing and precision. This isn’t Sekiro levels of hard with its combat, but it does present a steady challenge especially with the one-on-one boss fights.

You have four stances to unlock; I only have two at the time of writing but these help with different enemy types throughout battles. You will be up against a wide variety of enemies, these can range from standard swordsmen, shield bearers, spearmen, hulking brutes that take your sword strikes like butterfly kiss and the archers that can do one as they are irritating. The battles never get old as it always surprised me with how much variety there is, plus it keeps me focused and on my toes. However you can infiltrate outposts and objectives without raising an alarm, the stealth works really well coupled with the excellent sound design as you plunge a dagger into someone’s throat as you hear them gargling on their blood as they try and breath one more time.

Now onto the visuals and what can I say? The screenshots speak for themselves, the game is absolutely gorgeous and I am playing on a base PS4. The game runs well and I haven’t noticed any major framerate hitches, there are so many bright and vibrant colours coupled with the minimal HUD which lets you appreciate the visuals. The foliage says with the wind, you have beautiful golden leafed forests, bright sunny days that make the green grass standout as well as snow nights as the moonlight shines on you. It is easily one of the best looking open world games I have played, and I’m amazed it is running on nearly 8 year old hardware.

Overall I’m happy with what I have played of Ghost of Tsushima so far, it has engaging gameplay, a good story and a world that I love exploring each detail. Easily one of Sony’s best exclusives and I can’t wait to play more.