Ghost of Tsushima along with The Last of Us Part II has really put the icing on the cake of what has been a fantastic generation for Sony. I am one of the many people who wished Assassins Creed would tackle this time period! Well, even if they did I am not sure they could top what Sucker Punch has done here.
How to Download Ghost of Tsushima
To download the game from the PlayStation Store, click on the Download button at the end of this review.
The Game Review
The game is set in the 13th century when the Mongols invade Japan. Tsushima is ripped to pieces by war and one lone samurai, Jin stands between the Mongols and ruin. The story is awesome and while Jin might not be the most amazing protagonist. His plight, his clan, and those he interacts with all help craft this wonderful tail that will have you saying wow as you play it.
The presentation (even on a standard PS4) is some of the best of this generation. Everything looks so clean, real, and slick that it is truly amazing what they were able to squeeze out of the aging PlayStation 4. The game is full of these awesome “tricks” that help keep you immersed.
For example, instead of a waypoint and line pointing to where you need to go next. You have the wind guiding you. Instead of a light beacon showing you where something is hidden, a fox will show you. It is little tricks like this along with the bare minimum hud that really makes you feel like you are in this world.
Combat is some of the most satisfying I have played in years. You can go head-on or you can play as “a ghost” where you use stealth. I have to be honest and say that playing as the ghost is cool in theory, but for me, it was not as much fun. Standing toe to toe and hacking and slashing enemies with precise attacks felt incredibly satisfying.
The combat rewards you for taking your time and striking at the right time. You learn new moves as you progress through the game which is a lot of fun. Speaking of progression, there is no leveling up system here like you would expect. Instead, the game rewards you with new things at the right time.
You can still improve yourself with these “extras” which you can equip. These can give you more health, makes you better at sneaking and so on. You also can equip new gear and the way you can customize Jin is pretty cool. It allows you to alter him so that he plays to a way that suits your playstyle best.
There is a ton of content in this game. The main story is going to take up a great deal of your time, but it was the side content that really blew me away. There are three (as far as I could tell) degrees of side mission. The ones I liked best had this old-timey Japanese movie vibe to them and helped flesh out the characters. Which by the way is a style you can play the whole game in.
The game has a photography mode which in all honesty, is not the kind of thing I mess around with too much. What I can say is that it is truly breathtaking what you can do with this. I am not just talking about that awesome filter you can use, but you can have animation as well which may not sound like a great deal, but it is really cool.
I could go on and on about Ghost of Tsushima, but I would just be scraping the surface of what this amazing game has to offer. The only real gripe that I have with it is that there is no new game plus, which is something I wish all games of this style would offer. However, when that is my biggest gripe, it shows just how great the game is.
Ghost of Tsushima is one of my favorite games of the year. I will go one better and say that it is one of the best PlayStation 4 exclusives to be released. It is a wonderful experience and it is the kind of game I do not see anyone having a bad time with. I can think of no better game as a swan song for the PlayStation 4. The best thing I can say about this game is that you need to stop reading about it and just go and play it.
