| Platform | OVERALL |
|---|---|
| PlayStation 4 | 8.60 |
| Overall | 8.60 |
|
Ghost of Tsushima is an epic game in size, in story, in scope which brings some great combat to a traditional open world. What will stand out the most is the sheer beauty of the island of Tsushima which brings ancient Japan to life in stunning fashion. The love Sucker Punch has gif samurai films bleeds in every aspect of this game right down to the black and white filter that lets you play the game as the movies of old. But please don’t do that! The colors of the flowers must be seen to be believed, I was in awe constantly at the vistas presented in this incredible open world. The gameplay is mostly split between stealth and sword play; you may build your character to cater to one or the other but by the end you should be a master of all styles. Stealth feels just like Assassin’s Creed almost to a fault, all the same tactics used in those games can be used here. The AI isn’t great but it’s not brain dead, expect to use arrows and darts that can knock out enemies easily. Stealth is fine but the game really shines when entering sword combat. There are four stances that can be switched on the fly which help against different enemy types, loads of different moves to learn and a special bar that will unleash some instant kill attacks. Combat flows like a modified version of the Arkham games focusing more on methodical blocking and a striking rather than constant attack. Most enemies serve as simple fodder to kill quickly but in larger groups the combat starts to shine. Also during the games staged one on one duels the game feels almost like sekiro light. The combat is not as deep as the best in the genre but it feels very authentic to the source material. As with most open world games difficulty balance and leveling up is a problem so by the 30 hour mark I felt over powered and that thrill of battle was replaced with repetitiveness. I was enthralled by most of the story, it tells a great tale of a samurai with an identity crisis that goes against his own blood to save his country. It feels like a super hero origin story complete with tragic moments of growth, powerful stuff. The main quest holds all the best action sequences, some are big battles that really got my heart pumping, almost wish it was more of a linear game. There are about 7 major side quests that have multiple missions telling the stories of your main companions. I find this to be an excellent way to tell side stories as these stories were very intriguing and perfect for character building. Outside of those missions though the game world of GoT is mostly the usual Ubisoft style icon fest where you just hit points of your map to get a small upgrade or dumb time wasting activity. This stuff is everywhere, it distracts from the main game by the end. At first it’s always exciting to explore and feel like you are discovering new gameplay opportunities but after seeing the same activities countless times it gets boring. Ghost of Tsushima works as an excellent love letter to samurai movies and stories and presents one of the best recreations of feudal Japan ever seen. The large storylines all work great but the game is held back with generic open world activities and gameplay that doesn’t rise that much higher than its peers but is still pretty great. |
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Posted by Dvader Sun, 10 Jan 2021 23:40:18
Mon, 11 Jan 2021 01:59:23
Excellent review. I’m eyeing the game, but it’ll honestly be a while before I get to it.
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