Ghost of Tsushima - Easy Allies Review
Review Copy Provided by PlayStation. Over the last two decades, Sucker Punch Productions has transitioned from the cartoon adventures of Sly Cooper to its superhero-inspired series Infamous. Likewise, the game design has evolved from sandbox-style platforming levels to full open-world cities.
Their newest title, Ghost of Tsushima sticks to the open-world structure of its predecessors but presents a drastically different experience, taking on historical fiction and emulating the legacy of samurai in cinema. The story takes place in the year 1274 as the Mongols invade the Japanese island of Tsushima.
You play as Jin Sakai, one of eighty samurai who stand against the invading Mongol horde. After a hopeless battle against overwhelming forces, the samurai are wiped out, and Jin is left for dead. Despite their defeat, Jin is given a second chance at life when he's rescued by a thief named Yuna.
Now as one of the last surviving samurai on the island, Jin and his companions must drive back the Mongol army, even if it means abandoning his traditions. Ghost of Tsushima is a tale of honor, vengeance, and sacrifice. Giving up everything you once stood for to protect your home, even it means losing yourself in the process.
The overall plot is pretty straightforward, but it has enough twists and turns to keep it interesting. Sucker Punch also does a good job of exploring its characters, giving ample time to understand how they feel and deal with the events around them. The overall presentation is fantastic.
The island is gorgeous and serves as a captivating backdrop thanks to its natural beauty, culture, and the chaos of war. Its expansive landscapes, made up of grasslands, mountains, and forests make exploration a pleasure. Hearing the wind rustling through the trees as leaves fall all around you, or riding your horse through a field of flowers gives a sense of tranquility and wonder.
The art direction is superb and brings each area to life though fantastic use of color and design, while the music and ambient sound effects enhance the overall mood and tone. Sucker Punch has crafted a large game with plenty to do. The main quest is a good length without overstaying its welcome, but there are optional quests to complete called tales.
Some are typical one-off quests that usually involve helping the community. These are worth checking out, but the more interesting missions come from multipart tales that revolve around your companions like Masako, an old woman who's searching for revenge after her family and clan were slaughtered.
There are also Mythic Tales that explore the folklore and legends of the island. Aside from presenting some intriguing stories and scenarios like tracking down a spirit, these sometimes lead to great fights that we’ll avoid spoiling. Mythic Tales can also net you some great rewards like the longbow or the Heavenly Strike sword attack.
Navigating these vast environments is a key part of the journey, and you can explore at your leisure. Scattered throughout the island are points of interest like shrines that reward you with charms, hot springs that increase your max health, and enemy camps to destroy.
You can also find collectibles like crickets that unlock new songs for your flute and scrolls that give you some lore. None of these locations are revealed right away, but if you take the time to explore you'll frequently stumble across them. If you’re having trouble finding some though, birds and guiding wind can often lead you to points of interest, and they feel like a natural, intuitive part of the world.
As a samurai, your sword is a large part of your identity: an elegant yet deadly weapon capable of ending a life in the blink of an eye. Capturing this feeling can be difficult, but Sucker Punch has done an excellent job of making your sword feel like a precise and deadly weapon.
In terms of gameplay, there are a fair number of basic skills to take advantage of such as dodging, parrying, quick attacks, and heavy attacks, which are great for breaking an enemy’s guard. There are also four different stances you can switch between on the fly, each designed to take on specific enemy types.
For instance, the water stance is more effective against shieldmen, and the wind stance is more effective against spearmen. Some enemies also have certain attacks that can only be dodged and parried, so you need to stay on your toes. There are also legendary combat arts to play around with like Dance of Wrath, which quickly unleashes three unblockable attacks.
However, using these combat arts drains your Resolve charges which are also used to heal yourself, adding an extra layer to consider in combat. Overall, swordplay is deliberate and responsive. Switching stances mid-battle and unleashing powerful arts upon your victims feels smooth and satisfying, and there are some exciting duels to put your skills to the test.
Depending on your play style, there are a couple of ways to go about combat. If you prefer to take your enemies head-on, you can initiate a standoff, where you and an enemy stare each other down before unleashing a killing blow. Or if you prefer to be a little more subtle, you can slowly pick off victims with stealth attacks.
Sneaking around and getting the jump on enemies can be fun, but the enemy AI is pretty bad, sucking a lot of tension out of the stealth, which is unfortunate since it's such a large part of the game. On your path to becoming the Ghost, you gain several tools to play around with like kunai, blow darts, and your bow.
These can be super helpful to get out of tough situations, but they feel a little too strong. Not only can they do a lot of damage, but they often daze opponents as well, leaving them open for easy kills. Regardless of power, having more ways to mix things up is always appreciated.
As you complete tasks in the world, your reputation grows, rewarding you with skill points. There are a lot of skills to choose from like increasing the number of targets you can assassinate at once, or improving the power of certain stances. There are also skills dedicated to helping you find points of interest with your guiding wind like hot springs or shrines.
With so much to invest in though, thorough players may find themselves to be quite powerful by the end, making quick work of enemies even on the hardest difficulty. Meanwhile, the equipment you collect complements your character build. Charms grant helpful passive effects like gaining health when killing enemies, and armor sets come with their own bonuses like the Samurai Clan Armor, which boosts damage reduction and max health as well as granting Resolve when you take damage.
You can upgrade weapons, armor, and consumable bags at merchants with ingredients gathered throughout the island. Plus there are a lot of options for how Jin can look thanks to cosmetic items like armor dyes, skins for your swords, and headbands. There’s a decent number of settings to play around with, including three difficulty options, an expert HUD that minimizes visual noise, and if you're playing on a PS4 Pro, you can prioritize framerate or resolution.
You can also choose among English, Japanese, or French voice acting. However, characters' mouths only match up with English which can be a little jarring. It's no secret that Sucker Punch was inspired by Akira Kurosawa's films for Ghost of Tsushima, so they've included a black and white mode, complete with film grain effects appropriately called Kurosawa Mode.
It's a nice tribute to the filmmaker and makes you feel like you're playing one of his classic films. Ghost of Tsushima has a lot going for it. Combat is fast and fluid, and the story is engaging thanks to some great characters. Most disappointing is that taking a stealthy approach can sometimes make victory feel simple and unearned.
Despite that, the island itself is the biggest draw, taking you on a captivating adventure through its beautiful world. Easy Allies Reviews are made possible by generous viewers just like you. If you like what you see, check out patreon.com/easyallies to help us make more.
