I finally picked up Ghost of Tsushima on sale, and I can’t put it down. It is so, so impressive, and I was having so much fun with the samurai combat and gawking at the gorgeous scenery I didn’t even realize it had become 4am. Couldn’t stop thinking about it the next day. Can’t remember the last time a game hooked me this much.
It’s everything I hoped Assassin’s Creed Shadows would be, but this game feels so much more authentically Japanese (though it is not historic). Everything from the swordplay to the architecture to the folklore to the hot springs to the sound effects are quite immersive. It’s some of the best art and sound design I’ve ever seen in a game. It feels like you’re in an old Kurosawa movie, clearing out a village in one scene and then composing a haiku in the next while gazing out at an ocean sunset. There’s even a Kurosawa mode that makes the game black and white and tweaks sounds to be more old timey.
The combat is great fun, and much better than in Assassin’s Creed. The focus is on sword combat with different stances and combos and parries and ripostes. The way it flows from one attack to the next, then between enemies, is incredibly satisfying.
There’s also a basic stealth system if you prefer that route, but it’s simplistic and narratively discouraged, though not strictly forbidden.
My one complaint is that I think the game would’ve been better, narratively, if it were a linear title like Onimusha rather than an open world. Clearing forts and chasing foxes makes sense in an AC or Far Cry game, but it feels out of place in a game that wants to be taken for cinema. The open world just interrupts the pacing and breaks immersion unnecessarily. At least the world is stunning, with the grass and the lighting and the weather all coming together to make some of the most beautiful vistas in any game. It’s quite screen saver worthy.
We have an older thread about it too, where @Mahaloth also enjoyed it a lot: Ghost of Tsushima - my thoughts while I play (open spoilers as I progress)