There couldn’t be a more fitting final bow for PlayStation 4 than Ghost of Tsushima. A game you couldn’t imagine as an exclusive for Xbox One. A game that probably wouldn’t even run on Nintendo Switch.
With its odes to samurai cinema and its gentle approach to exposition, Ghost is almost a cultural experience as much as a blockbuster video game.
The Tragic Life of Jin
The game starts with some back story on our main character Jin, a samurai from an influential family. The poor lad has several wrongs committed against him in front of his very eyes. Fueled by a thirst for revenge and an internal conflict over stealth killing, he decides to kill the man who has taken so much from him. Luckily for the locals, he also decides to liberate the island of Tsushima from Mongol hordes as it’s not too far out of his way.
The people of feudal Japan are obviously grateful and will help Jin by offering him side-quests and then help him once he has completed same. Aside from some grave treachery from some allies (no spoilers), the locals are Jin’s biggest asset.
The motif of sacrificing yourself for others comes up a lot throughout the game. As does Jin’s shifting perspective on honour and duty. His late-game exile (no spoilers), while an open-world trope, felt organic and I felt a little hurt by the events that led up to it.
Ghost of Tsushima can be a little too slow in its narrative pace at times. Some missions or quest arcs almost discourage you from starting the next part despite the suggestion of urgency. The game has a knack of placing the next quest as far away from a previously visited location as possible. And with nature pulling me to hot springs, mathematically strict poetry et al., it’s a miracle any vengeance got served.
The Old Stealth’n’Slash
Jin has been well trained from a young age. Light of foot and swift of hand, he plays like the samurai moonlighting as a ninja that he should. Combat is visceral, attacks are swift while sneaking is quick and intuitive.
There are two main attacks, quick and heavy. Each has combo moves, including shield-breakers, that players can use when faced with the various foe-types. Jin can also learn various stances to better deal with each type. For example, stone stance’s combos work best on shields, staggering opponents and opening up heavies for lethal attacks.
Jin has a chargable ‘resolve’ pool that he can consume to heal or use a small pool of special moves. These are mostly unblockable and after some upgrades, they can be almost game-breaking. Once I had enough resolve in reserve and could refill it by performing any of a number of actions, I forgot all combos and stuck with stone stance. It’s unfortunate that the enemy difficulty doesn’t stay matched with the character’s growth in skill.
Jin locks to the nearest foe and tries not to break off until that foe is too far away to be attacked. This works well with a handful of assailants. But it also leads to mass brawls being far less fluid as Jin spends too much time waiting to be attacked and flitting between the hesitant fodder.
Most areas offer the less honourable but no less satisfying sneaky route as well as duelling and calling out foes for a proper scrap. The call out feature is cool – in both the standoff mode and in clearing areas of stragglers.
The standoffs didn’t get old despite it being a quick-time event, probably because they are optional and very brief.
An Open-World Action Game Underneath
Tsushima is split into three areas with each containing many distractions and collectables. Some of these are worthwhile and don’t outstay their welcome, like bamboo stands or the many Inari shrines. Others are a bit of a pain that only completionists and the bored will ever finish. Shinto shrines are just Ubisoft radio towers and an excuse for using the grappling hook outside of cursory mission use and the odd shortcut.
There are over 150 collectables to be had that add absolutely nothing to the game. The ‘less is more’ approach seen in most other aspects of Ghost was sorely missed here. To add to this, the special outfit used to aid players in locating these artefacts, records etc. makes the controller vibrate when near your alleged treasure. This is the only reliable way to find these knick-knacks and it doesn’t mix well with DualShock 4’s poor battery life. If you plan on platinuming Ghost of Tsushima, have the charging cable nearby.
The side quest list is composed of forgettable and formulaic follies in between some unforgettable and unique undertakings. The game does give you some teasers to try to avoid the boring stuff but the devs should have just chopped them.
Ridding the land of the Mongols is a poor ancillary quest. Like other games of its genre, clearing farms, forts and ports of every foe is almost mandatory for a full completion. There are more than 40 to slice through and the weak bonuses on offer only highlight how uninspired this part of the game is.
Innovation
Navigation and map discovery attempt to break away from the Skinner Box madness of classic Ubisoft open-worlds. These attempts are laudable even when some of the individual system don’t work all that well. Swiping for the wind to carry you to your destination or following the foxes are magical and imaginative ways to immerse a player in the game-world and not the map. Similarly, being offered rumoured points of interest by the locals or seeing smoke, steam or scattering birds in the distance are wonderful replacements for checkpoint chasing.
The golden bird mechanic is interesting at first but eventually annoying. At the beginning, I enjoyed the ambiguity; hearing the chirp and following the golden bird to a haiku spot, aesthetic item etc. was a treat.
After a few hours, I found it sometimes led me to side-quests I had already decided not to bother with. I also noticed plenty of times when our golden guide got stuck in the complex geometry of Japanese forests. Bamboo often caged our bird and watching it clip through the tufts wasn’t pretty.
Cinema and Particle Party More than Makes Up for Some Sub-Par Texturing
The overall visual quality of Ghost of Tsushima is stunning. The particles, the lighting and the attention to detail combine to give us something gorgeous to behold. The movement of grass, reeds and foliage brings the landscape to life. Even when alone in game with nothing of consequence nearby, the simulation of nature gives the game a realistic outdoor environment that seems to breathe.
The immersion brought by the flora is helped by lighting, weather and skybox combining for a beautiful atmosphere. Ghost’s use of hues and hazes reminded me of Red Dead Redemption 2 and its incredible vistas.
The game’s post-processing options are note-worthy. Ghost can apply various contrast levels and can even be played in Kurasawa mode. Kurasawa mode aims to capture the grainy, high-contrast monochrome aesthetic that defined the golden era of the film genre that inspired Ghost of Tsushima. And it’s superb, greatly enhancing an already visually arresting game. Adding atmosphere to already tangible scenes.
The only visual element that doesn’t always dazzle is the texture work. Cliff faces, rock walls and some other common environmental surfaces can stand out as plain. Worse still, in areas that lack grasses or puddles, there are some downright ugly textures to be seen. Pebble beaches or clearings around large forts can be islands of ugliness in a sea of splendour.
Balance of Animation and Agility
Like TLoU2, Ghost of Tsushima gets the balance right between fluidity and fidelity. Combat is crisp and responsive but still feels weighty and satisfying. Ghost manages to preserve its cinema while delivering an incredible fighting system, something that Red Dead Redemption 2 failed to manage.
Horseplay and the limited parkour aren’t nearly as glorious to look at. Foregoing any cinematic pretensions in favour of pure playability – a choice I fully endorse. The map is large enough to warrant the quickest and smoothest movement; visual congruity be damned.
Cut-scenes are inconsistent but again, this was a good choice. The simple in-game renders of lesser quests speed things up immensely.
Probably the Best Thing to Happen to Open-World Action Games in a While
The use of nature and colour, the attempts at haiku poetry and the minimalist audio elevate Ghost of Tsushima above other open-world action games. While it’s not perfect, Ghost of Tsushima does show that open-world games don’t have to be made by Rockstar to be relevant and interesting in this day and age.
Despite its repetitive missions, needless collectables and mass-brawl combat issues, Ghost of Tsushima is a joy to play. With its artistic mastery, hypnotic combat and wonder-filled world, it’s a marvel of its genre.
