So the other night I finally completed the latest game in my collection, Ghost of Tsushima, it took a while as I don’t get huge amounts of time to play these days and I wanted to complete all side missions before finishing the story mode. Based on a true historical event, Ghost of Tsushima is a Samurai epic of the highest calibre, released in July earlier this year the PS4 exclusive game was developed by Sucker Punch Productions. As with all our upcoming game reviews we’ll break it down into 3 main sections Graphics, Game Play and Story before we give our final thoughts.
Graphics
The graphics for Ghost Of Tsushima are truly incredible easily rivalling some of best game animations to date. Whether it is the stunning backdrop locations of the Japanese island, Tsushima or the way the grass and trees billow with the affects of the wind, the basic graphics are stunning. The character designs are jaw dropping with the small details on the historically accurate amour and clothing of NPC’s as well as the array of choices when choosing your characters outfit, each with their own added benefits. The cut scenes are again are incredible, the details put into the locations and character designs are second to none, the animation also flows seamlessly making the fact you cannot skip scenes, worth it to see the work put in by the creators.
Game Play
The controls are easy enough to master. Even a button smasher like my self can pull off awesome looking combos making me look like samurai master, the hardest part is remembering to switch stances but even that is easily done once you’ve realised. Levelling up is simple and is achieved by playing through the game, remembering to take time out to find shrines, baths and bamboo slicing mini games, completing these tasks improve various aspects of your character, such as health and resolve. The skill trees are also simple to follow allowing the player their own freedom chose where to spend skill points, meaning you can skip skills you won’t use or need, rather than an overly complex system, each function of the character has its own skill tree. Although you do have few weapons to choose from, even this has been simplified with no need to by new weapons once you move up levels, rather you just have one set of weapons that you can upgrade using supplies and materials.
Story
The Story is based on actual historical events which adds to the game, the actual game play story mode is completely original. As stated at the beginning of the article the game plays out as an amazing Samurai epic that could rival any live action movie, series or even anime. A tale of revenge, honour and respect this game could easily be adapted into a movie or series so you can sit back enjoy playing the game whilst getting thoroughly immersed in an incredible story.
Final Thoughts
This is a game I would highly recommend to anyone who has been a fan of open world games such as Assassin Creed, Red Dead Redemption and Grand Theft Auto. You’ll get lost in hours of gameplay available, captivated by the amazing graphics and story of the game, pretending to be a Samurai master and there’s not much more you can ask from a game. I would also recommend to those who are fans of books, games, TV series and Films that have a focus upon Japanese or Asian culture. From the moment I started playing, Ghost of Tsushima quickly became one of my all time favourite games I look forward to playing through it for a second time.
4 Out Of 5 Stars
Andrew More