Ghost of Tsushima has captured the imagination of gamers worldwide. Sucker Punch has delivered quite a punch, so to say, with this awesome Samurai Game. While it has won rave reviews, across the board, you may be wondering, what makes it so brilliant. We at 10xGaming.com have put together ten things that make Ghost of Tsushima a must have for all gamers – from casual to pro.
1. Immersive atmosphere: While the game’s characters are fictional, the setting of the story is actually based on real historical events; the Mongolian invasion of the Tsushima Island did happen in 1274. Additionally, the game’s world does a great job in balancing realism and fun, and the lack of heavy HUD elements on the screen contributes to that. Sword fights make sense for the most part without compromising the fun element.
2. Fluid combat: Ghost of Tsushima’s combat system is easy to get into, but hard to master. You have to constantly switch stances depending on the enemy you are facing while trying to balance your attacks, dodges, and blocks. You can even parry and riposte enemy attacks, which is difficult to do, but feels amazing when you land it. Combine all of these and you have a combat system that never loses its fun factor for 50 hours.
3. Rewarding progression: Instead of a traditional stat-based progression, Ghost of Tsushima features a skill-based progression, which feels much more satisfying and realistic. While you can still upgrade your weapons and find new armor sets, they feel secondary to the powerful new moves, skills, and stances you unlock throughout the game, which feel much more impactful to the gameplay than some invisible stat number.
4. Gripping story: The story revolves around the inner struggle of our main character, Jin Sakai, as he tries to make the difficult decision between sticking to his older samurai teachings and fighting a war he cannot win, or abandoning his honorable ways and doing anything necessary to have his revenge and protect his land. Most characters you meet on the way are written very well and the main storyline takes unexpected dark turns frequently, so pay good attention.
5. Mythic Tales: Mythic Tales are epic sidequests that vary greatly in terms of design. Each of these sidequests incorporates different gameplay elements, so they never get repetitive or boring. On top of this, the rewards you get for completing these sidequests are among the best skills and pieces of gear in the game, all of which feel amazingly fun and rewarding to use. These quests make for some of the best moments in Ghost of Tsushima.
6. Gorgeous visuals: As the last big PS4 exclusive, Ghost of Tsushima truly pushes the limits of the console. The landscapes look great with dense and colorful foliage and the characters are brought to life with realistic facial animations, high-resolution textures, and talented actors. You will frequently stop just to admire a stunning sunset shining over an open land filled with colorful wildflowers. It looks amazing in every aspect.
7. Great soundtrack: Ghost of Tsushima’s soundtrack is another highlight of the game. The music playing in the background almost always matches what is going on in the gameplay. Calm and ambient music plays during your rides on open landscapes while heart-pumping music accompanies the clash of your sword during combat. The score also fits the theme of the game’s world, incorporating traditional Japanese instruments like biwa, shamisen, taiko drums, and shakuhachi flutes.
8. Memorable villain: Khotun Khan, the general and the leader of the Mongol army, is a charismatic and memorable video game villain. He doesn’t just show up at the beginning and disappear until the end of the game; his presence is felt almost all the time. He is a cunning, ruthless, and brutal warlord who gives you more than enough reasons to want to finally reach to him and take your revenge, which will be your main drive for 40 to 50 hours.
9. Character sidequests: Each major character in the story has their own multi-part sidequest, and these multiple parts are scattered around the entire main storyline. These large sidequests help to build the characters you meet throughout the story and all of them are written well. These sidequests make for some of the most memorable moments in Ghost of Tsushima and become darker and heavier as the game goes on.
10. Extra features: On top of all these, Ghost of Tsushima has many more small, extra features that add to the experience. There is the Kurosawa Mode which turns the entire game to black & white, which makes it look like an old-school Japanese movie. The Photo Mode is very detailed yet easy and fun to use. There are many different armor sets with various stat bonuses in the game, and you can even hunt different wild animals to make even better equipment.
If you are sitting on the fence, unable to decide whether it is worth the buy, let us tell you for the value it offers, we feel it’s appropriately priced. What’s more, a little birdie told us that it would be compatible with PS5 as well. With 40-50 hours of content, we find that the Ghost of Tsushima packs in enough punch to keep the COVID blues at bay.
