Ghost of Tsushima - Be the Samurai your Uncle hates

[Introduction]

I'll start with saying that I love the concept around Sucker Punch's Ghost of Tsushima. It's not often (if ever) at all that we get a game grounded in a realistic historical setting. The only ones coming to mind as of right now are games like Kingdom Come: Deliverance and Red Dead Redemption, as well as the plethora of old FPS games based on the World Wars. That being said I really think the industry should make more of these historical real-world games (Does Yakuza 0 being in the 80's count?), it feels like a largely ignored and untapped market these days.

That being said; to my own knowledge we've never had a historical realistic open-world game set in feudal Japan, and Ghost takes place during the first Mongol invasion. The combat is sleek, the stealth is fine, and the open world is quite beautiful. Jin Sakai makes a good protagonist and for all intents and purposes we've got a fine game in the workings here right?

Well, while I love the concept and find the gameplay all good and well, there are some faults at work here too that are representative of a common flaw in open-world games today.

[First Impressions]

I personally decided that I wanted the real Samurai experience with this game so the first thing I did was crank up the difficulty as far as it could go and turned off on-screen notifications of when archers were shooting at me, instead relying on the very audible and by now burnt into my mind phrase; 'DOSHO!'. I also didn't want anything cluttering up the UI unnecessarily when it came to getting immersed.

I'd say that in regards to the protagonist of the game, Jin Sakai, it's hard not to immediately like the guy. He's level-headed, responsible, a man of conviction and has a heart of gold. He's out there just trying to be the best guy he can be and I think people would be hard pressed to not like him. His personality also only gets more interesting later in the story in regards to how far this man is willing to go to save his home from the Mongols.

The combat at a first glance took me a little while to get used to. On the hardest difficulty it'll take three or so slashes from an enemy to take you down, and so I was conditioned to make the most out of every situation. My first 'wall' as it were came in the form of a duel at the first major bridge of the story, that being Kaneda Castle, but after several deaths it really taught me how to fight well and efficiently, and it made me a better Samurai for later battles.

[Development]

Being revealed back in 2017 Ghost of Tsushima has had some time to be developed, or what time could be considered as average in the industry today. The first gameplay came at E3 and I fondly remember just how blown away everyone was by the beautiful graphics and design of the game. It showcased its grounded combat and briefly the moral dilemmas present within the game.

The game had a lot of work in regards to keeping it as grounded and realistic as they could. Going as far as to getting in contact with historical experts to learn more about the architecture of the period, as well as the clothes people wore to the way they moved and composed themselves. They wanted the authenticity to truly be there and being an American company you could understand why they sought the help. And it paid off, playing the game for the first time you might very well think it to be made by a Japanese studio. The desire for authenticity went so far that Sucker Punch actually went to the real isle of Tsushima to research it, and even record audio directly from sources on the island.

The game takes a lot of inspiration from old Samurai movies too, and there's even a visual and audio filter you can apply to the game to give it such a look. It was desired that the game have such grounded and direct combat, where each swing meant life or death, hence why I believe the game is best played on the hardest difficulty for the experience that the devs intended for you to have.

The only hiccup I can find in regards to any sort of troubled development only comes in the form that many studios suffered under during 2020, that being COVID causing restrictions. But thankfully most of the game was done before that truly came in and hit, causing only a slight delay in release.


[Game Mechanics]

The game's combat should be talked about first. As I mentioned before my experience of the combat is on the most difficult setting with archer UI prompts turned off.

Upon first introduction to the swordplay you're taught to be cautious. If you go in blindly swinging immediately chances are someone will cut you down. While I've had some luck in doing this on initiating a fight that surprises my enemies, usually after one or two kills I have to stop and take note of the situation I'm in.

Parrying and dodging attacks requires timing, especially to follow up with one of your own. But there's almost a methodical approach to the way the combat works. You watch your opponents, you keep your sword ready as you glance from left to right waiting for one to make the first move. Then when you see it, you spring into action and the combat becomes very visceral very quickly. You might kill that guy, you might kill his friend too, or you might only get a few good cuts in, or perhaps whiff entirely. Either way after a bout of such active combat the pace slows again, and you're all waiting for someone to make a move once more.

This approach to the combat is indeed very true to the Samurai movies of old. The patience, the quick back and forth flourish, and then the pause once more. It's combat that I particularly enjoy and with the stances it gets taken a step further. Certain enemies will be more hindered by certain stances that you use. So take for example you're up against two men armed with just swords, and another with a shield. You wait to see which makes a move first, switch to the appropriate stance as you see who does, and then use that stance to quickly throw them off guard and hopefully dispatch them. It's a stretch, but I'd almost acquaint it to styles from DMC. Each stance has a different moveset and focus, and switching them up is key to dealing and dispatching groups of enemies with ease.

But being a katana wielding Samurai is not all you can do. You're given access to 'Ghost' techniques and abilities. To put it simply, anything Ghost is anything the Samurai might consider dishonorable. That being stabbing people with your tanto in the back when they're unaware, throwing kunai, using smoke bombs and black powder bombs, and even outright poison. Eventually you can take down entire settlements of Mongols without them ever knowing you were there, a term commonly referred to as 'Ghosting' an area. It was something I very much enjoyed doing in Metal Gear Solid 5, and it remains something I love doing in Ghost of Tsushima. That being said the stealth itself is rather simple for what it is. You hide in bushes, climb atop buildings and yurts, and distract enemies with thrown objects. Par for the course when it comes to stealth mechanics.

One of my personal gripes with the game however comes in the form of a gripe I hold for a lot of open-world games these days. A lot of people refer to it as a very 'Ubisoft' method of open-world. You're given this huge area to work with, but a lot of it feels pointless to pay attention to because of the 'checklist' you're given in terms of collections and optional content. I'd love to get to know the world better myself, but I'm constantly railroaded by the existence of markers, navigation lines and a minimap that tells me where everything within my vicinity is. This makes it feel like I don't need to pay attention to where I am, that I don't need to remember visual points of interest or waypoints, because the minimap and the all-guiding navigation will be there.

I feel like open-world games these days can only gain from doing away with minimaps and markers. Instead of just telling me where to go give me a plain old map that looks like an actual map and not some high-tech GPS device. Don't show me where I am on it, don't show me where the quests are, and don't show me where the collectibles are. Let me learn myself where I am and where I'm going by looking at the world around me, talking to the people, and remembering paths and unique parts of the world to get my bearings. Let me discover this world you've painstakingly created and let me experience all it has to offer, instead of throwing me on a rail track and sending me on my way.

It's a subject I could rant upon for days, and maybe I will at some point. But in my opinion it's a big flaw with current open-world games and they really need to get away from it.

Moving aside a bit more though; there are duels present in the game that often set you in a one on one katana showdown with a foe in a circular arena. They often have more enhanced and unique movesets than the average Mongol or ronin and they're usually set in thematically beautiful locations. I wish only there were more of these duels as I blasted through all the optional ones in a singular sitting because I enjoyed them so much, and they're also great teachers for the combat in the game.

The rest of the optional content comes in forms of visiting shrines that are preceded with a kind of jumping puzzle. I didn't mind these too much, they kept me engaged as I worked my way up the paths but often it felt very linear. I'd have liked there to be some optional paths and perhaps even dead ends. The fox shrines I was not fond of, they amount to going to the shrine and following a fox to a location to get an upgrade you probably won't use. The bamboo stands were fine, a nice little puzzle distraction. The mongol camps will always be good because you just don't tire of the combat, though sometimes you just want to get them over with and storm in as quickly as you can. The Haiku spots are also pleasant and really show off some of the world design present in the game while you mismatch together a frankly awful Haiku for the simple fact it's translated into English, but they can't avoid that.

But to be frank I felt a lot of the optional stuff just felt like a chore, mostly because I knew where it was and I was led to it, blindly b-lining through fields and forests to the optional bit of content and then chasing a fox and moving to the next. What I did like however were the collectibles I wasn't led to. An example being the vanity items. Sometimes you'll find a straw hat on a scarecrow, you can take and wear it. There were several of these and I enjoyed stumbling on them when I found them. That's exactly the type of content I want to see more of in open world games, hidden things you don't just sprint towards from over a mountain because you know it's there.

[Graphics]

It's hard to call Ghost of Tsushima anything but a beautiful game. The game world is beautifully designed and each area is thematically different from the last. You've got lush green forests (though sadly marred by the Mongols and displays of their butchery), quaint little farm villages, grand temples,  snowy fields, and all with accurate architecture to the time. I'm particularly fond of the autumn-like forests of amber, and the bamboo forests further up north. There are also some dreary places like a land filled with bogs and marshes, war-torn as it is, it was quite reminiscent of the Witcher 3's Velen region.

Visually the combat is stellar with every animation and swing of the sword designed after actual historical techniques, or most of them anyway, you do unlock some more 'mythical' attacks but nothing overly fantastical.

I was hard-pressed to find much of anything to fault with the visuals of the game, and to be honest I can't even recall any glitches. I suppose my only gripe comes from my earlier rant in that I didn't feel like I could really take it all in as much as I'd have wanted to.

The game does also come with a few filters to apply if you want to give it a different look, or even go for that old Samurai movie style. Part of me really wants to, but the other half told me to not to just so I could try and see for myself what the devs had made.

[Story]

The story I rather enjoyed, or up to what I've seen already. I haven't finished the main quest but I am in the last stretch as of this review, so there won't be too many heavy spoilers in the spoiler section in regards to the finale of the game.

You're Jin Sakai, honorable son of the late Lord Sakai. You've been mostly under the guidance of your uncle, Lord Shimura, who leads the Samurai of Tsushima into battle with the first wave of Mongol invaders. You too take part in this battle. But the Samurai weren't ready for the way the Mongol's fought, and the battle at Komada beach ended in utter failure and with it many if not all of the Samurai were killed. You alone, Jin Sakai, survived and are nursed back to health by a roguish woman by the name of Yuna. So you set out not for revenge, but to take back your home from the Mongols and to free your Uncle from their grasp.

But the way of the Samurai is proven to be ineffective against the machinations of the Mongol invaders. The old ways are stale, set in stone, and learned by the enemy who seek to take advantage of it. Jin Sakai must adapt and overcome his foe and take back his home by any means, but with such a way of war he finds his honor at peril. Between being Jin Sakai and the Ghost he must decide what is more important to him. His way of life or that of everyone else's.

[SPOILERS]

The story really has that old Samurai movie vibe to it. Jin's honor is at stake and no Samurai would approve of his methods, yet he understands eventually that it's what needs to be done. The way of the Samurai is predictable and the Mongols don't care for it, they won't even play by your rules. They're here to conquer by any means, and so Jin has to prevent it by any means.

I'll mostly talk about this dilemma of Jin's honor and his Uncle. I think it's a good progression of character to watch Jin who at first is reluctant to even stab a man in the back, to eventually deciding that poison now needs to be used, to grant Mongols a painful slow death gurgling on their own blood. It's a true fall from grace and a 'ends justify the means' story and I love it. While in captivity Lord Shimura is told by big man Khotun Khan that his men are being stabbed in the back unawares, that entire outposts are falling without so much as a fight, and that his nephew is to blame. Lord Shimura refuses to believe Jin is capable of fighting in such a fashion.

But after being rescued it soon becomes evident to Lord Shimura what Jin is doing. The first thing he does is forgive Jin, tell him that he did what he had to do, but now that he is free they can put it behind them and forget it ever happened. Jin gets a clean start but he remains resolute in what he did was the only way, and will continue to be the only way. The rift somewhat simmers between the two and Lord Shimura decides that Jin should finally become his adopted son, to carry his legacy as he has no sons of his own. He had raised the man after the passing of his father and was practically his adoptive father in all but official title. He sends forth a request to the Shogun, one for reinforcements, and one to officially recognize Jin as his heir.

It became clear at this point that Lord Shimura very much loves Jin as his own and desperately tries to steer him back onto the path of the honorable Samurai. He gives Jin more than one chance to renounce the Ghost, pleading with him even. Then comes the battle at Castle Shimura and Jin performs a variety of his most dishonorably string of actions yet, culminating in poisoning the entire final garrison of Mongols against Lord Shimura's wish. He has undermined his Lord and gone against his word, and this time everyone is present to see it, including the Shogun's men.

With hushed voices Lord Shimura tries once more to desperately absolve Jin of his crimes, pleading for him to renounce the Ghost, and going as far as to tell him to blame it on the present innocent Yuna. But Jin remains resolute in his choice, and claims finally that he is no son of the Lord Shimura, and that he is the Ghost. At this point I'd say that Jin Sakai has died, and all that is left is the Ghost. Jin is taken captive and we get a final scene of Lord Shimura hesitantly holding the declaration of adoption in his hand over a brazier before slowly letting it fall to the flames. The hesitation and pain in his face is all but too clear to see.

This entire dynamic was just perfect in my eyes. The struggle between the two and their beliefs, with one's wish for a legacy and a son, and the other's for liberation by any means. This is but one part of the story in Ghost of Tsushima and there are several more good plot lines. I haven't even touched on Khotan Khan or Ryuzo yet, and for this review I won't. As it seems that I'm liable to do I'll only talk about one plot I am rather fond of and leave the rest for you to find out yourself.

[Pros]

- Beautiful game world

- Grounded, visceral combat

- Historically accurate setting

- Good dramatic plot lines

- DOSHO!

[Cons]

- Open-world GPS navigation

- 'Checklist'-style Ubisoft design

- Average stealth gameplay

- Somewhat simple side-quests

[Conclusion]

I enjoy the game and more enjoy the concept around it than the actual result. My gripes with open world are undoubtedly going to hit the score quite a bit, and I've not even talked about the multiplayer aspect as I've yet to get to it. Though it is clear to see that the developers care about the game enough to support it with a free new mode after release, and I hope that Sucker Punch can continue to deliver good consumer practice in the future. If they go the open-world route again however I'd like for them to take less of a page out of Ubisoft's book and more hearken back towards reality and older games. But the combat is good, the world design and story are both good too, but I can't help but feel that railroad.

Being a Samurai is fun, dishonoring your ways is fun, and that's about as much as I could ask for. I wish I could give it a bigger score but that open-world formula is a plague on the industry right now and it needs to leave.

That being said, in my opinion Ghost of Tsushima was robbed of 2020's Game of the Year.

[Score]

6.5/10

/DEAD