Sucker Punch Studios is best known for its Infamous series, so pivoting to a samurai game seems odd.
It’s an especially saturated market, with the recent release of Nioh and Sekiro.
Is Ghost of Tsushima worth checking out?
Explore The Way of the Samurai
Ghost of Tsushima captures the samurai period of Japanese history in a way that no other game can. It is genuinely one of the most beautiful games of this generation.
You’ll find yourself stopping to admire the view more often than not as you play the game.
Concept – Wandering Samurai Simulator
Have you ever wanted to play a game as a wandering samurai, offering his services in Japan?
Ghost of Tsushima is precisely this – right down to the available black and white ‘Kurosawa mode.’ The game is intended to look and feel like a samurai film, and it achieves that in spades.
Graphics and Audio – Immerse Yourself in Ancient Japan
The vibrant colors found in ancient Japan will continue to wow you hours into the gameplay. It’s stunning just how much color Sucker Punch has managed to pack into the world.
The open-world go wherever you want feel to exploring encourages you to go off the beaten path.
The wind direction changes in-game and blows in the direction of the player’s current objective.
This subtle change reduces the need for an immersion-breaking UI and mini-map like RDR 2. Instead, players need only follow the direction of the wind to find their objective.
Some animations in the game aren’t as fluid as they could be, compared to those buttery smooth combat animations. But these segments are few and far between.
Exploring massive vistas and valleys in the game makes for an impressive experience.
Half the time spent playing the game is enjoying the exotic and gorgeous locations littered around ancient Japan.
Ghost of Tsushima Gameplay
The gameplay in Ghost of Tsushima is a blend of weighty Dark Souls combat and more forgiving combat. The result is a system that is accessible for beginners but one that is difficult to master.
Samurai gameplay requires quick reflexes, with perfect fights becoming a work of art to execute.
The open-world encourages roaming around with the wind to guide your direction. Random encounters happen on the road, driving the story along.
The game itself isn’t a chore to play, either. Resources can be harvested while traveling on horseback. That’s refreshing, compared to Red Dead Redemption 2’s detailed harvesting animations.
Some of the animations can be a little janky, especially when Jin mounts his horse.
Missions are also a little bland, which usually involves you taking out bad guys in similar ways. But all of these are small flaws to be forgiven in the face of just how beautiful a world Sucker Punch has created.
If you play one open-world game released in 2020, make it Ghost of Tsushima. This wandering samurai simulator is an immersive experience that hits the mark in so many great ways.
The combat is fluid and responsive, with forgiving dodges and recovery options. The story itself unfolds beautifully, and Jin quickly becomes a sympathetic character.
TL/DR?
Doling out samurai justice never felt so great, especially on the heels of ultra-hardcore games like Nioh and Sekiro.
The world is weirdly relaxing in a way that other samurai games have not been able to capture.
