50 Years of Video Games: Ghost of Tsushima (PS4)

2020 would see the release of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, and after games like Control seemed to strain on the aging hardware of the previous console generation, it seemed like the right time to move forward. However, before the PlayStation 4 would begin to enter its sunset years, Sucker Punch Productions would release a game that helped remind us how truly powerful that system could be. Ghost of Tsushima is an action adventure game that presents a positively gorgeous open world where the natural beauty of the Tsushima Island of Japan back during its feudal period is realized in exquisite detail. While not passing for photorealistic, the presentation makes marvelous use of color, scene composition, and the simple movement of things like the swaying of grass and the falling of leaves to make a setting that is constantly catching your eye with new beautiful landscapes.

The story of Ghost of Tsushima does pertain to the Mongol invasion of the island and the native people’s resistance to their efforts so some places are stained by the conflict, but even more places are easy to marvel at for both their balance of period appropriate architecture and iconography that exists in harmony with a world where nature thrives. Taking place in an open world where more areas of the island gradually become available as the story progresses, there is a lot of room to simply ride your horse from place to place and in doing so you’ll find many areas with different but lovely visual identities. Colorful falling leaves, bamboo forests, fields of flowers, gorgeous coast lines, and even the serene emptiness of snow covered lands all provide a world that is captivating to look at, and when you do enter a civilized area you can still find impressive architecture, well decorated shrines, and places of harmony like a town living beside natural hot springs. Camera angles are used to incredible effect even at simple moments, the player given control of the view but the natural perspective will let you bask in the world around you or tighten up to emphasize important sights. This is especially true of the game’s presentation of the action, Ghost of Tsushima leaning into aspects of samurai cinema to present battles from angles that can make the fights feel close and intimate when they need to be. There is a remarkable handling of the aesthetic elements on show and the game isn’t afraid to produce unique sights for out of the way areas players might not even see during the adventure, the game never requiring you to head to a whaling village for example but featuring detailed elements of that trade all around that area to bring that concept to life. There are even moments where you can sit down and compose a haiku from a set of provided lines, a meditation with close-ups of the beautiful world around you while calm music plays really bringing out the essence of such contemplative poetry.

The story of Ghost of Tsushima focuses on Jin Sakai, one of many samurai on the island of Tsushima who rise up to fight when the Mongol Empire lands on their shore in search of conquest. Lead by the fictional Khotun Khan, the Mongols easily trounce the honor-focused samurai who have become accustomed to dishing out justice in direct conflict. Few samurai survive this battle on the beaches, but Jin is treated by a local thief named Yuna and is able to get back to his feet in hopes of resuming the fight. However, the overwhelming numbers and often brutal tactics of the Mongols lead to Jin reevaluating his battle tactics, learning that his foe can’t be beaten by honorable combat out in the open. Learning how to fight smarter with stealthy tactics, this Ghost of Tsushima begins to make a dent in the opposing army and starts seeking out others on the island to help, but a frequent point of conflict emerges from his new strategies for success and the ingrained ways of the island’s warriors. Much of the plot as well as quite a few of the major side quests pertain to the evaluation of samurai honor in the face of war, characters who are first presented as paragons having their layers peeled back to reveal the flawed humans within. Even those who espouse honor are still fallible and emotional beings at heart, and sometimes they are willing to turn a blind eye to awful things if it suits them. However, the more desperate tactics of Jin also have rough consequences or can even cross lines that don’t quite fit into the ethos he clings to. Many emotionally charged moments arise from the conflict between the old ways and the new as well as the gradual deconstruction of stories that build up around people who are only human, Ghost of Tsushima’s story never truly straying into the supernatural and better able to examine the mindsets of its characters because no one is truly able to live up to legend.

The major side quests of the story perhaps do a better job with the deeper examination of the characters and their situations. The main plot does feature elements like Jin’s close relationship with his uncle who is devoted to the samurai code to a fault and Jin’s old friend Ryuzo shows how good people can be harmed by the rigid ways of the samurai, but at the same time the samurai are clearly helpful to the people of the island so it’s not a complete tear down of the concept. However, the plot introduces many characters who are better once you’ve pursued their own story lines to truly understand them. The gifted bowman Sensei Ishikawa for example is dealing with one of his student’s betraying his ways, Tomoe shown to be doing awful things with the knowledge the Sensei taught her but Jin gradually sees more and more how Ishikawa’s ways could have pushed her towards such an outcome. While some stories like the light-hearted antics of the sake salesman Kenji provide some comedic tales instead, others show the emotional toll of things like a bitter quest for revenge, an idea that otherwise might have been presented as glorious and justified in a less layered piece of samurai media.

Getting to know your supporting cast through the optional quests makes for a more fulfilling adventure overall, especially since some like Yuna are also able to be major parts of the main plot and having that time to better understand her history fleshes out events seen during the push against the Mongol invasion. Areas around the island can offer small stories that involve Jin getting involved in the business of strangers as well, and while some of these will just amount to a reason to fight a few bandits or Mongols, others have more interesting and compelling designs and concepts. One of the most exciting and creative types to undertake involve investigating the local legends of the island, the player often needing to find the truth between the exaggerations and following indirect clues to learn new techniques or find special armor that doesn’t match the myth but still aids you in battle. For most activities in the game, Ghost of Tsushima prefers a gentle hand in guiding you, the wind blowing in the direction of areas you need to head, the player often tracking people by way of footprints, and specific objects of interest related to the current events won’t be highlighted until you’re close enough to investigate. The game tries to keep you on the right track without pushing you too hard towards success, and when you come across an area like a village hiding a dark secret, uncovering the truth of it is more interesting since you do need to have a keen eye to find what the issue is.

When it does come time to raise your katana in battle, the battle system in Ghost of Tsushima is sharp and more layered than it might first appear. The basics involve a swift strike good for taking advantages of breaks in defense, a stronger strike that can break the guard of opponents with enough pressure, and a very necessary parry where guarding at the right time can put your opponent off-kilter and leave them open to follow up strikes. Lights that appear before an enemy strikes will help you parry or dodge when appropriate, but since enemies attack with different speeds based on their weapon types, you need to consider your foe’s approach to properly avoid what proves to be very hefty damage if it slips through. While on higher difficulties a single strike is all it takes to kill Jin, even on normal difficulties he still can take severe damage if a blow manages to land on him. A resolve system lets you spend accumulated power to heal, but this power can also be used for special techniques that can help put down defensive foes or sturdier ones more quickly. The danger of the opposition and focus on parrying does lead to battles where you consider your opponent closely and need to be smart when you try to attack, and enemy variation continues to evolve over the game as new weapons enter the picture and enemy assistance emerges from the likes of dogs, archers, and men who throw flash bombs.

However, while this battle system certainly favors careful fights, you’ll often find Jin entering areas with way more enemies than he could reasonably fight alone. Sometimes this can be during a siege where you do get a strong sense of fighting alongside your allies as they can help manage the numbers, but at other times it can be smarter to try and clear out enemies before the fight even begins. One such way is with a stand off where Jin boldly challenges the enemies in the area, the player holding down triangle and releasing it when the enemy moves to strike to instantly kill them. The releasing of the button makes this easier to time than pressing it so this isn’t made too difficult while also avoiding being too easy due to the enemy’s timing and occasional feints, and with upgrades you can even chain together multiple standoff kills. Losing the stand off will leave you critically injured though and every enemy in the area is now aware of you, so in larger groups or when raiding camps it might be better to slink about. Jin can focus his hearing to detect nearby enemies even on the other side of objects he can see through, and if you can sneak up behind an enemy you can kill them instantly. Other tools like your bow are able to silently kill foes from afar and you’re given a few ways to distract targets if you need to get them away from an open area where others might see their death. Your repertoire of battle tools and stealth options continues to expand over the course of the game, limited use items like the kunai able to immediately break an enemy’s guard to help weaken defensive brutes while something like the dart tipped in a hallucinatory drug can turn an enemy against his allies to help thin their ranks before you move in.

When facing a more important or gifted foe though, you’ll enter a duel where your full ability kit won’t be available to you. The focus thins down to pure swordsmanship, a closer camera angle allowing you to better identify the opponent’s strikes to dodge and parry with more specific responses. By making Jin suffer so much damage from a blow these can manage to be intense even once you have a good read on your opponent’s technique. When the game begins it will take some time to acclimate to the battle style but soon you’ll understand the battle system well enough to know how to exploit your options or even more easily counter foes even when they bring new tricks to the table. There is even a set of stances to be learned that have situational advantages based on the enemy type, but each one is still capable of fighting well on its own so that it’s more a matter of different perks to each stance rather than any detriments.

There are many Mongol camps around Tsushima that give you room to test your stealth and battle skills and their rewards vary, the game featuring many items to collect that can be traded to merchants for upgrades to your abilities and an experience system used to acquire new skills. Much of Tsushima Island is actually a rather open space used for traveling and drinking in the environment’s splendor, and while a fast travel exists, the horse riding between locations isn’t tedious either since the island isn’t overly large or difficult to navigate. Sometimes you will need to be on foot and climb areas, some places even testing your ability to identify how to get up and around to earn extra goodies like trinkets, these used to add special boosts to Jin like increasing his power or the potency of specific abilities. While out riding you might spot a small range of optional activities like cutting bamboo shoots with the right set of quick button inputs to earn more resolve or following foxes to hidden shrines to add more trinket equipment slots. While the shrines you need to climb to are pretty involved, many of these are small diversions and perhaps better for it, their simplicity not too distracting from the moments of more exciting conflict or pulling away from your ability to appreciate the appearance of the world around you.

Released a few months after the single player content though was a multiplayer cooperative mode known as Ghost of Tsushima: Legends, one that does embrace the supernatural as it is portrayed in-game as tales told by the populace about supposed spiritual heroes pushing back the Mongol invasion. For the most part this multiplayer mode simply expands on the kind of content featured in the main game, raiding Mongol camps and saving hostages but now some foes happen to be Oni or Tengu instead of real men with real weapons, but the cooperative angle also leads to players assuming different roles based on more involved versions of Jin’s abilities. The samurai is appropriately quite direct in their battle approach but gains abilities for healing and additional damage, the hunter emphasizes archery to provide long range support, the assassin focuses on stealth kills and can even completely turn invisible as their special move, but the ronin emphasizes new attack types by calling on spirit creatures to assist while having options for healing allies. This more fanciful take on the scenario on Tsushima is able to extend the game’s appeal with a multiplayer component that draws even more out of its combat systems, but the main adventure already had plenty to do of substance so it’s more a nice and unexpected free supplement for owners of the game rather than something required to make the game feel like it offers enough to be worth the investment.

THE VERDICT: The breath-taking beauty of feudal Japan makes Ghost of Tsushima marvelous to behold already, but between moments of being enchanted by the natural settings of the island there are still compelling narratives about the realities behind ideas like honor and how people try to come to grips with who they think they are and what they actually do. There is a battle system that doesn’t hold back but gives you the sense of developing a skill as you learn to parry better and utilize your tools to overcome rough situations, the stealth also giving you a means to thin out enemy ranks without putting yourself at too much risk. While some side content is simple it helps to keep the player’s attention focused on the richer side stories, a post-release multiplayer mode even adding in new ways to fight to inject an additional layer of fresh action to an already full-bodied experience.

And so, I give Ghost of Tsushima for PlayStation 4…

A FANTASTIC rating. While I have certainly been dazzled by the beauty of the island of Tsushima and have made sure to impress how Sucker Punch Productions have realized it through more than just graphical detail, Ghost of Tsushima would still be an exceptional experience even if it didn’t wow the player with its gorgeous world. Multiple well realized character stories both in the main plot and involved side quests give the player multiple personalities they’ll enjoy getting to know while also feeling the emotional sting of the rises and falls in their journey, and Jin isn’t merely a passive observer in these as he has his closer relationships with people like his uncle to ensure the main plot can still match that strength with its dramatic moments. At times it can feel like the footprint following is done too many times in a row and Khotun Khan, despite some early interest as he tries to understand the culture he aims to conquer, does feel like he slips into a simpler villain role later down the line, but Tsushima itself is a wonderful place to explore without cluttering its world with things that aren’t worth doing. Most diversions are short or justify their greater involvement with an interesting diversion or proper reward and some like the quests tied to old myths inject a new way to adventure into the game for a bit, but the core fighting and stealth ensure that even if things do culminate in another battle against Mongol forces, it can still be a varied and dangerous battle that is satisfying to overcome. Jin’s vulnerability is balanced well with his strength, the healing generous enough to avoid frustration but the player still needing to parry well to survive or understand how to mix in their special tools to avoid being overwhelmed. Ghost of Tsushima: Legends even aims to go a bit deeper with new enemy types and more drastic specialization for those who have already mastered the main game’s play, and with a Director’s Cut releasing on PS5 that adds a new island to explore, there is more content to be found for those who want it while the core adventure and important side quests don’t drag on since Ghost of Tsushima doesn’t sidetrack the player with activities with shallow purposes.

There are many beautiful game worlds, some supernatural and others even lovely despite being developed in a time where graphical standards were fairly low, but there’s something captivating about the heightened realism seen in the setting of Ghost of Tsushima. The petals of trees probably fall too perfectly to match the scene and the framing of their surroundings, but the world around you is rooted in reality save for the supernatural multiplayer side of things. The game isn’t constantly barraging you with beautiful vistas either but the mundane feels natural beside these more magnificent areas that the game knows how to present to the player, and it is a relief to be able to fawn over such graphics while also playing a game that features many other exceptional elements. In fact, the main story and its fleshed out side plots focus on examining the reality behind what people try to present, and Tsushima itself is scarred by the grim realities of its invasion as well. Luckily, Ghost of Tsushima is not a pretty facade hiding unfortunate realities, this samurai game set in feudal Japan reverent for the culture of that country and the films that inspired elements of the game while also not cliche or too reverent to the point it would lose its deeper meaning. As a swan song for the soon to be replaced PS4, it was not only beautiful, but complex and worthy of being the note the system intended to go out on.