Ghost of Tsushima was never on my list of games I wanted to play. With the launch of the new PlayStation Plus and now having access to it I figured I would give it a shot.

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Reviewed on PlayStation 5

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I don’t even know where to begin with Ghost of Tsushima. I have talked about my top 5 games plenty of times, Something may have to get the bump to put this game on that list. I can not believe how much I loved this game.

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I really loved this story so much that I don’t want to discuss a lot of it. I was not spoiled on the story so I don’t want to put any possible spoilers in here. You play as a Samurai, Jin. Mongols have invaded the fictional island of Tsushima. As Jin, you will do whatever it takes to defeat the Mongol army. From start to finish I thought every part of the story was captivating, even the side quest. n

The gameplay is the best part of the game. You will be using a variety of stances to fight with your sword, shoot enemies with your bow, and you even some other tricks up Jin’s sleeve. The moment to moment action is really unmatched by any other game. When fighting I always felt in complete control and was able to fight numerous people at once. Dodge and parry are a huge part of the fighting, it was easy to pick up and learn and always felt fun.

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Outside of fighting groups of enemies, there are two other main mechanics with fighting. First is something you will use often, it is called a stand-off. You challenge their best warrior and wait for them to make the first move and kill them with one blow.

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The other mechanic you will come across is a duel. One versus one fighting game-style duels. This was great and I wish there were more of them. At this point I would even take a fighting game with these mechanics it was that good. n

When you’re not fighting you are exploring the island of Tsushima which is broken up into three parts. Each part feels different from the next ascetically, but you will be doing the same activities across them all, which for a completionist can get repetitive.

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Your map starts out completely blank but as you explore you will find question marks all over leading to its various side activities. While there are a decent variety there are just too many of some of them. For example, there is one shrine you have to honor, to get to it you come across a fox den and follow it to the shrine. There are almost fifty of those fox dens. By the end I did not want to follow any more foxes. This is not a major problem since none of it is required to beat the main game.

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There is a big cast of supporting characters all with their own motives to either help or go against you. They all were believable and well written. Some were definitely more likable than others but still, each one is written and acted very well. n

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Jin is one of my favorite characters in recent years. He does whatever it takes to for his people and is willing to accept any consequence. He is a well-developed strong character that I hope becomes a mascot for PlayStation.n

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Verdictn

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Ghost of Tsushima is a masterpiece of a game. It has great combat, well developed characters, and a great story. The world you will get lost in is one of the most detailed and beautiful open worlds in any game to date. If you do not play Ghost of Tsushima you are doing yourself a disservice.

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Final Score 10/10