Name: Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut
Item: Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut
Rating: 8.5
Author: Jadyn Rodrigues

Ghost of Tshushima weaves an intricate tale of a samurai's morally-conflicted journey to save his homeland from the clutches of Mongol invaders. As protagonist Jin Sakai embarks on this adventure, players are enamoured to this work of art that tugs at their heartstrings, truly propelling it to one of modern gaming's classics as a must-buy.



Pros:

- The gameplay flows smoothly like a hot knife on butter. Right from the beginning, players are instantly introduced to a sword-based fighting mechanic that serves as the cornerstone for the rest of the game, feeling intuitive and effortless to comprehend. From that groundwork that game innovatively presents additions that augment your combat such as long-range weapons like the bows an blowdarts, as well learning stances for your samurai fighting style that differentiates each encounter from the next, ensuring that no battle truly ever feels the same, leaving no room for any mundane scrimmages.
- The graphics are great, albeit not of likes of Naughty Dog and such, however they are apt to the atmosphere of the game and compound the story too. Although individual models do tend to look a bit tawdry at times, the idyllic beauty of the game's environment and overall setting are in conjunction with the standard that gamers are used to for such AAA games; rest assured the game is visually appealing, which most notably can be observed when riding your horse through Tshushima's picturesque landscapes.
- Sonically, the game is incredible, with the sound design working in tandem to support what is transpiring on screen, for instance, the sword clinks during brutal clashes or the pampas grass quietly rustling when you move during swift stealth encounters. Moreover, the music is phenomenally designed for each section of the game right from the titular theme to the last battle, remarkably underscoring the plot of the game, akin to something one would expect to see on the silver screen at the cinemas.
- Lastly, the pièce de résistance, the story of the game. Sucker Punch Productions managed to genuinely create a narrative that will stick with players for a long time. The leitmotif of a samurai's code of honour is a recurring theme throughout the game and plays into every action and major plot point of the game such as the option of completing encounters stealthily or confronting enemies head-on, and the players bear witness to Jin's transformation from a conventional samurai to his identity as Tsushima's Ghost, the island's vengeful spirit and tutelary champion against the Mongols, which results in a climactic final clash that hits close to home.



Cons:

- The game can be slightly challenging during the exposition segments wherein newer players tend to find it strenuous to adapt to the 'resolve' mechanic and the laborious fights with multiple enemies, especially in the earlier parts, however this does tend to resolve itself rather quickly once certain skills are unlocked, although a smoother difficulty curve would have been appreciated.
- The experience can feel sluggish at times, conspicuously when engaging in conversation with characters where there is always a pause and a 'break' from the coherent flow otherwise maintained. It would benefit from a smoother transition from real-time gameplay to dialogues and cutscenes as observed in other AAA games. 
- As with the majority of modern adventures, the game tends to suffer from 'open-world' syndrome, wherein players are presented with this vast map comprising of various side quests, memorabilia to collect and other objectives to achieve aside from the main story, however this process can tend to get old very quickly as it becomes more tedious the longer it goes on for, as is the case for Ghost of Tsushima wherein the game is divided into 3 acts that gatekeep certain aspects of the map, which is great for encouraging the player to complete the main campaign, however discourages them from carrying out certain side missions that remain inaccessible until certain parts of the story are accomplished. This results in the players prematurely rushing through the main objectives leaving them with an ever-increasing list of insurmountable tasks left to do once they are done. Nevertheless, it is still possible to do such side missions alongside the main story, however it does tend to drag the experience into a more monotone arduous task.



Iki Island Expansion

The DLC for the game unveils a new region to explore with an interesting start to the expansion campaign that immediately immerses gamers into this new area brimming with its own trials and tribulations that Jin is forced to grapple with first-hand by the Eagle Tribe, giving your regular gameplay an psychedelic twist with the Hallucination mechanic. Moreover the plot intrigues players by elucidating more about the history of the island and how it personally affects Jin, delving into his relationship with his father. Although there is a new enemy type introduced and a few new gameplay mechanics that the player can acquire such as the Horse Charge, the expansion's fault lies in the fact that it doesn't stray too far from the original game's formula and the process can at times feel like a large side adventure than an actual DLC story. Additionally although the crux of the Iki Island's history revolves around the Sakai Invasion and even though at the climax, Jin comes to a satisfactory acceptance about his past, the plot can seem slightly lacklustre in the sense that it only superficially elaborates on the Jin's backstory in the main campaign, leaving the chunk of it to side objectives, whereas it would greatly benefit from combining the two elements into one meticulously-woven storyline that prominently builds up from the main campaign's groundwork but stands as a separate adventure, although as it currently is, the expansion fails to accomplish either well, laying as an awkward middle-ground accompanying this otherwise sensational experience. 



Ghost of Tsushima will go down as one of those games that everyone should have in their catalogue, and for good reason. With remarkable gameplay, flawless sound design and a story that is magnificently nuanced, it sets the standard for games that strive to be of this level -- and with its sequel Ghost of Yotei releasing later this year, it sets a precedent for what the series can stand for.

Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut

Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut

Player Score

Jadyn Rodrigues