By Adam Hood
Hello everyone, my name is Adam Hood from Kirklees Gaming Central, and I am here to bring you the latest in gaming impressions and reviews from the industry. Most of my articles that will be written will be on impressions and information on upcoming video games. There will also be reviews on video games and some big news in the industry. I hope you enjoy the content and stick with me on this journey.
When it comes to describing a video game, there are many words to use. Many of them have been used so often that they almost lose their meaning, and one that has been diluted, but it is the best way to describe this game is a masterpiece.
Story
Ghost of Tsushima is a game that occurs during the Mongol invasion of the island of Tsushima, and it is the only thing stopping an all-out invasion of Japan. But while the game is based on real events and inspired by movies of the film legend Akira Kurosawa, the game will often play with the facts to deliver the experience that they feel delivers the most impact.
In the story, you play as Jin Sakai, a Samurai who took part in the opening battle against the Mongols, but after the defeat, a thief called Yuna saved his life. Through Jin’s journey in the story, he will slowly start to realize that his honour as a samurai will have little effect on the Mongols, who will do whatever it takes to win. Thus Jin will begin his journey to become the Ghost of Tsushima. He will stalk his enemies in the night, use bombs and hidden blades to take down foes, and even take your enemies behind with poison, which is in direct conflict with the samurai’s way.
Exploration
The open-world that is the island of Tsushima is all too familiar. Just like any other open-world game, you will go out and explore the environment and free settlements from Mongol control, search for secrets, collectables, missions, and more. When it comes to the main story and its side missions, they can have many different approaches and will also be varied in the length of each mission. Some can take as short as five minutes and some to half an hour or more. These missions will see you use frontal confrontation, stealth, or even small raids on enemy camps.
By far, one of the best things the game does is also one of its unique points, and that is the games take on waypoints. The game removes the use of a mini-map and any icons in the distance telling you how far you are or glowing trails to show you the way, but the wind itself as it will blow in the directions of your destination. This will allow you to better explore the world you are in and truly take in the landscape and the breathtaking scenery along the way. It is truly a breathtaking world with so many seasons, weather and terrains for you to explore.
There are many things on Tsushima that you will have to traverse out into the wild to discover. These include the hot springs that will increase your health and will allow Jin to reflect on himself, his journey, and the ways of life. There are Bamboo sword strike tests that you can complete to increase your resolve, which will allow you to heal and use special techniques. Large Shrines where you got to traverse through platforms to the top and will give you with charms that will give certain effects and more. Another is the Inari shrines where you will follow a fox to the hidden shrine and the more shrines you respect will increase the strength of certain charms. You will also discover various cosmetic gear to make your katana unique.
You can also search out for spots to compose your own Haiku’s and earn yourself collectable headbands. It is in moments like these that the game’s environment takes your breath away with its gorgeous scenery and will remind you of how beautiful the world you are in is.
There are many quests in this game from the main story, side missions, myth mission, and tasks that will be given to you by civilians that you rescue. Witnessing the lives of those living on the island is truly a great experience from hunting down traitors, helping a grieving mother find her revenge, and even scaling a mountain in search of the way of the flame.
Combat
The combat in the game is very satisfying. The many stances and the swift movement with the lives of your enemies in the palm of your hands, combat in the game are taken to a whole new level. Each one of the stances that you will learn will be most effective on a particular enemy but can be used against all. These stances are Stone, Water, Wind, and Moon, and each of these stances can be used on all enemies. If you use the correct stance for particular enemies, you can deal more damage when breaking their guard, allowing for swift strikes. But when you mix in your ghost skills, then your enemies will not stand a chance and will instead be in the palm of your hand.
Through the combat system, you can make it where you can have memorable duels, but the best part of combat is the standoffs. Walking up to your enemy, hand on the hilt, the screen compresses like an old Japanese film, and then the moment they make a move, you strike them like a lightning bolt and finish them in a single blow.
When it comes to your armour, instead of changing multiple-piece just for a fancy look, their stats will directly affect you in combat and affect how you make your way around the island. With each upgrade to your armour and weapons, you will quickly find yourself to become truly powerful.
Overall, this game is incredibly beautiful. Sucker Punch clearly knew what they were doing. The game is so polished and truly raises the standard of games of this style. I would highly recommend this title, and you definitely will not want to miss it. There truly are many instances that took my breath away. It truly is the best game to end the console era of the Playstation 4.
