Since it was first introduced during Paris Game Week 2017, a lot of gamers are anticipating Ghost of Tsushima. Three years pass and finally the game developed by Sucker Punch is released exclusively for PlayStation 4 simultaneously in all countries on 17 July 2020.

Looking at the video trailer and gameplay, a lot of gamers are thinking that Ghost of Tsushima is similar to Assassin’s Creed and Nioh. but what is offered in Ghost of Tsushima is, in fact, new and different from other games.

As a new game that introduces something new, why should you own Ghost of Tsushima? The writer is allowed by PlayStation Asia and SUcker Punch to try Ghost of Tsushima two weeks earlier than the scheduled release date.

After playing for more than 30 hours, here’s the review if Ghost of Tsushima by Dunia Games.

A Vast Story

Ghost of Tsushima is set in the 13th century, where the Mongolian empire invaded the Eastern region. Under the leadership of general Khotun Kan, the invasion killed all samurai that lived in Tsushima. Leaving only one samurai alone, Jin Sakai.

Looking at what the Mongolian empire had done to his hometown, Jin Sakai attempted to come back and gathers a new power to hit back the Mongolian empire. He is determined to do any means necessary to restore peace in Tsushima island. But it’s not as easy as he had planned. With the situation worsened, Jin is forced to put aside his honor as a samurai and fight in a new path, or referred to as “Ghost.”

From the short synopsis above, you can already imagine the main conflict in Ghost of Tsushima. By the conflict also birthed new conflicts that Jin have to face. All of the conflicts are split into the main and side quests. The player gets to choose which quest they will complete. Every quest has its story but still closely tied to one another.

Like watching a tv series, every mission is packed with different storylines and gameplay mechanisms. This allows varying gameplay to keep you entertained.

You will also find various animals that will point to a certain location, such as where the enemy is, the location of legendary items, and others. What is certain is that this method brings the game to life so that you don't get bored while traveling.

For more than 30 hours, the writer only gets to enjoy half of the story presented in Ghost of Tsushima. As a player that wants to experience every detail in the game, the writer doesn’t immediately tackle the main quest but chooses to complete the side quests. Some side quest presents a unique story and grants the player reward that can be used to continue the main quest.

Adapted From a Real-Life Story

Fyi, the story in Ghost of Tsushima is adapted from a real0life story that happened in 1274. The Mongolians are invading Japan that is located between Korea and Japan. Under the order of Kublai Khan, the Grandson of Genghis Khan, the Mongolian Army faced a small army on the island of Tsushima under the leadership of daimyo So’s family.

Unfortunately, the small army lost to the Mongolian force because of their lack of personnel and weaponry, such as the explosives that the Mongolian used. Resulting in the small defensive force to be slain by the Mongolian army.

After leaving the island of Tsushima, the Mongolian army invaded the next closest Japanese island. But the army failed because of a great typhoon that destroyed almost all of their fleet. The typhoon is later referred to as “Kamikaze” that saved Japan from the Mongolian empire.

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Movie-Like Graphics

An open-world game required realistic and stunning graphics. Sucker Punch has done a great job in the graphics of Ghost of Tsushima. The graphics are so awesome that even Shuhei Yoshida, a former president of Sony Interactive Entertainment Worldwide Studios, admires the work of Sucker Punch in the game.  

In Ghost of Tsushima, the player will get to enjoy the recreated scenery of Japan in the 13th century, thanks to the technology we have today. Sucker Punch paid attention to all details in Ghost of Tsushima. You can see how a village is burnt to the ground by the Mongolian army and the massive temple where the citizens are evacuating to.

Samurai film fans know about a classic Japanese film titled “Throne of Blood” that was released in 1957. The historical-drama film made by Toho Studios tells us about the story of the adventure of a samurai packed in battles between samurai. Even better, the film came in a black and white format that gives it a “noir” nuance.

Sucker Punch also implements a Samurai Cinema mode that gives the player a movie-like experience. Additionally, Sucker Punch also design the in-game interface to be minimalistic to let the player enjoy the scenery of the game without interruption.

New Gameplay Mechanism

Ghost of Tsushima has a unique gameplay mechanism, you can freely take on the Mongolian army in the method that you want. You can choose to face them honorably as a samurai or tackle them as a Ghost that requires dexterity. The two mechanisms make the gameplay always interesting.

There is no need to choose when you want to face them as a Samurai or Ghost, you can just challenge them from the distance and fight them honorably. Or stealthily fight them using distractions and inflict fear upon them.

What makes Ghost of Tsushima interesting is the varying fighting style to face the opponents. In the early gameplay, your fighting style may be limited. But you can unlock more fighting style as you complete more missions. Every mission you complete will grant you skill points that you can use to upgrade your skill tree.

Every fighting style has its advantages, fighting the Mongolians with a sword is different from when you fight them with a spear or a shield. You can also unleash deadly attacks using the Resolve that can effectively beat the opponent’s leader or bigger opponents.

To increase the Resolve, the player will have to explore and find the hidden Bamboo Strike. You can also find other collectible locations that can be used to obtain an exclusive item or increase Jin Sakai’s health bar.

The weapon upgrade in Ghost of Tsushima is unique, you need to collect items spread out on the map and from missions. So, you will need to pay close attention to your surrounding so you can upgrade your items quicker. The more often you explore an area, the quicker you can upgrade your weapon, armor, and other tools.

Massive Explorable Island

The island of Tsushima is a great location for gamers that love exploration. The more often you roam the island, then you have a bigger chance to meet hidden mysteries that is a part of a side quest that will not automatically appear in the interface. Because the island is vast, you will roam the island using a horse. You can call your horse by tapping the left button on your d-pad.

Don’t worry about visiting a previous location that is located far away since you can use fast travel to save time. Although it requires you to open the map or complete a specific mission.

Audio that Suits the Situation

Not just the stunning graphics, you will get to enjoy the audio that suits every in-game situation. Yup, Sucker Punch successfully interpreted the calm and natural locations in Tsushima island. You will enjoy the changing nuance when you enter mountains, villages, beaches, or in the first. Sucker Punch’s effort to hire a team to record the audio directly from Japan is not wasted since they get to implement realistic audio.

Fitur Photo Mode

The Photo Mode feature is a must in a triple-A game. Allowing gamers to freely capture in-game moments and edit it like a professional photographer. The Photo Mode also has vast customization to suit your taste.

Conclusion

To be honest, the writer is yet to complete Ghost of Tsushima because of the limited time the writer has to play the game. Still, the writer enjoys every hour spent in the game to complete missions and roam the island. The excitement increases as the writer are allowed to freely choose the playstyle to reach the goal. Even if the writer only played the game for three hours, it feels like every mission is equal to watching one episode of a samurai film.

Using the Moderate difficulty, the writer experienced a battle that forces the writer to strategize to face the Mongolian army. It requires finger dexterity and agility to block attacks and break the opponent’s defense, but you can still change the difficulty during your gameplay to Easy if you find it too hard.

What the writer loves about this game is the epic visual and audio. With Japanese voice-overs and English subtitles, the writer feels like watching a samurai film. Not to mention the Samurai Mode makes the game look like a classic samurai film.

Story-wise, Ghost of Tsushima doesn’t just tell us the story of a samurai that tried to restore peace in Tsushima island. It’s also wrapped in the story of conspiration, betrayals, loyalty, honor, and faithfulness.

Because the game has a lot of attacking features, you are faced with short-cut buttons to utilize them. You will have to adapt using the short-cut buttons to launch the attacks that you want.

As a whole, the writer is deeply satisfied with what is offered in Ghost of Tsushima. As a gamer that lacks the time to play a game, the writer feels like Ghost of Tsushima is a game that a gamer can finish by taking their time to explore and not rush their gameplay. If asked to complete the game, the writer may need one month to complete the game.

With the lengthy playtime, top quality visual and audio, vast exploration, ad intriguing storyline, Ghost of Tsushima is worth the Rp829.000 (Digital) price tag.

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Main picture source: Dunia Games