Ghost of Tsushima

Look past its old-timey foibles and Ghost Of Tsushima absolutely has its merits. It’s the prettiest seven-out-of-ten we’ve ever played, with a world that begs to be seen and explored, despite never providing the reasons to make that exploration and time feel entirely rewarded. While the technical and artistic achievements on show here are undoubtedly high notes for the end of the PS4’s life, the mechanical underpinnings that bring this world’s missions and story to life could’ve been lifted wholesale from generations past.

My experience with Ghost of Tsushima was most enjoyable when I dipped in and out of the game's elements as the mood struck me, rather than relentlessly pursuing the story, side quests or upgrading items. The island is massive enough to support that approach, especially if you play over weeks or months rather than binging the whole lot in a fortnight. The last year of a console generation's life cycle always brings some incredible games, and Ghost of Tsushima's PS4 open world is worth getting lost in.

Limited by a rote and rigid world, Sucker Punch's samurai homage pairs okay action with enjoyably committed, if awkwardly fawning melodrama.

Ghost of Tsushima is pretty as heck—sporadic capturing left me with almost 50 GB worth of screenshots and short video clips to sift through—but at its core, it’s just another open-world game. I found myself audibly sighing every time I crested a hill towards a mystery objective only to find another fox to follow or another haiku to compose. These diversions, while unique at first glance, proved to just be busy work as time wore on.

Without the benefit of being part of an extant franchise, Ghost of Tsushima shines as a carefully crafted, excellent standalone game that made me notice things about games I rarely pick up on — the way the protagonist breathes, the colors of dawns and dusks, the subtle animations of love and hatred. When I think about Tsushima, I think of something gemlike and precious, faceted without being showy and ultimately more valuable than it looks. When I finished my first playthrough, my heart broke until I remembered I could simply play again.

Ghost of Tsushima has a distinctive aesthetic, after all, but it’s only skin-deep. The core game underneath that alluring exterior is a pastiche of open-world game design standards from five years ago; it lacks a real personality of its own. Ghost of Tsushima offers a lovely world to explore, and there’s value in that, but it should have been so much more than a checklist of activities to accomplish.

And if that all sounds very, possibly terribly, familiar, well: Yes. The truth is that there is very little new in Ghost Of Tsushima, except in an aesthetic sense. The plot is an American rehashing of 50-year-old tropes of Japanese cinema; the game design has been solidly in place in the titles it’s copying for more than a decade. But the craft on display is undeniable: This is a big, beautiful world to explore, absolutely filled with things to do and see. In a time when our own personal worlds have only gotten smaller, that’s probably more than enough for most players. It’s a game of consistent, small pleasures—at least, until you round a corner, and see something so beautiful you’re forced to just put down the controller and stare for a minute at the rippling effect of wind on grass. There’s a reason we build theme parks, after all.

After a string of creative and daring hits, including Death Stranding, The Last of Us Part II, and Final Fantasy VII Remake, Ghost of Tsushima is something of a letdown. We’ve also seen that it’s entirely possible to take the well-worn open-world structure and twist it in some way to keep it fresh, whether that’s Horizon Zero Dawn’s imaginative setting or Spider-Man’s web-slinging, but Ghost plays things too safe...Ghost of Tsushima just doesn’t dig far enough into what makes it unique. It’s big and beautiful — but you have to have the patience of a samurai to discover what makes it special.