Ghost of Tsushima

 PlayStation 4
User Score
9.1

Universal acclaim- based on 21430 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 19,664 out of 21430
  2. Mixed: 823 out of 21430
  3. Negative: 943 out of 21430
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  1. Sensou12
    Nov 30, 2021
    7
    Bought it on Black Friday sales since it has a very good rating and people say it's the best game of 2020.

    Let me get straight to the point, the game is absolutely amazing as. The world of ghost of Tsushima is stunning and thank you for the Japanese option as it makes the game better with it. Although I say its amazing, but there's some frustrating issue or notes for this game: 1.    Bought it on Black Friday sales since it has a very good rating and people say it's the best game of 2020.

    Let me get straight to the point, the game is absolutely amazing as. The world of ghost of Tsushima is stunning and thank you for the Japanese option as it makes the game better with it.

    Although I say its amazing, but there's some frustrating issue or notes for this game:

    1. Combat: WEAK but FUN. Well, I understand why people (especially the one that have played Sekiro) disappointed with GoT as the combat system is very simple. Example: Every boss has the same fighting mechanic, except Khotun Khan (the final boss). After you parry them, you can attack them twice, if you go for the 3rd strike, they will dodge and counter or deliver a deadly attack. For the Mongols (minions), they only have around 9-10 role with different fighting mechanics. So, the combat will become very repetitive and compare to Sekiro, the combat is lacking of variation and challenges. Another addition to that, you have many ninja tools at your disposal which makes the character way too OP in my opinion.

    2. Story: Not appealing. Finish it today and not having a memorable moments with it. On the opposite, the side-story is quite good. I'm more invested in the Tales of Ishikawa and Masako. Will need more work on the narrative side (Learn from your brother, Naughty Dog).

    3. Platforming: Completely BAD. You need to play camera for moving to another rock when climbing and the camera can affect how far you jump from one another (for left or right cases only). The "Crawl Under" seems buggy as sometimes I'm getting trapped inside. The funny thing is, If I move backward when crawling under, I can get out easily which doesn't make any sense. Something also doesn't feel right with the ladder as sometimes I can't get it work so I need to run near the ladder to be able to descend or jump to ascend.

    4. Side Quests: Boring. I did it only for trophy and for reaching the title of "Ghost of Tsushima". Almost all of them need to be tackle in the same way. Tracking, Running, Killing and Done. Don't get me wrong but helping hostage in the middle of the road still way better than doing all those side quests.

    5. Legends: Has it been dead already? I cannot get another player while matchmaking. It seems gonna be a lot of fun thou but I never able to play with another player as the system keep finding players for me.

    6. Difficulty: WEAK. Play it on hard mode and didn't feel any challenge at all. Change it to lethal and still there's no major difference. The only differences are the enemy's attack are more punishing (2 hit only) and enemy less likely to idly waiting for you to kill his friend, so they tend to charge towards you together. But, back to the combat system, it still no challenge at all as I was expecting a new fighting mechanic instead of giving a buff to the enemy.

    Well, seems many but all the lacking points still doesn't match many positive traits in the game.

    Conclusion: This game is absolutely amazing and I think this game will be well accepted to players who like stealth game, open-world, exploration and of course Japan in general.

    I didn't recommend this game if you like story-driven or narrative game and Sekiro player that have high expectation of GoT combat system.    … Expand
  2. F3T1W
    Aug 21, 2021
    7
    Long after honing my skill over the years through Sekiro and DS3, this game has revived my caution and awakened my thirst for overcoming difficulties, very good at maximum difficulty
  3. Mighty_Marshall
    Jan 10, 2022
    7
    Good game, find it a slow start and a little basic. The graphics are ok. Preferred days gone
  4. Eilia
    Dec 3, 2021
    7
    I enjoyed the story,it has a cool fighting mechanism with a very beautiful world, but it's sidequest doesn't have anything new, same story for every single one of them and no new enemies and characters and the fact that u cannot even skip cutscenes doesn't help it at all, it gets really boring after you finish the story it's sooo goddamn extended without any new contents I'm attending forI enjoyed the story,it has a cool fighting mechanism with a very beautiful world, but it's sidequest doesn't have anything new, same story for every single one of them and no new enemies and characters and the fact that u cannot even skip cutscenes doesn't help it at all, it gets really boring after you finish the story it's sooo goddamn extended without any new contents I'm attending for the platinum right now and it really feels like wasting time, it only needed a few things to be a perfect game… Expand
  5. ShotgunDiplomat
    Dec 5, 2021
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I got this game on release and played it faithfully for many hours, but then I got kind of bored with it and didn't play again for a couple months. I ended up just getting more wrapped up in other games, which is never a good sign. I wanted to beat the story so I forced myself to sit down and beat the game in its entirety so I finally went ahead and did that.

    Overall, the game has a great atmosphere, satisfying and simple combat system (that has some depth) a beautifully unique art design, and a faithful Japanese spirit throughout. I quite enjoy the fact that you can unlock most everything in the game without microtransactions or DLCs and the storyline itself is quite good although it's nothing absolutely compelling. The ending definitely pulled on my heat strings and that first scene of Jin as the Ghost (when you poison the Mongols) got me fired up. Once you master the combat system, you'll really FEEL like a samurai and that sort of power fantasy in games like this are important. There's a lot to like here, but the game isn't perfect. I think there's WAY too many people on here blindly screaming "10/10 perfect!" because it's not a perfect game by any means, unless maybe you haven't played an open world action RPG in the last 5 years. If you have, a lot of things here are going to look familiar.

    The cons aren't plentiful, but they're impactful. This game's stealth mechanics feels almost exactly identical to Shadow of Mordor/Assassin's Creed Origins/Odyssey. These games are generally criticized for feeling repetitive and having boring side quests and I unfortunately got that feeling from time to time with Tsushima. After I mastered the combat system, and reached a point where I almost never got injured during combat sequences, it was no longer exciting to take down Mongol camps anymore. The first 5 or 10 times? Yeah, it was cool. But you end up doing these things so much that it starts to have that Far Cry 5 affect of endlessly clearing outpost after outpost. Which to be fair, a lot of modern games rely on "outpost liberation" style gameplay, it's nothing bad inherently, but that's my point. If you've played AC Origins, or Shadow of War, or any of these other titles, you're not going to be excited to be doing it here again and again. In fact, once you beat the game and side quests, what does it tell you to do? Clear MORE outposts. After stealth killing a Mongol for the 1000th time, or Heavy Arrowing a guard off a tower for the 1000th time, or getting into a battle with a random group of 5 Mongols and parrying their strikes and murdering them with cold efficiency for the 1000th time, I just felt bored. Does that mean I never had fun? No. But what it means is this game lacks depth. Behind the layer of beautiful mosaic scenery, and epic tales of The Ghost fighting back the Mongol invaders, what we have here is a pretty basic stealth system, and an above average combat system with a largely empty Open World. That's the game.

    Yes the map is big, and it's pretty, and there's lots of side quests and collectibles, but that's actually it. Outside of main quests, you have 5 duels, a bunch of fetch quests, a bunch of "Go to this abandoned fishing village and kill these 6 bandits that stand zero chance against you", and about 1000 different collectibles thrown all over the places. While the hot springs, and bamboo strikes are pretty cool, there's nothing else to immerse you in the world. You can't share sake with a friend, or go to a tavern, or play any minigames like Go or Shogi, you can't really INTERACT with anybody outside of the main quests. There's no blade maintenance, no caring for your horse, building relationships, making decisions, etc. Beneath the layers of story telling and visuals, this game is essentially played on rails but it tricks you into thinking it's not. What agency and choice do you really have here? Whether you'll knock out a few side quests before continuing the main quest, or not. That's it. This game, very easily, could have been more linear like The Last of Us 2 and it probably would have been better for it. I guess that's more of a problem with the gaming industry than this game specifically. Studios seem to think everything has to be some massive open world setting, but a lot of times that setting can drag a game down rather than lift it up. I think it dragged Ghost of Tsushima down. Constantly riding through endless empty fields really messes with the pacing and by the final stretch of this game, it felt like I was trudging through the mud just trying to finish the story.    … Expand
  6. Vishapin
    Dec 29, 2022
    7
    Really medicore game, and ubisoft sandbox clone if you will. Absolutely nothing interesting or new brought to the table, really poor combat philosophy (stances that determine if you do damage at all), nonsensical plot based of completely false premise, actively punishing for using most fun gameplay that is stealth. If new AC or Far Cry titles get a 5 from people, i see absolutely nothingReally medicore game, and ubisoft sandbox clone if you will. Absolutely nothing interesting or new brought to the table, really poor combat philosophy (stances that determine if you do damage at all), nonsensical plot based of completely false premise, actively punishing for using most fun gameplay that is stealth. If new AC or Far Cry titles get a 5 from people, i see absolutely nothing in GoT that could give it more than a 7.… Expand
  7. Kostas_Spirou
    May 22, 2023
    7
    Ghost of Tsushima manages to capture the setting of feudal Japan and the Samurai perfectly, making it one of the most gorgeous looking games to date, but what could go wrong?

    Well unfortunately, the Open World is just a very beautiful wallpaper, there's no risk or depth here, it's the same old formula that gets tedious after a while. To be frank, there's a big variety of tools when    Ghost of Tsushima manages to capture the setting of feudal Japan and the Samurai perfectly, making it one of the most gorgeous looking games to date, but what could go wrong?

    Well unfortunately, the Open World is just a very beautiful wallpaper, there's no risk or depth here, it's the same old formula that gets tedious after a while.

    To be frank, there's a big variety of tools when it comes to combat, and the feeling of the Katana is excellent, smooth animations and many abilities to unlock, it's a very enjoyable experience despite the repetitive and shallow quest design, which is by far the biggest problem of the game.

    As for the story, it's pretty simple, predictable and very forgettable, the pacing is all over the place and most characters are uninteresting, but there are some pretty great emotional scenes that are very well done.

    In the end I was left a little bit disappointed, because honestly, I couldn't get attached to this game, but I really had fun playing it, that being said, it's a solid experience overall.

    Final Rating: "Good" ~ 7/10.    … Expand
  8. Kwstis_Sidi
    Mar 12, 2023
    7
    Great graphics, great gameplay, good sound, but very bland and weak story. I recommend it if you like the Japanese / samurai theme or Akira Kurosawa movies, otherwise just buy it only on sale.
  9. bugurc
    Feb 28, 2022
    7
    The game has amazing graphics, cool atmosphere, somewhat original game mechanics like different stands and all, but I have never been so bored because of the dullness of the story in a game for so long. I was able to feel more connected to the game's atmosphere even in the recent copy-paste cliche Far Cry games. Characters, stories, missions, conversations are all superficial.
  10. Malbertheijn
    Dec 17, 2022
    7
    While definitely not a bad game, it's character development is very disappointing, the sidequests are uninteresting, the combat is tedious and the open world is repetitive.

    The graphics are possibly the best I've ever seen in a game so far and the art direction is amazing. I also love that the game ditched the minimap to make space for the beautiful world. This could have been a    While definitely not a bad game, it's character development is very disappointing, the sidequests are uninteresting, the combat is tedious and the open world is repetitive.

    The graphics are possibly the best I've ever seen in a game so far and the art direction is amazing. I also love that the game ditched the minimap to make space for the beautiful world.

    This could have been a masterpiece had the developers had the balls to implement original gameplay, instead of playing like every RPG I've ever played.    … Expand
  11. gfloresca
    Feb 22, 2022
    7
    A breathtaking experience that desperately reaches for that masterpiece title. Ghost of Tsushima is an open-world game that incorporates Samurai and ninja-based combat. You can either face enemies head on as an honorable Samurai, or assasinate them from the shadows as "The Ghost." Join Jin Sakai as he brandishes his katana against the Mongol invaders. Not to mention, their cunning, yetA breathtaking experience that desperately reaches for that masterpiece title. Ghost of Tsushima is an open-world game that incorporates Samurai and ninja-based combat. You can either face enemies head on as an honorable Samurai, or assasinate them from the shadows as "The Ghost." Join Jin Sakai as he brandishes his katana against the Mongol invaders. Not to mention, their cunning, yet ruthless leader, Khotun Khan. Although the game excels in it's beautiful single-player campaign and excellent gameplay, there are definitely some areas left to be desired. Specifically, it's side missions and collectibles, it's side characters, and it's enemy AI, made me feel as if I was being dragged through hours of gameplay. The story itself has it's moments, but the idea of an open world filled with uninteresting side missions and collectibles made the game feel more like a chore than an addictive experience.

    Aside from the main characters like Yuna, Khotun Khan, and Jin Sakai himself, the rest of the gang - which you'll meet as you play the game - can have missions and dialogue that's hovers between dull or worth listening. And with the number of individual side missions, the enjoyment you spend completing them will depend on your interest in the characters themselves, and the dialogue they offer.

    Combat and gameplay is really good. Instead of swinging your katana in successive X buttons, the game offers a variety of ways to slaughter and kill your Mongol enemies. As you progress through the game, you'll gain "legend points" which will go towards unlocking Jin's Samurai and Ghost skills. You'll get to use a variety of Samurai "stances" which are effective against specific enemy types. There's an extensive list of ninja tools to poison, pierce, blow up, and distract enemy npcs. And with the inclusion of "two" types of bows (Yes two), you can shoot enemies up close and quick, or penetrate their helmet's from a distance. The only problem is, enemy AI during ghost mode is simplistic and predictable. Unlike the ingenious NPC AI from The Last of Us 2, Mongol enemies in Ghost of Tsushima are simply routine in nature; routine patrols, routing searches, and routine alarms when you get caught. Even worse, Jin only does like 3-4 types of animations when killing in stealth mode. Apart from health, Jin can execute specialized Samurai techniques by spending "resolve points" which are replenished during combat or through successful assassinations.

    Aside from the lengthy side missions, the collectibles, Mongol camp liberations, and many others, is where the game starts to feel like Assassins Creed objectives; tedious, tiring, and time-wasting. Ghost of Tsushima contains a very hefty amount of content - weeks worth of gameplay. And as a player, you don't wanna spend that time collecting useless stuff and listen to uninteresting dialogue. Besides the main mission, you'll be dragging yourself across Tsushima completing objectives you don't really enjoy, or collecting artifacts you don't really need.

    Your armor, bow, and sword can be upgraded and customized by collecting resources you find across Tsushima. By collecting the necessary materials, you can improve a weapon's stats or change your Samurai armor's color. Bombs, ninja tools, and others can also be improved by via your "legend points" or upgrade their capacity through animal hides.

    I wouldn't necessarily call Ghost of Tsushima a masterpiece just yet. And I don't believe the 9/10 or 10/10 hype that players give it credit for - fits the hours of gameplay I've expended on it. It's yet to sit alongside God of War or Red Dead Redemption 2 on the tier list. If I could score this as a 7.5, I believe it strongly deserves it. But it's yet to prove itself as an 8. It's a flawed game with excellent gameplay and a heartfelt story. If you want to experience what it's like to play as an authentic Samurai or a stealthy ninja, this game is dedicated for you. If you're interested in an open-world game that explores Japanese culture in all it's authenticity and glory, this game is dedicated for you. If you want to know what it's like to choose between honor and home, then you'll fight alongside Jin Sakai as a warrior of Tsushima. And no amount of bland side missions, chore-like collectibles, and faulty enemy AIs will stop you from experiencing that.    … Expand
  12. DannyCypher
    Mar 25, 2022
    7
    Was a great game, but launched with bugs and filled with repetitive enemies. The game itself is beautiful, but it’s the filler which spoils it.
  13. LyokoCypherTV
    Jun 12, 2022
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. First of all I got to say this is probably my favorite open world game that has ever been developed by sucker Punch productions. Although the flaws in this game makes me feel that this doesn't deserve to be called a masterpiece. I'd like the story of the game. I like the open world design and the beautiful visuals of the game. I think the combat is fun and feels snappy and responsive when slicing guys up with your katana. Graphics I feel like could have been better. I feel like the environments look better than the actual in-game character models. The main character is pretty bland and not charismatic at all but there's a story reason purpose for that. I think the two biggest flaws in terms of gameplay is the stealth and the combat doesn't evolve in any major ways and enemies don't get any tougher. Fact that's the biggest problem overall with the gameplay. The fact that overall the game is incredibly easy even if you're playing on hard difficulty. During stealth sections it's even becomes more prevalent. The guards have absolutely no peripheral vision and and they don't hear your footsteps if you're not walking slowly while crouching. When you get caught and if you quickly kill the guard who sounds the alarm everybody will just go back to normal like nothing happened they don't stay panicked and are not searching for you the whole time once they know someone is there. I feel like I need to explain this to everyone because the main story is about a samurai who has to give up his samurai code and start killing enemies behind their backs which is against the samurai's way and slowly become the Japan's first ever ninja or aka the ghost. The main character Jin Saki has to learn to give up his samurai lifestyle to do whatever it takes to defeat an enemy who does not respect the samurai ways and traditions. The Game narrative basically ask this question: do we obey our leaders without questioning them or without doubts if their way can defeat the enemy who does not care about playing fair and only cares about playing dirty and doing whatever they can to win. I still think this is a good game but I think it's mixed at best when you combine the two main gameplay issues it's hard for me to argue that if this is a masterpiece or not.… Expand
  14. Enoo_
    Nov 7, 2022
    7
    This game is a magnificent mess, for every great feature there is something else uninspired and boring; looking at the open world activities and repetitive mission structure. Also lets not mention the extremely easy and cheesable combat among other things.
  15. garrytalaroc316
    Nov 11, 2022
    7
    The world design - Great looking. It's a pleasant for the eyes.
    Character customization - I love how I can customize my clothing, and I can upgrade my weapons in a simple way.
    Game play - I love the realism of the swordplay, it makes you feel like a real samurai. Parrying most of the time lacks feedback, I am sure I pressed "L1" to parry an incoming attack but still the enemy can get    The world design - Great looking. It's a pleasant for the eyes.
    Character customization - I love how I can customize my clothing, and I can upgrade my weapons in a simple way.
    Game play - I love the realism of the swordplay, it makes you feel like a real samurai. Parrying most of the time lacks feedback, I am sure I pressed "L1" to parry an incoming attack but still the enemy can get past it. It feels so frustrating. Unlike in Sekiro where it gets it right.

    Character Interactions - Sometimes the writing is corny, and illogical, and it happens all the time e.g. some peasant I saved said "a samurai, that means lord shimura is rescued" I've been saving everyone since then, how is what you said logical. This stupid interaction happens all the time and I find my self not listening because I can hardly care about their emotions. I meet so many people yet i can't feel their emotions.    … Expand
  16. kb24224
    Feb 10, 2023
    7
    Gameplay (Combat/Movement/Level Design): 7
    Narrative (Characters/Story/World): 6
    Graphics/Visuals: 9
    Sound/Music: 8
    Technical (Completeness/Bug-Free): Minor

    A beautiful game with stunning moments visually and emotionally, but can be repitive and empty in between major missions.
  17. mkwo
    May 19, 2023
    7
    The game is beautiful to look at. The combat is fine but ultimately is not interesting or complex enough for the length of the game. The story is fine but I was a little underwhelmed. But overall it was an above average game and I don't regret playing it.
  18. Tintler
    Jun 25, 2023
    7
    Başarılı bir yapım, dönemin japonyasını ve işgali güzel anlatıyor. Combat güzel, haritası güzel ve keşfedilme kısmı bir yük olarak oyuncuya yüklenmemiş.
  19. FlyMonBlaze
    Jul 23, 2020
    6
    While the graphics and art design are amazing, those are the only parts of the game that have really hooked me. The combat is okay. but the camera hinders my enjoyment with it getting in the way and movement generally feeling clunky. Stealth is basic and the AI makes it too easy, even on the hardest difficulty. If you want a game where you immediately feel like a badass 2 hours in thenWhile the graphics and art design are amazing, those are the only parts of the game that have really hooked me. The combat is okay. but the camera hinders my enjoyment with it getting in the way and movement generally feeling clunky. Stealth is basic and the AI makes it too easy, even on the hardest difficulty. If you want a game where you immediately feel like a badass 2 hours in then this game is great but the difficulty curve really flattens too early.

    The story is solid, but the poor cinematography in side quests makes it really hard to feel attached to the world or characters. I don't know it's just one of those games that is okay in every department but doesn't rise above average in any way other than graphics.    … Expand
  20. Hilarious
    Jul 23, 2022
    6
    There is no doubt that this game is beautiful but it didn't reignite my love for a feudal Japan. The story was good, but it was completely diminished by the gameplay. Game forces you to loose your honor and become an assassin because its the only option except it isn't and its much easier and quicker to just call a standoff and kill everybody even on hardest difficulty.

    The world does    There is no doubt that this game is beautiful but it didn't reignite my love for a feudal Japan. The story was good, but it was completely diminished by the gameplay. Game forces you to loose your honor and become an assassin because its the only option except it isn't and its much easier and quicker to just call a standoff and kill everybody even on hardest difficulty.

    The world does not feel alive compare to RDR2 or even AC: Origins. Combat lacks variety, you fight 5 types of enemy all the time. Stealth is too simple.

    Multiplayer is quite fun, specially co-op survival mode.    … Expand
  21. ReubenIsAGod
    Jul 30, 2021
    6
    I have a really complicated relationship with this game. On one hand, the story is excellently told, the combat is responsive and the gameieness of this game is very much fun.

    yet! When I really look into it, the core gameplay loop, the hours I spent going through these really clique side quests and collecting a lot of just unhelpful collectibles I would say I felt like I wasted a ton    I have a really complicated relationship with this game. On one hand, the story is excellently told, the combat is responsive and the gameieness of this game is very much fun.

    yet! When I really look into it, the core gameplay loop, the hours I spent going through these really clique side quests and collecting a lot of just unhelpful collectibles I would say I felt like I wasted a ton of time playing this game.

    After about 20 - 25 hours of gameplay, I started to get really frustrated with this experience. It just felt like any other Ubisoft/contemporary open-world adventure game.

    Even this feature of having no 'hub, side quest marker' instead you have to follow a trail left by the wind...that is a quest marker....like? Yes, it makes you feel more immersed in the setting, but damn? like! it is just a sidequest marker. I think what it does do is make you more engaged with the scenery around you (the graphics in this game are gorgeous, the setting of Tsushima is gorgeous.

    I personally just wish they took more opportunity here to give us more to learn/explore and randomly encounter within this gorgeous real location. Like even playing more into Japanese Folklore/history would have kinda been great.

    I will say you are absolutely getting your money's worth with this title. I do believe that with games coming out these days the real bar for expectation is certainly very low. So it's not slightly surprising that a game like this would come out and really impress everybody?

    I will say, for what it is, this is a very well-crafted videogame that a lot of love did go into. I won't say it's bad either. But I was definitely wanting more?

    *oh also, I spent roughtly 60 hours plaing this thing...don't u dare tell me I didn't put enough time into this....becasue I did....way too much....    … Expand
  22. Inhanzt
    Jul 22, 2020
    6
    Basically assassin's Creed with some sekiro. I didn't have much fun with it. The controls feel loose, you can't lock on, the game puts you through a lot of pointless cutscenes.
  23. White_Worm
    Aug 4, 2020
    6
    The graphics are absolutely incredible. I love the design of how the world is your UI, hope more games utilize this idea. Exploration is fun but tedious. There isn't a lot of fun to be had when just traveling place to place. But the biggest issue is the combat. It feels too easy on normal and unfair on hard. Part of this is the incredibly strict timing windows on things like parries andThe graphics are absolutely incredible. I love the design of how the world is your UI, hope more games utilize this idea. Exploration is fun but tedious. There isn't a lot of fun to be had when just traveling place to place. But the biggest issue is the combat. It feels too easy on normal and unfair on hard. Part of this is the incredibly strict timing windows on things like parries and dodges. It's so small in some instances I think my TV's normal input lag is enough to make it impossible to react to, it must be predicted. I also really hate that dodge is circle+left stick instead of just circle. If you just press circle Jin goes into a stance where he's "ready" to dodge, but this just creates an extra step and more moving parts to go wrong.

    Overall, the game is really good and well polished, but I just wasn't having any fun by the end.    … Expand
  24. Eglin
    Jul 20, 2020
    6
    This game feels like the work of junior employees that have an overabundance of ambition without the restraint of common sense. The game eschews convention in favor of style, and as a result things like navigating are much more difficult than they should be. Swipe up constantly to get a poorly rendered wisp that is supposed to substitute for the waypoints and minimaps everyone else hasThis game feels like the work of junior employees that have an overabundance of ambition without the restraint of common sense. The game eschews convention in favor of style, and as a result things like navigating are much more difficult than they should be. Swipe up constantly to get a poorly rendered wisp that is supposed to substitute for the waypoints and minimaps everyone else has accepted as the standard for decades. It's a terrible misstep and ongoing frustration. Another frustration is that the cutscenes--all cutscenes--are unskippable. I don't need to watch my guy strip down to get into a tub 50,000 times.

    There's a bit to like here, but it's a shame that there's so much wrong. Unforgivable things that can only be explained by a game having been created by people that don't actually play games.    … Expand
  25. kasparius
    Aug 20, 2020
    6
    This game is everything currently wrong with AAA gaming: a cinematic experience that completely forgets that gameplay is why people play games in the first place. Incredibly bloated, with side activities about as fun as a root canal. The story and characters are good enough to play the game through, but ultimately not memorable. The whole affair is seriously lacking in charm andThis game is everything currently wrong with AAA gaming: a cinematic experience that completely forgets that gameplay is why people play games in the first place. Incredibly bloated, with side activities about as fun as a root canal. The story and characters are good enough to play the game through, but ultimately not memorable. The whole affair is seriously lacking in charm and personality. Everything is lifted from previous successful AAA games, the detective sections from Witcher 3, the enemy camps from Assassin’s Creed, the climbing sections from Uncharted, etc... and none of these feel like a design decision that really fits the game, rather the logical conclusion of a faceless think tank. The game is polished and looks great, but in a very homogenous, uncanny valley way. Just like the Infamous series, Sucker Punch delivers a game that looked promising but is ultimately frustrating and uninspired. And that is without going into the cultural appropriation of a Western team making a game that is about Japanese as The Last Samurai.… Expand
  26. Camlambelot
    Dec 25, 2021
    6
    To be fair, the graphics and presentation are really, really good.

    But to be honest, I did not enjoy this game at all. The gameplay is just ok and the story is just ok. It's not anything that I haven't experienced before and not particularly fun to me. It was a lot of running around in an assassin's creed-esque type world and gameplay like many other games (shadow or    To be fair, the graphics and presentation are really, really good.

    But to be honest, I did not enjoy this game at all.

    The gameplay is just ok and the story is just ok.

    It's not anything that I haven't experienced before and not particularly fun to me. It was a lot of running around in an assassin's creed-esque type world and gameplay like many other games (shadow or mordor/horizon zero dawn) with an asian aesthetic.

    If you love this game, good for you. It's not for me.    … Expand
  27. mstephens187
    Aug 2, 2020
    6
    Story is not engaging at all after first 20 minutes. Literally you run around and do same side quests and encounters 100 times over. Stealth gameplay is laughably bad. You get some options to change your outfits, but that’s about it when it comes to something new after a few hours of gameplay. Nothing that says I need to keep playing to see what happens next, bc you know what’s going toStory is not engaging at all after first 20 minutes. Literally you run around and do same side quests and encounters 100 times over. Stealth gameplay is laughably bad. You get some options to change your outfits, but that’s about it when it comes to something new after a few hours of gameplay. Nothing that says I need to keep playing to see what happens next, bc you know what’s going to happen: You run across bandits or some random person needs your help from the bandits that attacked their town. Total snooze fest after 2-3 hours.… Expand
  28. ShakaZaitsev
    Aug 6, 2020
    6
    The graphics are good, but that's it. The game seems rushed. The facial animations are lame, the IA of the enemies is laughable. Physics of this game sometimes are absurd, and present a lot of bugs. Camera position obstructs combat sometimes. Cutscenes interrupt the gameplay with black screens. The combat is robotic, it doesn't feel natural at all, like AC. Stealth system is so outdated.The graphics are good, but that's it. The game seems rushed. The facial animations are lame, the IA of the enemies is laughable. Physics of this game sometimes are absurd, and present a lot of bugs. Camera position obstructs combat sometimes. Cutscenes interrupt the gameplay with black screens. The combat is robotic, it doesn't feel natural at all, like AC. Stealth system is so outdated. The story is ok, a little boring. In the end, this game hasn't brought anything new to the table.… Expand
  29. leche_paterna
    Jul 19, 2020
    6
    Ghost of Tsushima es un gran videojuego a años luz de ese pedazo de mierda sobrevalorada por la prensa que es TLOU 2
  30. GiantSwords
    Aug 19, 2020
    6
    Ghost of Tsushima is nigh impeccable from a technical aspect. On the actual game front, however, it falls rather flat and does nothing to distinguish itself from the glut of other open world titles on the PS4.

    Credit where credit is due: the game is gorgeous. Not only is it aesthetically pleasing at nearly all times, it's an excellent showcase of the graphics that the aging PS4 can put    Ghost of Tsushima is nigh impeccable from a technical aspect. On the actual game front, however, it falls rather flat and does nothing to distinguish itself from the glut of other open world titles on the PS4.

    Credit where credit is due: the game is gorgeous. Not only is it aesthetically pleasing at nearly all times, it's an excellent showcase of the graphics that the aging PS4 can put out. On the base model, it runs natively at 1080p and maintains a mostly solid 30 fps with occasional but not horrendous dips below that when there are a lot of particles or physics interactions going on. The lighting, shadows and textures all look fantastic, blood effects are excellent and well stylized, the draw distance is extremely impressive (while there is definitely some pop-in of fine details, it's very well hidden and only noticeable if you know exactly what to look for). The wind effects in particular are extremely impressive, causing foliage and grass to sway convincingly to the point where there is even simulated turbulence that causes ripples and waves.

    The actual gameplay loop is where it falls rather flat though. I've sunk about ten hours into it so far, and I really feel like I experienced all the gameplay had to offer in the first two. The combat is serviceable, but nothing paradigm shifting: it's really just a less button-mashy version of the Batman system. The standoff system is really cool in theory, but its implementation is video-gamey and inorganic, plagued by intrusive UI that is extremely out of place in a game that otherwise minimizes UI elements. Exploration is dull, yielding either cosmetic options or incremental character improvements, and captures the same tedium of searching for Korok seeds in Breath of the Wild. The stealth mechanics are boring; enemies are generally a combination of myopic and hearing-impaired, and often don't notice a violent swordfight that occurred in a tent within throwing distance. Most irritating is that the game goes out of the way to place numerous ways to create distractions or general chaos, but it is never really necessary to use those options and it's usually more efficient to just go in swinging. The controls are pretty tight and polished though, so I'll give it that at least.

    Overall, Ghost of Tsushima would be pretty mind-blowing if you haven't played a single open world game in the last decade. But if you have, it's absolutely nothing different from any of the rest.    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

19
#19 Best PS4 Game of 2020
2
#2 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2020
5
#5 Most Shared PS4 Game of 2020

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
83

Generally favorable reviews - based on 122 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 107 out of 122
  2. Mixed: 15 out of 122
  3. Negative: 0 out of 122
  1. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Oct 7, 2020
    100
    The best samurai game in a long time and a great fun for all, who love action. Love for Japan and its history is a big plus, but its knowledge is not necessary to enjoy every minute of this beautiful game. [Issue#305]
  2. PSX Extreme
    Oct 5, 2020
    85
    Ghost of Tsushima is a flawed, but fun, game. While the gameplay itself was solid, and the story was decent, I definitely expected a lot more from Sony’s final PlayStation 4 exclusive. It had enough to keep me hooked, but lacked the polish we’ve all grown to love from a Sony first party game.
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  3. Siliconera
    Sep 15, 2020
    70
    Ultimately, it feels like the game could have benefited from a smaller scope or a more linear structure. Focus on the duels could have created a more engrossing product, especially if it honed in on the narrative for a more concise and cinematic experience. But as it stands, Ghost of Tsushima is another AAA open world title and doesn’t seek to define itself as anything other than that.
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