Ghost of Tsushima: Director's Cut

Expect a video game, warts and all, but one that, when boiled down to its core aim of lethal, bloody combat, fully understands the joy of making every button press feel deadly.

I was happily surprised by the breadth, depth, and challenge of the Iki Island expansion. For new players, it will extend an already lengthy adventure into something more. Meanwhile, returning players should be thrilled at how well this experience dovetails out of an already stellar game. Iki Island is what I want out of single-player game expansions. And it’s further proof (as if we needed any more at this point) that Sucker Punch has a standout new property to continue building on.

I’m delighted that, with the changes in Director’s Cut, I’m getting a “play-it-the-right-way-the-first-time” feeling as I do. I’m impressed with Jin Sakai as a character, and the early moral conflict of whether his principles, or the people those principles protect, matter the most. Tsushima itself is beautiful and richly illustrated, enough that I get a sense of place despite never visiting anything like that island in real life. [Impressions]

If you’ve already played through what the core game has to offer, Iki Island is a reasonably priced expansion (as is the PS5 upgrade). I do wish it had just a little bit more to offer, but I will take it over nothing. If you loved what this game already had to offer, how could you turn down more of it?