Ghost of Tsushima

Ghost of Tsushima is a PlayStation 4 exclusive game. It was developed by the American studio Sucker Punch Productions, the creators of InFamous series and Sly Cooper series. Their newest project was kept in secret for three and a half years. It was presented for the first time during the Paris Games Week 2017.

Plot

The year is 1274. The Mongol Empire rules over the whole Asian continent. Its rulers are hungry of the riches of the Feudal Japan. The Khan decides to start an invasion. Its first target is the island Tsushima, located in the middle of the Korean Strait. During the attack, Mongolian troops massacred most of the samurai living on the island. The hero of the game, Jin Sakai, miraculously manages to survive a tragic battle. From that point on, the protagonist's main objective is to stop the Mongols. However, to do so, he will have to forget about samurai traditions.

Gameplay

Like productions under inFamous brand, Ghost of Tsushima is a third-person action game with an open world that can be travelled both on foot and on horseback. The developers focused on the stealth system. The enemy forces are overwhelming, so direct confrontation with adversaries is not always the most sensible idea.

It is worth noting that in sneaking around, it is not only cleverness that counts. There are plenty of gadgets at the player's disposal, both to distract enemies (eg. smoke bombs, bells or firecrackers) as well as their direct elimination (bombs, throwing knives as well as burning and explosive shots).

Apart from sneaking around, we can also fight directly - using a catana or a bow. The system resembles a bit what we know, for example, from The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - the sense of speed during pairing and dodging is very important here. The player has four different combat styles at his disposal - each of them works best against a different type of enemy (the list of enemy types is quite extensive, but they can be roughly divided into several variants (e.g. swordsmen, archers, spearsmen or shield bearers).

Also noteworthy is the provocation system - it allows you to start the battle by throwing a challenge and then eliminate from one to several enemies with single, effective strikes (provided you manage to inflict them at the right time - failure means losing a large part of your life bar).

In Ghost of Tsushima, the developers resigned from the classic system of markers leading the player to the mission. Instead, this function is performed by elements of the environment - traces, smoke on the horizon, characteristic navigation points, and even animals. We can also use the Guiding Wind - we set the target on the map and since then the wind blows in its direction. All these tricks and ideas are to encourage players to explore the world more closely.

New Game

On 16 October 2020 the authors made available an update 1.1. It introduced a New Game mode to Ghost of Tsushima, thanks to which players can start their adventure again with an already developed character. For its needs, previously unavailable equipment and armor, as well as a special amulet to tame dogs, have been prepared, which then actively support us in combat.

Multiplayer

The core of the Ghost of Tsushima game is an extensive story campaign. In October 2020, a free DLC called Ghost of Tsushima: Legends was released, offering challenges for up to 4 players in online mode.

Technology

Ghost of Tsushima takes place on the Tsushima island, which is completely open for exploration. The surroundings are very diverse and they include bamboo forests, small islands and temples. The developers made sure that the locations are very climatic - we have a lot of picturesque landscapes and various details associated with feudal Japan (rice fields, cherry tree flakes). The game world has a lot of depth and is one of the main heroes of history.

Interestingly, the game offers the opportunity to play with Japanese dubbing.

Last updated on December 18, 2017