Positive review not available in your region
---
Ghost of Tsushima has been removed from sale in 180 countries where pre-orders were previously available. All people who pre-ordered the game were forced to refund.
Sony recently discovered that they couldn't ensure a consistent gaming experience for players across all countries. Sony's best solution to this problem was to halt the official sales of the game in regions where PSN is unavailable.
Ah yes, the Japanese Assassin's Creed Ubisoft wishes it had made.
Just how the Spider-man games make you FEEL like Spiderman this game really makes you FEEL like a Samurai.
After playing Ghost of Tsushima, I decided to start taking Kendo, laido, and Kenjutsu classes. I will admit, it was stupid to get into a martial art after playing a video game. However, I realise that this is something I should have started doing a while ago. I really enjoy it and it has helped me a lot in defending myself from my wife’s boyfriend!
It seems to be what the newer Assassin's Creed games were trying to do, it's just executed with more integrity. I first played the game during the pandemic and it was the perfect game for me during lockdown. I would just wander the countryside and take in the scenery. I would chase foxes to their shrine, and wear different outfits depending on my mood. I would zone out to the ambient shakuhachi flutes, and bang my head to the taiko drums. I would compose haiku under the stars, and perfect my showdown stances. The whole game felt organic and natural. When I finished the game, living there in that little hut, with all the trophies, I indulged in the memories of each one, like having a glass of wine with an old friend. It was bittersweet but fulfilling, and I still remember it fondly.
When I originally played it in 2020, I felt it was my favorite game of that decade. Have yet to play a game in the last 2 years I love more. Those touches were MAGICAL for the first hours. The first time I wrote a haiku was an experience that made me reevaluate how I view video games. The whole thing was like I was playing one of my beloved Samurai movies. I would get excited when I saw the Fox dens, since it meant there was a chance I could pet one.(love giving animals scratches in games) The stoic characters felt authentic to the the type of old school Samurai movies they were seemingly inspired from. And having the guiding wind to help you to your objectives was a very nice touch and really innovative way to get rid of quest markers. The mythical tales are excellent, and so are the duels that come with the quests. This is where the game really shines, as it is able to combine the best of the great visuals and good combat into memorable segments.
The game sure has several of the open world tropes that studios are apparently tied to these days, But it’s a lot less bloated than the recent AC games. To me it felt like the perfect size and length to play through and not get bored toward the end. And to me it kinda feels how AC would feel if they took the time to make their games well. Ghost of Tsushima has a level of care built into it that Ubisoft games don't. There's no micro transactions. All cosmetics are unlocked through gameplay. The UI is minimalist. Both combat and stealth are equally viable and fun. It's a well built game. The combat, the scenery and visuals, and just kinda the way everything feels is just better. In AC I would always be rushing from A to B trying to get the traveling over with. In Tsushima I’m always just slowly walking my horse place to place, looking around, soaking everything in and just vibing.
The best aspect of this game, is the non liner progression, kinda like GTA, you can go pick what storyline you want to progress in, and you can switch at any time, so the freedom of quest choice is liberating. The world again is just visually stunning, and the combat starts off slow but develops into something fascinating. The combat also reinforces one of the central themes of the story: that by being the “ghost” you are slowly losing your nobility, your samurai “soul”. You are granted a number of ghost tricks, such as throwing knives or explosives. And at times these are absolutely essential in combat, especially when you reach the second part of the island and the difficulty jumps up.
Overall, one of my favorite games in a long time, it is a gorgeous romp through Japan with some exciting ideas tossed into a fantastic world. Enjoyed it enough to play it three times in 3 different platforms. It's an easy recommendation to anyone who likes immersive sims.
10/10
this game?
it’s like your monitor got baptized in samurai tears.
every frame is a painting, and every leaf is judging your life choices.
combat?
clean. smooth. not a soulslike trauma session.
you feel like a samurai — not a punching bag with a stamina bar.
grinding? nah.
you level up just by existing and slicing dudes with honor.
and the story?
bro i cried in a haiku.
the vibes are heavy, the characters go deep, and the plot got more drama than your group chat.
10/10 would get lost in a bamboo forest again.
ghost of tsushima on PC is not just a game.
it’s a vibe.
You do not need PSN to play the singleplayer.
But please SONY make this game available for all 180 countries left out so that everyone can experience this masterpiece.
I went in with super high expectations after all the hype, put over 60 hours into the game, trying to see what about it made it so highly praised but honestly, it just felt mid...
The world is absolutely gorgeous and it nails the atmoshpere but once you get past the visuals, I couldn't help but feel like I was playing a budget Assassin's Creed. The biggest "town" is like a small fortress with a couple of shacks, and most of what you explore is just oversized fields of grass with the same Mongol camps around. Side content gets repetitive fast (follow another fox, 100x), and the gameplay loop started feeling repetitive already in teh second zone.
I like Jin and his character, his voice is super calming but serious at the same time, the story has some great moments but even those are badly paced. and the mission structure doesn’t help either, almost every (side) quest is the same thing every time, clear out or free someone from a mongol camp and repeat.
What really drove me crazy though were the constant fade to black transitions. It's just everywhere. Talking to an NPC? Fade to black. Start a boss fight? Fade to black. Standoff mechanic? Fade to black. Important cutscene? Fade to black. It completely kills the immersion and makes everything feel cheap and disconnected, it's weird I see this mentioned almost nowhere when it's so obnoxious.
Combat is solid but enemy/weapon variety is really low and the enemy AI is super bad around stealth (as if it was only build around the katana gameplay). It just doesn't evolve much, switching stances is not as fun as it seems at first and by the end of the game, it felt like I was doing the same fights over and over.
I get why people love it, covid Playstation exclusive with a Japanese setting and simple but tight combat, but for me, it just didn’t nearly live up to the hype. It’s not a bad game, just a really average one.
Fades to black
Positive review not available in your region
---
Ghost of Tsushima has been removed from sale in 180 countries where pre-orders were previously available. All people who pre-ordered the game were forced to refund.
Sony recently discovered that they couldn't ensure a consistent gaming experience for players across all countries. Sony's best solution to this problem was to halt the official sales of the game in regions where PSN is unavailable.
Ah yes, the Japanese Assassin's Creed Ubisoft wishes it had made.
Just how the Spider-man games make you FEEL like Spiderman this game really makes you FEEL like a Samurai.
After playing Ghost of Tsushima, I decided to start taking Kendo, laido, and Kenjutsu classes. I will admit, it was stupid to get into a martial art after playing a video game. However, I realise that this is something I should have started doing a while ago. I really enjoy it and it has helped me a lot in defending myself from my wife’s boyfriend!
It seems to be what the newer Assassin's Creed games were trying to do, it's just executed with more integrity. I first played the game during the pandemic and it was the perfect game for me during lockdown. I would just wander the countryside and take in the scenery. I would chase foxes to their shrine, and wear different outfits depending on my mood. I would zone out to the ambient shakuhachi flutes, and bang my head to the taiko drums. I would compose haiku under the stars, and perfect my showdown stances. The whole game felt organic and natural. When I finished the game, living there in that little hut, with all the trophies, I indulged in the memories of each one, like having a glass of wine with an old friend. It was bittersweet but fulfilling, and I still remember it fondly.
When I originally played it in 2020, I felt it was my favorite game of that decade. Have yet to play a game in the last 2 years I love more. Those touches were MAGICAL for the first hours. The first time I wrote a haiku was an experience that made me reevaluate how I view video games. The whole thing was like I was playing one of my beloved Samurai movies. I would get excited when I saw the Fox dens, since it meant there was a chance I could pet one.(love giving animals scratches in games) The stoic characters felt authentic to the the type of old school Samurai movies they were seemingly inspired from. And having the guiding wind to help you to your objectives was a very nice touch and really innovative way to get rid of quest markers. The mythical tales are excellent, and so are the duels that come with the quests. This is where the game really shines, as it is able to combine the best of the great visuals and good combat into memorable segments.
The game sure has several of the open world tropes that studios are apparently tied to these days, But it’s a lot less bloated than the recent AC games. To me it felt like the perfect size and length to play through and not get bored toward the end. And to me it kinda feels how AC would feel if they took the time to make their games well. Ghost of Tsushima has a level of care built into it that Ubisoft games don't. There's no micro transactions. All cosmetics are unlocked through gameplay. The UI is minimalist. Both combat and stealth are equally viable and fun. It's a well built game. The combat, the scenery and visuals, and just kinda the way everything feels is just better. In AC I would always be rushing from A to B trying to get the traveling over with. In Tsushima I’m always just slowly walking my horse place to place, looking around, soaking everything in and just vibing.
The best aspect of this game, is the non liner progression, kinda like GTA, you can go pick what storyline you want to progress in, and you can switch at any time, so the freedom of quest choice is liberating. The world again is just visually stunning, and the combat starts off slow but develops into something fascinating. The combat also reinforces one of the central themes of the story: that by being the “ghost” you are slowly losing your nobility, your samurai “soul”. You are granted a number of ghost tricks, such as throwing knives or explosives. And at times these are absolutely essential in combat, especially when you reach the second part of the island and the difficulty jumps up.
Overall, one of my favorite games in a long time, it is a gorgeous romp through Japan with some exciting ideas tossed into a fantastic world. Enjoyed it enough to play it three times in 3 different platforms. It's an easy recommendation to anyone who likes immersive sims.
10/10
this game?
it’s like your monitor got baptized in samurai tears.
every frame is a painting, and every leaf is judging your life choices.
combat?
clean. smooth. not a soulslike trauma session.
you feel like a samurai — not a punching bag with a stamina bar.
grinding? nah.
you level up just by existing and slicing dudes with honor.
and the story?
bro i cried in a haiku.
the vibes are heavy, the characters go deep, and the plot got more drama than your group chat.
10/10 would get lost in a bamboo forest again.
ghost of tsushima on PC is not just a game.
it’s a vibe.
You do not need PSN to play the singleplayer.
But please SONY make this game available for all 180 countries left out so that everyone can experience this masterpiece.
I went in with super high expectations after all the hype, put over 60 hours into the game, trying to see what about it made it so highly praised but honestly, it just felt mid...
The world is absolutely gorgeous and it nails the atmoshpere but once you get past the visuals, I couldn't help but feel like I was playing a budget Assassin's Creed. The biggest "town" is like a small fortress with a couple of shacks, and most of what you explore is just oversized fields of grass with the same Mongol camps around. Side content gets repetitive fast (follow another fox, 100x), and the gameplay loop started feeling repetitive already in teh second zone.
I like Jin and his character, his voice is super calming but serious at the same time, the story has some great moments but even those are badly paced. and the mission structure doesn’t help either, almost every (side) quest is the same thing every time, clear out or free someone from a mongol camp and repeat.
What really drove me crazy though were the constant fade to black transitions. It's just everywhere. Talking to an NPC? Fade to black. Start a boss fight? Fade to black. Standoff mechanic? Fade to black. Important cutscene? Fade to black. It completely kills the immersion and makes everything feel cheap and disconnected, it's weird I see this mentioned almost nowhere when it's so obnoxious.
Combat is solid but enemy/weapon variety is really low and the enemy AI is super bad around stealth (as if it was only build around the katana gameplay). It just doesn't evolve much, switching stances is not as fun as it seems at first and by the end of the game, it felt like I was doing the same fights over and over.
I get why people love it, covid Playstation exclusive with a Japanese setting and simple but tight combat, but for me, it just didn’t nearly live up to the hype. It’s not a bad game, just a really average one.
Fades to black
