This review contains spoilers
There isn't really an interesting story for how I began Ghost of Tsushima. I bought it digitally in Christmastime of 2019 or 2020, and never played it. Once I played Sekiro, I suppose I had an itch for another Japanese setting. I played and Platinumed both Tsushima and Iki Island between the months of May and June of 2023.
Story: 8/10. A powerful story focused on change and family. Easily one of the best parts of the game (if not quite slow at times).
Characters: 5/10. The full-length cutscenes really emphasize the emotion of the characters, whereas the static jump-cut style conversations were quite boring. Unique and interesting characters I found were Jin, Shimura, Taka, and Kenji; besides that, there weren't any standout performances from other characters and they seemed very generic (although Masako and Ishikawa definitely had their moments and Norio's growth was stellar). They weree just bland archetypes with absolutely no personality; it felt like I was playing a Ubisoft game for the majority of the story. This is easily the part that makes this a three star game instead of a four star game to me.
Combat: 8/10. The wide variety of different stances kept the base combat interesting, while the ghost abilities, stealth, archery, and standoff also all provided great alternatives. This is the only game where I found myself actively switching outfits, since they were each excellently crafted for their own specific uses. Special mention to the devs for hiding some very important weapons and techniques behind side quests!
Gameplay/Content: 7.5/10. Pretty good for an open world game, there are a vast amount of activities to do that always keep things interesting and never make the world seem too "empty". The only issue was that going for the platinum became quite draining after a little while, with a routine of checking the map, going to the location, and repeating getting stale in the beginning of Act 3.
World: 9/10. Easily one of the most beautiful games I have played. I had to force myself to stop sometimes to truly appreciate the scenery around me. Each act has a unique feel to it, as well as the DLC. Act 3 was easily the weakest and most empty location in the game, while Act 2 was the most diverse and fun to spend time in.
Traversal: 7/10. I enjoy how your horse is an actual character and not just a vessel that you use for transportation (something that AC Odyssey did). Controlling and calling your mount is simple enough, and the scenery should suffice while you go from place to place (with enough random encounters to keep things interesting). The only problem I had was with fast travel; that is, I used it too much in the latter half of the game, and often once I travelled to a location, I always fast travelled back to it. It would have been nice to have a system similar to Horizon Zero Dawn, in which you have "fast travel packs".
Problems: After a while became quite repetitive, especially while going for the platinum and Iki Island 100%.
Favorite Part: Ending of Act 2, start of Act 3. Easily the most emotional part of the game.
Least Favorite Part: The in-between story missions where you aren't doing anything too interesting (ie raiding a fort at the beginning of Act 3).
Story: 8/10. A powerful story focused on change and family. Easily one of the best parts of the game (if not quite slow at times).
Characters: 5/10. The full-length cutscenes really emphasize the emotion of the characters, whereas the static jump-cut style conversations were quite boring. Unique and interesting characters I found were Jin, Shimura, Taka, and Kenji; besides that, there weren't any standout performances from other characters and they seemed very generic (although Masako and Ishikawa definitely had their moments and Norio's growth was stellar). They weree just bland archetypes with absolutely no personality; it felt like I was playing a Ubisoft game for the majority of the story. This is easily the part that makes this a three star game instead of a four star game to me.
Combat: 8/10. The wide variety of different stances kept the base combat interesting, while the ghost abilities, stealth, archery, and standoff also all provided great alternatives. This is the only game where I found myself actively switching outfits, since they were each excellently crafted for their own specific uses. Special mention to the devs for hiding some very important weapons and techniques behind side quests!
Gameplay/Content: 7.5/10. Pretty good for an open world game, there are a vast amount of activities to do that always keep things interesting and never make the world seem too "empty". The only issue was that going for the platinum became quite draining after a little while, with a routine of checking the map, going to the location, and repeating getting stale in the beginning of Act 3.
World: 9/10. Easily one of the most beautiful games I have played. I had to force myself to stop sometimes to truly appreciate the scenery around me. Each act has a unique feel to it, as well as the DLC. Act 3 was easily the weakest and most empty location in the game, while Act 2 was the most diverse and fun to spend time in.
Traversal: 7/10. I enjoy how your horse is an actual character and not just a vessel that you use for transportation (something that AC Odyssey did). Controlling and calling your mount is simple enough, and the scenery should suffice while you go from place to place (with enough random encounters to keep things interesting). The only problem I had was with fast travel; that is, I used it too much in the latter half of the game, and often once I travelled to a location, I always fast travelled back to it. It would have been nice to have a system similar to Horizon Zero Dawn, in which you have "fast travel packs".
Problems: After a while became quite repetitive, especially while going for the platinum and Iki Island 100%.
Favorite Part: Ending of Act 2, start of Act 3. Easily the most emotional part of the game.
Least Favorite Part: The in-between story missions where you aren't doing anything too interesting (ie raiding a fort at the beginning of Act 3).