I'm not really sure where the fervent praise comes from, even after finally beating* it after 3 attempts.

*I killed the dragon, explored the Everfall, and tried Bitterblack Isle before throwing my hands and calling it finished.

I dunno man. Was it because this originally released around Skyrim, but had better combat and hating Bethesda games started becoming hip? Did people not play Monster Hunter at that time, so the combat felt more unique? Does picking up and throwing people go that far? I can't really pinpoint why this game is as fervently loved as it is, but I didn't hate it. I enjoyed it enough to finish, at least.

I found the generic fantasy setting to actually be more refreshing and charming in 2023 than when I originally tried this game many years ago. Battling chimeras while your pawns speak in Olde English makes for a cozy setting, something that reminded me of '80s fantasy movies but without the synch tracks. Being a massive Middle-earth guy, I feel like we don't get enough "down to earth" fantasy settings nowadays, even if the post-game armors can get very Monster Hunter, which I still loved.

While the story wasn't amazing, the actual writing was leagues better than I thought it would be, and the lore was fairly interesting. Smashing goblins with my giant fuck-off sword and stunlocking dragons was the highlight of the game, and the setting and competent writing only made it better.

But after a solid 30ish hours on this final playthrough... god. How many enemy types are there? Seven, maybe, not including shared models? Goblins, wolves, chimeras, cockatrices (which share a skeleton with chimeras), amber dragons (which are ripped from Monster Hunter, maybe a Gore Magala skeleton), skeleton warriors/mages, cyclops, golems (which share a skeleton with cyclops), and ogres (which share a skeleton with cyclops)? I was shocked at little substance there was as I progressed, with each quest being escort a person, kill these things, talk to these people (which have "schedules" btw, good luck figuring out where they are). That's pretty much it.

So we have an okay story with good writing, great combat, and a small world to explore with inconsequential quests. Is this really what got people's goats in 2012/3?

Again, I don't hate this game. I think it's worth a playthrough if you're in the market for a fantasy game with great combat and a charming setting. But the way people talk about this game, you'd think it's the world's most underrated gem Of All Time, and that's a feeling I couldn't shake during my whole playthrough. Unfortunately, that's a splinter I couldn't get out of my head and one that eventually soured the whole experience, as overall I just found the game to be okay at best. Some highs, but a lot of middling- to low-lows.

If we're comparing this to games that came out at the same time: Skyrim had superior exploration; Dark Souls had the more interesting lore with a more fun challenge; and Monster Hunter had the more exhilarating boss fights and deeper combat. This games tries to combine these experiences into one setting and it doesn't quite pay off the way I was expecting.

I just hope Dragon's Dogma 2 comes out way more content rich, cuz if it's just more of the same, we have a problem.

Sony has had their fair share of open-world titles, to varying success. More often than not, they fall under traditional open world cliches most prominently set in stone by the likes of Far Cry 3; where some open world games like Dark Souls or Wind Waker prioritize exploration, other open world games like inFamous Second Son or Marvel's Spider-Man are more about finding collectables and liberating enemy camps - both of which to clear the map and add towards a 100% completion goal. Ghost of Tsushima, at first glance, tries to have it both ways.

One thing I initially liked a lot about this game is that there is no clear way to clear the map or where the collectables are - you must let the wind guide you. At first, it’s awesome just being led around this gorgeous world and finding its hidden secrets naturally. It feels like a real place with lots of hidden depth that I, Jin Sakai, am really exploring. Quickly, though, this pretty facade falls apart.

There's little in the way of actual exploration in this game. More often than not, the most efficient way of finding something is choosing from a menu what you want to find and then spamming the windpoint in the direction of level-ups. Rarely will something surprise you in this game without you directly asking to see it.

It really is a shame, too, BECAUSE the game looks so good. this game has been praised to no end about its environmental visuals, and it truly is something to praise, even for its mechanical purpose. Trees and grass swaying in the direction of the guiding wind looked and felt incredible, and in some story missions that didn’t have clear guidance there was usually a nearby fire blowing in the direction of progress.

And those visuals hold up in the combat and enemy animations, typically with very obvious telegraphs that were consistent but varied enough to sometimes catch me off-guard. Combat as a whole generally felt very good, minus some moments where I couldn’t parry out of a combo-ender. The only real problem is its variety.

Taking this game as just its linear missions and campaign, it’s quite short. Only about 24 missions in all, most with a very strong focus on combat. Problem is, new enemy types only appear per Act (of which there are three) and even then, there are only really about 5 to speak of. That may seem like plenty for a short game, but any variation they get is typically just more health or at worst, forcing certain strategies like dodging instead of letting the player parry (which seems like a decent mix-up, but functionally it’s an identical system, both even have the same upgrade that lets you get extra damage off if you do it at the last second.)

That wouldn’t be a problem if the player had a wide variety of options to handle opponents with, but you don’t. Parry, dodge and guard break is your lot as far as base samurai combat goes. There are also ghost weapons that usually function more as wide, enemy-clearing bombs or one-shot insta-kills like the kunai or bow, but more often than not I would just use them to eliminate the more annoying enemy types like brutes so that parrying the other guys would be more enjoyable. I guess this could be construed as a good thing, but as it stands they feel like more and more ways to make your character overpowered than making combat more interesting to engage with.

Duels are awesome though.

I have a lot of nits to pick with this game, but I do want to stress that it is a very enjoyable experience. Combat is viscerally satisfying, but lacking in the kind of mechanical depth that'll keep me coming back to it. Exploration is gorgeous, but still sometimes feels more like chasing waypoints than truly partaking in a world. I didn’t touch on it, but the story can occasionally be powerful and well-written, though often doesn’t dedicate enough to its themes of honor and tradition to make anything truly special, perhaps barring the ending.

A lot of this game is good, sometimes even great, but it's not confident enough in itself to really thrive.