normally AAA open-world games with that tried-and-tested formula as their skeleton don't do much for me. the open world is usually a chore that i blitz through only if i'm intrigued enough by the story. ghost of tsushima had me inmersed in the story, but it also had me having fun with the open world. i didn't do everything, but i still did a LOT more than i normally would have because the mechanics and structure were well-balanced and tight. i want to gush about the visuals even! presentations that lean on realism don't do anything for me on their own, but tsushima has a very firm sense of itself in direction and in color. it's a beautiful game that left me just staring dumbly at the screen at points.

it is insane to me that ghost of tsushima is as impressive as it is, yet it's so goddamn good. not even AAA bullshit can drag it down.