Ghost Of Tsushima is an open world game, exclusive to Playstation 4, which was eagerly awaited, the hype created around it made it one of the most anticipated games of the year. And expectations were not disappointed!
For those who watch anime know that "it is a rule" to watch in Japanese with subtitles in the language in which you feel most comfortable. Ghost Of Tsushima is no different, you have a better experience with Japanese audio and subtitles.
The story centers on the character of Jin Kasai, a Samurai who sees his island attacked by Mongol invaders, while fighting on Komoda Beach alongside his uncle, Commander in Chief, Lord Shimura, and became one of the survivors of what ended up becoming a massacre. As one of his clan's last samurai, Jin must fight to defend his land from the relentless General Khotun Khan.
The game starts with a breathtaking cinematic scene, even reminiscent of the Metal Gear Solid scenes by Hideo Kojima, easily falling in love with the game right away.
During his journey, Jin Kasai assembles a team of allies to fight against the invaders, who intend to occupy the entire island of Tshushima, and to rescue Lord Shimura who was taken prisoner by General Khotun Khan. These allies are old acquaintances but who are also experiencing serious problems, it is up to Sakai to help them resolve their pending issues so that they can be available to help you recover your territory.
During the game, Sakai is faced with an internal problem. You have to fight the Samurai code of honor, against what is your way of life, if you want to have a chance to beat the invaders. Instead of facing the enemy head on, he is forced to act like a murderer too, sneaking up behind his back to kill a warrior without looking him in the eye - an act unworthy of a Samurai, according to Lord Shimura. Such acts are not considered worthy for a Samurai, in fact, they despise him, but Sakai carries this strategy throughout his journey and serves to spread the legend of the “Phantom”, a fallen samurai who stood up to take revenge on the Mongol army.
Gradually, the player learns more about the character and will unlock skills such as new fighting styles. There are 4 fighting styles and each one is more effective against a specific opponent: the stone posture is more efficient against opponents with a sword, the water posture works better against opponents who wield shields, the wind posture easily breaks the defense of opponents with a spear and the Moon's position causes more damage to thugs. It looks complicated to use but during the game you realize that it is quite simple.
The game has some interesting features, Sakai is guided by the wind… Yes, that's right, following the breeze is the way the character uses to reach her goal or to places chosen on the map. But it's not the only way to explore the game's vast map, you can follow golden birds, foxes and butterflies to find places of interest that don't appear on the map. During the game, you have some mini-games that provide power-ups or increase the protagonist's health bar.
Another interesting point in the game are the duels. Duels are one on one battles where only the katana is allowed. Your patience and skill with the katana will dictate the fate of the duel. A true representation of a samurai duel.
As it is a samurai game, comparisons with Sekiro or NiOh are inevitable but it is soon realized that they are different games. Ghost Of Tsushima is much closer to reality, you will not find giant monsters (not even small, really) and it is far from the soulslike genre of Sekiro or NiOh.
Although the story is based on real events and with immense cinematic references (and more), the character of the story is not captivating. Jin Sakai is not a Kratos or a Solid Snake ... Okay, maybe he raised the bar too high! He is not a Deacon St. John, for example, he is a dry character and easily forgotten.
Some side missions end up being repetitive but they are not mandatory, unless you want to end the game at 100%, you can skip.
Overall, it is a game worth spending your money on, the positives outweigh the negatives, which actually end up not being that relevant. The gameplay is very good, easy to adapt. This is one of those games that doesn't even need a story to be good at it, but in this case, I found the story very interesting, a hymn to samurai culture. For a moment I felt like a real samurai ... Then I remembered that I am bald!
Yo gēmu!
