Ghost of Tsushima DIRECTOR'S CUT

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Tl;dr 9.5/10 Great story, good technical performance, simple but fun combat and stealth, breathtaking open world, mid side quests, repetitive open world map markers If you're a fan of the old Assassin Creed games, I strongly recommend Ghost of Tsushima. Its gameplay loop is simple and some may find it repetitive (it is, but that's not always a bad thing) but this game is filled with gorgeous landscapes that encapsulate you as you traverse throughout the map, a combat system that turns more and more into a power fantasy the deeper you get into the game, and is spearheaded by a terrific main story that explores complicated themes such as honor, sacrifice, vengeance, and even forgiveness (a strong part of the story of the Iki Island expansion.) Much of this game I would honestly describe as "simple." The combat isn't super deep, but it [i]feels[/i] good. The stealth doesn't involve disguising yourself or hiding bodies or studying enemy movement patterns, but I still found it incredibly satisfying to clear an entire camp of enemies without being detected. Exploring the map to clear the fog of war can feel like just going from "?" to "?" on the map, but I found the world to be so beautiful that I never once found myself bored whilst playing through the gameplay loop. I wouldn't call the game bloated, at least not on the level of a modern ubisoft game, but there is a lot to do and see here. I understand if some feel the game IS bloated and repetitive, but I loved the world and its all points of interest. I wanted to explore every inch of Tsushima and Iki, and I did. For me, the biggest part of this game that falls flat are its side quests. While not terrible, I can best describe them as inoffensive. They all boil down to one thing: killing the invading mongols. The premise may be different with each quest, but the objective is usually the same for every single one. Still, that didn't stop me from completing them all on both the base game and the expansion. What they're best at though is not overstaying their welcome. The side quests are relatively short, allowing you to clear the map, get your XP and loot, and get back to exploring. The main story more than makes up for any disappointment one may find with the main quests. It's a great narrative told through the eyes of an even greater protagonist, Jin Sakai. The story and character development of Jin is only further improved and expanded upon in the game's Iki Island expansion, which pleasantly surprised me with its quality and how different it felt from the main game, even if the core gameplay loop is the same. The main storyline is a great tale which sees Jin having to abandon the samurai code in order to defend his home from the invading Mongolian army. It feels like a true classic samurai movie in a sense while still retaining its sense of being a fun video game, an aspect I think was lost in other cinematic Sony games like the Norse God of War's. If you're looking for a great story, a beautiful world, serviceable combat and stealth, and not one but two islands with plenty of secrets to discover, look no further. I loved this game at launch on PS4, and the director's cut reminded me exactly why while giving me new content with the Iki expansion.

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