Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut Review

Since its release in July 2020, Ghost of Tsushima has proved to be a masterpiece, acclaimed by the public and international critics. With 65 GOTY awards and over 6.5 million copies sold, the title developed by Sucker Punch offered a faithful and immersive Open World representation of Feudal Japan that literally made it the game of the year. On the wave of success, the development team developed and released the long-awaited Director’s Cut. You will find that it is full of graphic improvements and details that improve the experience and add a new playable area: Iki Island. Here is my Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut review on PlayStation 5!

IN-BETWEEN BELIEFS

As mentioned, Ghost of Tsushima takes place in Feudal Japan, against the backdrop of a real historical event. This is the invasion of Tsushima Island by the Mongolian armies. Kublai Khan (nephew of Genghis) led these armies in 1274 and also featured Lord Jin Sakai. He was last of the Samurai, to survive the first, terrible Mongol attack.

During the adventure, Jin will have to slowly regain control of the island and chase away the enemy armies. He will do that even at the cost of losing himself. Being a Samurai means adopting a lifestyle that is based on essential dogmas. These dogmas are courage, honor, and respect for the enemy. A true Lord must openly challenge an enemy in combat and look him in the eye when the time comes to finish him off.

Unfortunately, this vision of loyalty applied to the world is useless against Mongolian armies. They have no problem using tactics that any Samurai would consider “not very honorable”. Throughout the journey, Jin gets confused. He must choose if he wants to die following his creed or try to take back his homeland by bending or even denying it.

THE IMPROVEMENTS

Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut supports 4K graphics and a frame rate of 60 fps. Crossing Tsushima on horseback and challenging the Mongols to a duel now gives a whole different vibe. Everything is just a pleasure for the eyes. The colors and the general tone of the game world are greatly improved and you have that feeling of full immersion.

On a good TV, this makes you believe that you are really face to face with an enemy soldier. Very welcome, and in a certain sense also brilliant, are the additions on the hardware side. The haptic feedback of DualSense with Ghost of Tsushima is something that I wish everyone to try! From the pebbles that splash away under the horse’s legs when traversing rough terrain, to the feel of the Katana‘s metal rubbing against its case when you take it out and put it away.

Pair it all with Pulse headphones, or a pair of headphones that support 3D Audio. By doing this, the game will immerse you in the action. I must also assign an extra point in favor of Sucker Punch for the new accessibility options. Finally, they introduced the lock-on enemies functionality. This is very useful as long as you find yourself in conditions of 3 against 1.

With a higher number of enemies, the action is not very enjoyable and you risk taking unexpected swipes to the right and left. And for purists of Japanese culture, this Director’s Cut also offers the possibility of synchronizing the Japanese audio with the lips of the characters. This is thanks to the real-time rendering of all, and I mean all, cutscenes.

IKI ISLAND

The main reason to play Ghost Of Tsushima Director’s Cut is definitely the Iki Island expansion DLC. This DLC not only offers a new island to explore, but also two new Mythical Tales, new shrines, and archery challenges. It is also now possible to play the flute for cats, deer, and monkeys. I repeat, you can entertain monkeys by playing the flute!

On a narrative level, of course, the new Iki Island brings with it a “touching” story. This sheds light on the past of the protagonist Jin and his family. The only requirement to reach the island of Iki is that you have made it to Act 2 of the game’s main campaign. You must also have gained access to the Toyotama region. Once you have completed this, it will notify all Samurai of the presence of a new story available in the Diary. We know this as Iki’s Tales, which will start the adventure on the islet located south-east of Tsushima.

On the island of Iki, Jin will face a new threat represented by Ankhsar Khatun, the Eagle. He is a Mongolian Shaman who threatens to attack Tsushima and prefers to use poisons and potions instead of just brute force. Besides this, the past returns to grip the samurai. Iki Island was the scene of heinous actions carried out by Lord Sakai, Jin’s father, as well as the place of his death.

The Sucker Punch team has shown that they don’t want to skimp on Jin’s psychological characterization. The experience to be lived on Iki is in some ways lived as a thriller within an Open World. The presence of a new group of enemies know as the shamans leads to truly spectacular clashes. This is full of study phases and a succession of saves, dodges, and lunges with the right timing. Take note that with their hatred, they can empower the Mongol warriors, making them more aggressive.

On the island of Iki, you won’t feel really powerful until you’ve loaded a crowd of Mongols onto your war steed. This will definitely satisfy you! The narration of the story goes smoothly, with a couple of twists, but without making a miracle cry. I repeat, you must approach the adventure on the island of Iki as a journey into Jin’s psyche. And in that, I can only praise the Sucker Punch team!

Do you want to try Sucker Punch’s Ghost Of Tsushima Director’s Cut? What do you think of my Ghost Of Tsushima Director’s Cut review on PlayStation 5? Please leave your thoughts in the comments below. Make sure to also read our Ghost Of Tsushima review on PS4. Are you interested in more games? Check out our reviews for King’s Bounty 2, 12 Minutes, The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles, Death’s Door, F1 2021, Castle Flipper, and Miitopia.