Ghost of Tsushima

Overview

Ghost of Tsushima is an open-world, action-adventure game, developed by Sucker Punch and produced by Sony, exclusively for the Playstation 4. The game was released on July 17, 2020.

Plot

Set on Tsushima Island, in the year 1274, at the time of the First Mongol Invasion of Japan. The Mongols, led by General Khotun Khan, have invaded Tsushima and slaughtered most of the samurai there with unconventional military tactics. Jin Sakai, a samurai and one of the few survivors of the initial attack, is saved from the brink of death by a thief, and tries to get revenge on Khotun to save his uncle, Lord Shimura, but Khotun easily knocks him off a bridge. Jin then reluctantly learns how to fight like a dishonorable Ghost, combined with his own Samurai techniques, to rescue his uncle and eventually expel the Mongols from Tsushima.

Iki Island

Introduced in the Director's Cut (or DLC upgrade). Jin is alerted to the presence of a Mongol shaman named Ankshar Khatun, nicknamed The Eagle, who has taken over Iki and sits in Fort Sakai, where Jin's father ruled and later died when Jin was young. Jin decides to travel to Iki to investigate the island and how The Eagle drove some of her prisoners into madness before she gains enough power to invade Tsushima.

Gameplay

Players can tackle most missions in one of two ways: as the honorable Samurai, Jin can challenge enemy leaders to duels, and use multiple forms of sword and bow combat to bring death to multiple enemies. As the dishonorable Ghost, Jin can make use of different items to distract enemies, quietly assassinate them, or even make lesser Mongols tremble in fear of his reputation.

During combat, players can use up to four different sword stances that are each proficient at staggering specific enemy types. Player health is regenerated by using Resolve. Resolve is gained by eliminating enemies and through certain Charms the player can equip.

Outside of combat, players can be guided by the wind (known as the "Guiding Wind") to their objective by swiping up on the PS4 controller touchpad. By following NPCs and other creatures can find hidden shrines, charms, or other items. By collecting enough supplies and items, Jin can improve his armor, blades, bow, Ghost weapons, or even acquire new colors for his equipped armor.

Equipment

For most of the game, Jin will carry two main weapons: his katana for most attacks, and his tanto for stealth assassinations. Jin will gain access to additional equipment through the game, either through story missions or side quests.

Ghost Weapons (Quickfire)

• Kunai - Sharp blades that can be thrown at enemies to stagger them, or even kill them if their health is low enough.
• Sticky Bomb - A pitch-covered bomb that sticks to the closest enemy when Jin throws it, heavily damaging them and all nearby enemies.
• Smoke Bomb - A quick-acting explosive that blinds all enemies nearby when Jin drops it at his feet. Can be used to escape a battle or to assassinate enemies in the middle of a fight.
• Way of the Flame - A mythic ability Jin learns after completing The Undying Flame sidequest. Jin uses incendiary oil to temporarily set his katana on fire, making his attacks unblockable and setting hit enemies on fire for several seconds.

Ghost Weapons (Throwable)

• Wind Chime - A simple wind chime that will attract a single enemy who hears it nearby.
• Firecracker - An upgraded version of the Wind Chime that can be acquired by spending Technique Points on it, will attract multiple enemies in a bigger radius to its location.
• Black Powder Bomb - A simple throwable bomb that explodes on impact, staggers and damages all enemies caught in its blast radius.

Half-Bow

Acquired during The Tale of Sensei Ishikawa, Jin's main bow weapon.

• Normal Arrows - simple arrows that can hit targets from afar, but can be blocked by armor or shields
• Flaming Arrows - can set enemies on fire, as well as multiple enemies if fired at dry grass.

Longbow

Acquired by completing The Curse of Uchitsune mythic tale. Cannot be fired from a stealthy position, but has more range and powerful arrows than the Half-Bow.

• Heavy Arrow - Unlike normal arrows, will penetrate armor and can be used to headshot enemies with helmets.
• Explosive Arrow - Essentially a Black Powder Bomb strapped to a Heavy Arrow, the shot will stagger and heavily damage most enemies hit with it, as well as any enemy in a nearby radius.

Blowgun

Obtained during the Ghosts from the Past tale. A short-ranged sniping weapon but fires completely silent.

• Poison Dart - Instantly kills most enemies hit by it, with a good chance of terrifying weaker enemies nearby and causing them to flee.
• Hallucination Dart - Acquired during The Proud Do Not Endure sidequest. Most enemies hit by this dart will temporarily gain increased health and attack power, but turn berserk and start attacking their allies, who will attempt to fight back and strike them down. Berserk enemies will also attack Jin if they spot him.

Legends Mode (Co-Op)

On October 16, 2020, Sucker Punch released a free update to the game that added a new cooperative mode called Ghost of Tsushima: Legends. The cooperative mode takes a more mythological approach to the lore and includes story missions plus a wave-based survival mode. Players earn new cosmetic items as well as gear that adds to a persistent gear score per class.

The Legends are available either as a two-player story mission, or a four-player horde mode where the players must work together to fight off waves of Mongols and Oni warriors attempting to conquer three control points.

There are four classes to play as:

• Samurai: Skilled in melee combat, with a technique that can siphon health from nearby enemies, and a Resolve technique that can instantly cut down three weaker enemies nearby.
• Hunter: A master archer who can strike down enemies from afar, including a technique that is guaranteed to hit up to three enemies in range.
• Ronin: A support class who can summon spirit animals to fight with him, and has a special technique that can revive downed allies anywhere on the battlefield.
• Assassin: The master of stealth who can throw down a poisonous smoke bomb that damages and blinds enemies caught inside it, and has a special technique that can assassinate up to three unaware enemies nearby.