I picked Ghost of Tsushima up back in July when the game first launched. I was actually pretty tepid on it. I really had no reason to pick it up, nothing about the game play or story really drew me in much, but since it was suppose to be the last big PS4 game of the generation, I figured why not.
My reactions at first were kind of mild. There really was nothing drawing me into the game. The combat was somewhat interesting. I honestly hate that R2 is used for so many things and not actual combat. Why do I click it to pick up items? The control scheme is weird. You get use to it eventually but I don’t think it’s good. They really should’ve pulled the combat off the face buttons and did it like other action adventure games, like Dark Souls or Assassin’s Creed.
The story is.. somewhat appealing. It really just feels like a standard revenge story. The side quests with some characters are definitely a lot more interesting than the main quest though.
Normally games like these have super interesting lore, but nothing about the collectibles are even remotely pulling me in. Maybe it’s the way Control did their lore bits that Ghosts just doesn’t pull off for me personally.
I know the Guiding Wind mechanic gets a lot of praise, and I think it’s a unique way to replace a waypoint maker or a golden trailer or something, but I guess I don’t see it as that innovated? Maybe that’s just me. It is cool to clean up the screen though. Running around the world with no hud makes the game look even prettier.
And this is something the game has going for it. It’s really pretty. The environments that is. Get up close and personal with some character models and yikes. Seriously though, it’s why the photo mode for this game really took off. The game looks great. Ten feet back anyways.
I finished Act 1 back in August and ended up putting the game down for a month. After reaching your uncle after Act 1, I’m kind of like, what else is there? Do I just follow the bad guy to the very edge of the island and end up fighting him? Is the gameplay going to change at all or is this it? I already have all the items unlocked, the ones that they show you right now away. The grappling hook would’ve been cooler if you could use it a lot more. There’s just nothing making me want to continue playing this game.
But I might. It’s really the only PS4 game I have to play right now. Everything else is on my Xbox. So maybe I’ll power through this next act. Does it get any more interesting? I guess I’ll have to find out.
There is a multiplayer update coming here real soon. It sounds like it could be fun since the combat is actually pretty fluid when you get use to it. Might have to find a friend or two to try it out.
Did you enjoy Ghost of Tsushima? Am I the outlier here? Tell me what you think below!
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The Tired Obsidian 
I found this game to be incredibly mediocre. I feel your pain about R2 – so many actions are mapped to that button, it drove me nuts. I can’t even remember how many times I was struggling to get the game to bring up a menu, when it thought I was trying to pick up an item. If you’re already tired of the side stuff, it honestly doesn’t get much more exciting. The duels, and finishing up the characters side tales were the only things that kept me going in this game. It’s not a title I think I’d ever go back to replay, honestly. Would be interested to hear your thoughts on the overall story though!
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I keep getting conflicting stuff where people say the story gets much better after the first act, and then others who say it doesn’t lol. What a weirdly divisive game! It really seemed like it should’ve been a home run. I just get bored playing it after an hour.
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