Ghost of Tsushima, a PlayStation 4 exclusive, was one of 2020’s best games. The Sucker Punch Productions title delivered an action-packed, samurai epic that would’ve made Akira Kurosawa proud. So, it should come as little surprise to see the PS4 swansong title return for one last adventure in the form of Ghost of Tsushima: Director’s Cut. This expanded game features a new island, storyline, and cool, PlayStation 5-exclusive features. Ghost of Tsushima was already a near-perfect experience, and this Director’s Cut elevates it to new heights.
The Director’s Cut’s pricing model has caused controversy and confusion since the game’s announcement. If you don’t already own vanilla Ghost of Tsushima, it costs $59.99 on PS4 and $69.99 on PS5. Upgrading the standard PS4 version to the PS4’s Director’s Cut costs $19.99, while upgrading from the standard PS4 version to the PS5’s Director’s Cut costs $9.99. Bundling both upgrades costs $29.99 on PS5.
Way of the Warrior
Ghost of Tsushima takes place during the first Mongol invasion of Japan. Set on Tsushima island, you play as a samurai named Jin Sakai who is on a quest to liberate his home from the Mongol hordes. You must make alliances with various factions and individuals, some of which may not have the best interests of Tsushima and Japan in mind. Ghost of Tsushima’s narrative feels as grand in scope as the samurai films that inspired it, movies such as Ran, Seven Samurai, 13 Assassins, and Yojimbo.
Button smashing during combat is a great way to get yourself killed. Like a real samurai, you must be patient. In almost all enemy encounters, it’s best to wait for foes to strike first. Successfully dodging or parrying attacks leaves enemies open to counterattacks. A perfect dodge followed by a counterattack kills multiple enemies in a single strike. There is no greater joy than successfully pulling off a perfect dodge.
Changing your stance mid-battle is essential for defeating the four main enemy types. Stone stance is Jin’s standard form, and it works best against other swordsmen. Water stance, with its graceful movements, works best against shieldmen. The quick-moving Wind stance is effective against spearmen. Finally, the rigid Moon stance cuts down even the toughest brutes. Switching stances is simple, and you’ll eventually swap between them by instinct.
Challenging enemies to duels is always a highlight. This happens whenever you run into a group of baddies inside forts or in the open world. After issuing a challenge, you and a single foe face each other with ready swords. The key here is waiting for your enemy to strike. They’ll sometimes flinch or yell to trick you into attacking first. If you do, you’ll suffer severe damage when they attack. Eventually, you’ll chain-kill up to five enemies during duels. Duels never become repetitive no matter how many times you engage in them.
Your one and only weapon is the Sakai Storm Katana. This may sound limiting, but the vast array of combos you’ll unlock make your samurai sword extremely versatile. Bows, kunai, darts, and various bombs supplement your main weapon, and give you a tactical advantage. For instance, you can dispatch tower sentries from afar with your longbow or use a smoke bomb to disorient surrounding mobs. As with switching stances, selecting a supplemental weapon from the weapon wheel slows time and makes it easier to swap weapons without being sliced open.
Killing enemies and completing main and sub-quests nets you experience points. Gain enough experience, and you’ll earn skill points. Skill points unlock new attacks, such as combos, weapons, and techniques. Some of the most useful skills involve lengthening the parry window or regenerating health upon successful kills. There’s no customization to speak of with regards to skills. Still, by the end of the game, you’ll gain enough experience and skill points to unlock every attribute possible.
Honed Skills
Charms, obtained by completing side quests, augment your stats in several ways. Defense, melee, ranged, stealth, and utility charms have many benefits, including restoring health, increasing damage dealt, hastening arrow nocking speed, and reducing enemy detection. Charms let you customize Jin for specific situations. For example, Charms emphasizing stealth and chain assassinations are great for raiding forts unseen. A combination of strength and parry-enhancing charms help you take on overwhelming numbers. You can make Jin virtually unstoppable with the right charms in place.
You’ll be able to upgrade your weapons and outfit at merchant shops using upgrade materials found scattered throughout Tsushima. Items, such as bamboo, wood, leather, silk, flowers, iron, and gold, emit an obvious glow that makes it easier to see them even from a distance. Upgrading is a straightforward affair, requiring only the requisite number of upgrade materials. You also needn’t worry about branching upgrade paths. There’s only one track to follow within the upgrade menu for whatever you need improved. Enemies become harder as the game progresses, so you’ll want to ensure your sword is strong and your armor is tough.
A Mythical Land
In addition to the main quest, there are numerous side quests known as Tales of Tsushima. These involve linking up with allies, and helping them resolve personal struggles. Side quests add extra narrative depth, and give you the chance to see how Tsushima’s different groups handle the Mongol invasion. These stories also flesh out allies who initially seem like one-dimensional characters.
Mythic Tales are one-on-one duels against deadly warriors. These encounters best exemplify Ghost of Tsushima’s unapologetically love for classic samurai films. You’ll receive these quests from wandering musicians in villages or ruined battlefields. Most targets are in remote areas, such a deep caverns or impossibly high mountain peaks, that make the journey just as epic as the actual encounter. Each warrior you face has distinctive techniques, weapons, and armors that become yours after claiming victory. As a result, it’s in your best interest to complete Mythic Tales whenever you find them.
No open-world game would be complete without collectibles. These take on the form of fox dens, Shinto shrines, Mongol artifacts, Sashimono banners, lighthouses, and other items. Rewards for snatching collectibles include status-boosting charms, headbands, and dyes and kits to customize your outfit and sword. You don’t need to scour the land for collectibles, but locating them is an enjoyable experience.
Though Jin is a trained samurai, but you could easily mistake him for an expert ninja. He’s every bit as fast and agile as his Sucker Punch brethren, Sly Cooper and Infamous’ Cole MacGrath. He can scale steep cliff faces in seconds or nimbly walk tight ropes. Later on, Jin gains access to grappling hooks that let him swing across large gaps. Shinto shrines provide the best platforming sections due to their perilous locations—they’re usually on mountaintops. Platforming is just as fun as hacking enemies to pieces.
Ghost of Tsushima is without a doubt one of the finest looking video games ever released. Flower-covered fields, dense woods, grassy plains, snowy mountains, foggy swamps—there is no shortage of awe-inspiring vistas to gaze. Models and facial animations are excellent, too, creating main characters and NPCs that feel authentic and lifelike.
Co-Op Gameplay
Director’s Cut offers Legends, the game’s online, co-op mode. Instead of playing as Jin, you’ll play as a literal ghost of Tsushima who fights demons and spirits in an underworld based on Japanese mythology. The two core modes include a co-op story for one to two players, as well as a Survival mode for upward of four players. There’s also The Tale of Iyo, which is a raid mode and effectively the conclusion to Legends’ story.
Legends mode features four character classes. Samurai are front-line fighters that control similarly to Jin. Nimble Assassins strike hard, fast, and can even teleport across the battlefield. Hunters, the game’s long-range warriors, attack from afar with a variety of deadly arrows. Finally, Ronin ensure the team’s survival thanks to their healing abilities.
The story mode is a relatively short, co-op adventure filled with eerie landscapes and gruesome enemies. You’re free to play this mode solo, though it’s more fun with another player. Planning ambushes or simply having someone at your side during heated battles adds a new dimension to the gameplay.
Survival mode is Legends’ heart. You and up to three other players defend locations from waves of increasingly difficult enemies. You’re free to play with random folks, but it’s better to gather a solid group of friends to execute tactics. Your team composition should include each of the aforementioned character classes. You do not want to lack a healing Ronin when things get tense.
Iki Island
The Director’s Cut’s main hook is the Iki island expansion. Clocking in around 8-12 hours (depending on how much side content you engage in), it is a sizeable addition that’s comparable to Ghost of Tsushima’s first act. Taking place in a wholly separate location from the main game, Jin continues his battle against the Mongols while also dealing with unresolved childhood trauma. If you’re playing Ghost of Tsushima for the first time, the expansion feels like a natural extension of the main narrative.
Though you’re still fighting Mongols, there are a few new types. The most notable are chanting shamans who buff their allies’ strength and reflexes. It’s best to take these guys out fast since buffed-up Mongols are a serious threat. There’s also another enemy type that switches weapons, forcing you to frequently swap between stances. The new enemies keep combat fresh and exciting.
As with Tsushima island, Iki has many main missions, side quests, and collectibles. The archery challenges make for a nice distraction, and it’s always fun to pet monkeys, deer, and cats after playing your flute for them. Jin and his horse can also don new armors. On the techniques side, Jin’s horse can now ram through Mongol hordes, scattering the enemies like leaves in hilarious fashion. There are also a few surprises that we won’t spoil in this review. Suffice it to say, Iki island has a lot for you to discover.
PlayStation 5 Enhancements
The Director’s Cut has many PS5-exclusive features. The most notable addition is DualSense haptic feedback. You’ll now feel left-trigger resistance when nocking arrows. The controller vibrates and emits a clanging noise when shields and swords deflect your katana. Even the simple act of walking over grass feels more immersive thanks to the subtle vibration the controller emits.
Japanese lip-syncing, something noticeably absent from the PS4 game, is a nice addition. Unfortunately, the lip movements don’t always perfectly match the words spoken. This isn’t a deal-breaker by any means, but the lip-syncing isn’t as precise as we expected.
Load times are faster than before—an impressive feat considering the load times were already snappy. PS5 has two 4K options that favor either resolution or frame rate. Both options look fantastic on 4K monitors and TVs. The game appears to run at 60 frames per second no matter the option you select. As a result, you’re better off sticking with resolution mode to get the crispest visuals possible.
The PS5 enhancements are nice, but they won’t blow you away. Playing vanilla Ghost of Tsushima on PS5 through backward compatibility alone gives you boosted visuals and framerates. The 4K graphics look better, but not by much. You can chalk that to the game already being a visual powerhouse.
Samurai Spirits
Ghost of Tsushima: Director’s Cut is the definitive edition of Sucker Punch’s grand samurai epic. The core game is as engaging now as it was last year, offering one of the finest open-world experiences in recent memory. The Iki island expansion and various PS5-exclusive enhancements make an already exemplary game even better. Whether you’re a fan of the base game or a newcomer, Ghost of Tsushima: Director’s Cut is a must-buy PS5 title.For more on PlayStation 5, check out PlayStation 5 vs. Xbox Series X: The Next-Gen Game Console Brawl. For more in-depth video game talk, visit PCMag’s Pop-Off YouTube channel.
