(PS4/5) Ghost of Tsushima

[Pyperkub]

Is this you with archers?

[Skinypupy]

Is this you with archers?

[Skinypupy]

Finished Act II (of 3) tonight and...damn. While I could tell that’s the way things were trending, it was still really powerful to see how it all went down (being purposefully vague here). I originally thought Jin was a dull character, but things really picked up in that act. I’m very interested to see how this story plays out towards the end.

Be warned that once you hit the “point of no return” for Act II (it’s pretty obvious...you even get a warning), you can’t fast travel back to the second island. So be sure to finish everything you want to do there before you wrap it up. That could change later on, but that’s how Act 3 starts, anyways.

My least favorite thing about the game is the forced stealth segments where being seen triggers a failure. There’s been a half dozen or so, and none of them have been particularly fun. I’m fine with a stealth approach (which I’ve come to really enjoy in this game), but not when I can’t kill anyone.

Fun fact #1: The more you play as a “ghost”, (I.e. stealth), the more storms you will get.
Fun fact #2: Playing your flute causes the weather to change.

[Inverarity]

I'm loving this game as well, though I'm still in Act I. Do the side missions get more depth to them as the game progresses? Or is what I'm doing now what I should expect to keep doing?

[Skinypupy]

Depends on which side missions you're doing.

- All of the Character Tales (I.E. Tales of Ishikawa, Tale of Masako, etc.) are fantastic. They have really great story arcs and character development. They're marked by a white quest marker with a portrait on them.

- The Mythic Tales (the blue quest markers) give really good equipment or abilities and are always worth doing. I've found them to have decent story arcs as well, along with a really cool opening cutscene.

- Basic sidequests (plain white quest markers) are hit and miss. There's a few interesting ones, but most are very simple "go here, kill/collect X things" quests with little backstory to them. I've been doing them all, but mostly just for the XP and charms.

[Inverarity]

Cool. I should have specified that I meant the basics. That’s okay if they don’t change, though. Right now I’m doing all of them, but it’s good to know if I don’t that I won’t miss something akin to a Witcher side quest.

I LOVE the character tales. I’ve done a bunch of those. And the one mythic tale I completed was awesome to, even if it was for archer armor I will never use.

[Skinypupy]

even if it was for archer armor I will never use.

I thought that too, but it has become my go-to. With the buff to reload speed and bonus concentration, I can usually clear out at least half a camp or more before I ever need to draw a blade.

I typically switch to a fully buffed Sadachi armor once I've picked off enough baddies. It allows me to kill up to 5 mobs in a standoff.

EDIT: I got a charm last night that adds a 25% chance to terrorize other enemies on every kill. That stacks with the 30% chance from the Sakai armor. I now have a 55% chance to send multiple enemies running in terror every time I kill a Mongol. It feels a bit overpowered, tbh. I strolled into a camp, killed two dudes, and sent another 10 running for the hills.

[Skinypupy]

Finished this tonight. A brilliant, powerful ending that had me absolutely agonizing over what choices to make. I have 5 more Mongol camps to clear and a couple more locations to discover that I'll likely wrap up tomorrow, but the main storyline is complete.

I think this is probably my second favorite game of the PS4 generation. Right behind FF VII Remake, and very, very slighly above Horizon: Zero Dawn (which is an extremely similar game).

The very beginning was a little rough, but once it clicked, it was an absolutely joy to play from start to finish. The story was more enjoyable than I expected, and far better than most reviews would have you believe. The game is consistently stunningly beautiful, with guaranteed jaw dropping moments every single time you play. The combat was tons of fun, and the stealth was fantastic as well. By the time you reached the end with fully upgraded weapons, tools, and armor, you feel like a true bad-ass whether you're sneaking or taking enemies head-on. I hit max level on everything about midway through the final act, btw.

I have some very minor gripes. Mostly just the forced stealth missions that weren't great, and the fact that it wasn't terribly original (if it had been titled Assassins Creed Samurai no one would have batted an eye). But all in all, this is an A+ game.

Absolutely 8/8 tentacles and I would recommend it to anyone. Awesome, wonderful, brilliant game.

[Kasey Chang]

(if it had been titled Assassins Creed Samurai no one would have batted an eye).

You're sure you don't mean Far Cry Bushido?

Spoiler:

Does the poem you compose affect the subsequent duel in any way?

[Skinypupy]

(if it had been titled Assassins Creed Samurai no one would have batted an eye).

You're sure you don't mean Far Cry Bushido?

Spoiler:

Does the poem you compose affect the subsequent duel in any way?

Spoiler:

Nope. Only difference in the ending is which of the two choices you make: kill him or let him live (I chose to kill him). Even then, the only difference is a 2 minute cutscene and the armor dye you get for the Ghost Armor.

FYI, the Zero Punctuation review basically spoils the ending. Yahtzee is vague enough that people who haven’t played the game wouldn’t know, but if you’re playing it, it’s very easy to put two and two together and figure it out. I knew exactly what was going to happen, based on what he said. The ending was still powerful, mind you, but the fact he spoils it kinda bugged me.

EDIT: I went back and finished everything tonight. All the main missions, all the side quests, every hot spring, bamboo stand, fox den, pillar of honor, lighthouse...everything. There wasn't a single map marker left undiscovered. This marks the first time I have ever fully completed an open world game, which was a pretty cool feeling.

[coopasonic]

I really wanted to pass on this, but you are making it difficult.

[Skinypupy]

I really wanted to pass on this, but you are making it difficult.

Sorry man, I don't have a copy to sell you.

But you really should play it. It's an absolutely fantastic game.

[naednek]

I really wanted to pass on this, but you are making it difficult.

Sorry man, I don't have a copy to sell you.

But you really should play it. It's an absolutely fantastic game.

I was about to send you a message if you were selling it

[malchior]

I'm with Skinypupy on this one. Between this and Last of Us 2 the PS4 is going out super, super strong. I am loving this game. I've probably invested too much time in side quests and pretty much kill at will and I'm only slightly into Act 2. I unfortunately have been swamped at work (this is a break at *uh* 11:09 before I dive back in) so haven't played as much as I wanted but I can't wait to get back to it.

[Inverarity]

I am really enjoying this game. I can play for as little as an hour and still feel like I'm making progress. It's slow progress compared to you guys and compared to all the reviews I read that suggested this was a 20 hour game (I'll probably clock something close to 50 if the other acts are as long as this one), but I feel like it's a perfect game to be able to jump into without hours and hours of commitment at any given time.

I am still in Act I, but finally nearly ready to do what I think concludes all of that. I have been a completionist of sorts, which is rare for me, and I think I just have one more, non-main story thing to do (get something called the Heavenly Strike).

[Skinypupy]

I am really enjoying this game. I can play for as little as an hour and still feel like I'm making progress. It's slow progress compared to you guys and compared to all the reviews I read that suggested this was a 20 hour game (I'll probably clock something close to 50 if the other acts are as long as this one), but I feel like it's a perfect game to be able to jump into without hours and hours of commitment at any given time.

I am still in Act I, but finally nearly ready to do what I think concludes all of that. I have been a completionist of sorts, which is rare for me, and I think I just have one more, non-main story thing to do (get something called the Heavenly Strike).

I completed every location in all three areas, and it probably took me between 40-50 hours. Difficult to know exactly, because the save games didn't have a timer (a huge pet peeve of mine).

The only thing I didn't finish was tracking down all the collectibles (Mongol Artifacts, Battle Flags, and Reports). I had stumbled across about half of each by the time I finished, but never really went out of my way to look for them.

[ChuckB]

I'm at the very beginning and are a bit stuck at the mission where you attack the Mongol camp (Fort Nakayama) with Sensei Ishikawa - I'm getting hit too often (while not hitting the enemies at all or not good enough), any tips?

[Inverarity]

I'm at the very beginning and are a bit stuck at the mission where you attack the Mongol camp (Fort Nakayama) with Sensei Ishikawa - I'm getting hit too often (while not hitting the enemies at all or not good enough), any tips?

Are you targeting the explosive barrels and hornets nests? They can take out a lot of the baddies if you time them just right.

I recall giving up the bow quickly and moving to my sword.

[raydude]

I'm at the very beginning and are a bit stuck at the mission where you attack the Mongol camp (Fort Nakayama) with Sensei Ishikawa - I'm getting hit too often (while not hitting the enemies at all or not good enough), any tips?

Are you targeting the explosive barrels and hornets nests? They can take out a lot of the baddies if you time them just right.

I recall giving up the bow quickly and moving to my sword.

Use your surroundings to split up groups and keep them from attacking you all at once. If I recall, Fort Nakayama has hornets nests near the entrances. If you're getting overwhelmed retreat to the nests and shoot the nest at point blank range as the enemy gets close to you. You don't have to fully draw your bow and at close range you don't have to adjust for arrow drop.

Stay near the entrance until the initial mob is taken care of. Entering the fort while fighting the first mob exposes you to archers on rooftops. Take care of the mob outside the fort where archers don't have line of sight, then enter the fort and shoot the archers w/ your bow.

[Skinypupy]

Play it on Easy like I did.

I actually found Easy to be a near-perfect difficulty level for someone like me who is generally terrible at action games. It was challenging enough for combat to be both tense and immensely satisfying, but never too difficult to progress. It's one of the things I liked most about the game, and is probably the reason it clicked as well as it did.

[raydude]

In this part of the game I was allowed to choose "standoff" while Lady Masako was charging the enemy. I was curious to see how the game would handle it. I love how she delays her charge to the enemy to watch my standoff.

[Alefroth]

I'm with Skinypupy on this one. Between this and Last of Us 2 the PS4 is going out super, super strong.

And there is still Cyberpunk to come. This streak really ought to give the PS5 a huge launch.

[malchior]

That clip above is the first time I've heard it in English. Interesting how the voice actors tone affects the experience so much even though I don't speak the language.

[coopasonic]

I'm with Skinypupy on this one. Between this and Last of Us 2 the PS4 is going out super, super strong.

And there is still Cyberpunk to come. This streak really ought to give the PS5 a huge launch.

Cyberpunk isn't in any way exclusive to PS4.

[Alefroth]

I'm with Skinypupy on this one. Between this and Last of Us 2 the PS4 is going out super, super strong.

And there is still Cyberpunk to come. This streak really ought to give the PS5 a huge launch.

Cyberpunk isn't in any way exclusive to PS4.

Yep, I keep forgetting there are other systems =)

[Inverarity]

I finished Act I tonight and the game keeps adding personality. Jin specifically, in fact. I am liking him more as a character as we go along, which on one hand I get, but on the other, speaks to this game being a slow burn when it comes to adding depth. The more i play, the more it feels profound.

I'd be curious to know why this ended up as the final big exclusive for PS4 versus a launch title for PS5. I'm not complaining, but I have to assume someone brought it up.

[malchior]

I finished Act I tonight and the game keeps adding personality. Jin specifically, in fact. I am liking him more as a character as we go along, which on one hand I get, but on the other, speaks to this game being a slow burn when it comes to adding depth. The more i play, the more it feels profound.

I'd be curious to know why this ended up as the final big exclusive for PS4 versus a launch title for PS5. I'm not complaining, but I have to assume someone brought it up.

I think it's just the business reality of the development cycle on this. It was in development 5+ years. To make it a PS5 launch title it would probably need to be completely revamped graphics-wise for a game that was probably a year or two out at the time.

[raydude]

This guy gave me my first defeat in a duel. I died two times to him before I was able to get his measure. And it was still close.

[Skinypupy]

Nice work! His shield regen right there at the end was a bit nerve-wracking.

[raydude]

I'm impressed with the detail that the developers went through in designing the towns. One of the fort towns for instance; I was walking around it and discovered the kyudo archery range. It kinda looks like this. One side of a long field has a three sided enclosure. Archers shoot out the open side to another enclosure containing the targets.

[Scraper]

I was really hoping to not buy this one until it went on sale, but you guys are hitting me with the forum effect. Fuckers. So It's on my list to play after I finish Last of Us 2.

[Inverarity]

It's really so good. I love the duels in Act 2. And Ghost Stance came out of nowhere for me. Act 2 is opening up a lot more depth than I was suspecting (though Skinypupy suggested as much).


Btw, I saw this on Qt3: co-op mode announced for free fall release

Legends is an entirely new experience — it’s a separate mode that doesn’t follow Jin or the companions from his journey, but instead focuses on four warriors who have been built up as legends in stories told by the people of Tsushima. Ghost of Tsushima’s single-player campaign focuses on an open world and exploring the natural beauty of the island, but Legends is haunting and fantastical, with locations and enemies inspired by Japanese folk tales and mythology and an emphasis on cooperative combat and action.

[Skinypupy]

Bummer that it’s co-op exclusive.

I’d love more Ghost, but have exactly zero interest in playing it with other people.

[Alefroth]

Can anyone that has played Nioh compare the difficulty?

[raydude]

Can anyone that has played Nioh compare the difficulty?

When I first played Nioh I died like 5 times to the first enemy. I didn't like the "ki" management system and didn't feel like I could anticipate the movement of my enemy. It got a little better when I faced human enemies but still didn't like the "ki" management system and enemy movements are too quick for me.

Ghost does not have that. Rather it limits single enemy attacks to 2-3 at most, then enemy reorients on you and attacks again. Because the enemies are almost all human and because their "wind up" is in the realm of normal human abilities it is easier to read what your opponent is going to do and counter it or dodge. Having faced against kendo players I was able to recognize the start of sword attacks and figure out what they were going to do.

Spacing also figures into a large part of the combat. As an example, when an enemy puts his sword away while dueling you that means he's getting ready for a draw and slash quick attack. However, those kinds of attacks usually mean the enemy has to be within one step distance from you to hit. Meanwhile, your stone stance heavy attack is a two step attack. So get two and a half steps away and get into the heavy attack setup (hold triangle). During that time the enemy has closed the distance to two steps. Release triangle and hit enemy before he can draw. About the only time the attack has failed was when I misjudged the distance. Too far and you get hit. Too close and you either get hit or the enemy blocks.

Likewise the shield and spear attacks make sense, as in, that's what a real person could do. The times I find myself dying are when I bite off more than I can chew or when I neglect to replenish my health.

The game ups the difficultly level by throwing multiple enemies at you and having them attack in coordination. One attacks your weak side while you are engaged with someone else. Also, there is no target lock, so who you attack depends on your facing. If you're facing the wrong way it is possible to attack the air while an enemy strikes at your back or flank. However, on the plus side friendly fire is on; I have seen enemy archers hit their comrades, archers with flaming arrows burn their comrades, and an archer burn himself - he hit the tree right in front of him and the flames spread to his body.

Bottom line, I like the combat in Ghost much better.

[Skinypupy]

Bottom line, I like the combat in Ghost much better.

Ghost has an Easy setting, so people like me can actually play it. Nioh does not.

Ghost wins.

[Alefroth]

Thanks for the responses. I might ditch Nioh and give this a try. Like most games like Nioh, I do fine and have fun until the first boss, then get trounced so bad it doesn't seem like I could ever improve.

[raydude]

I find myself sticking with the Ronin armor vs. the Sakai one. That plus any +melee charms I can find, as I feel that being "all in" on offense is more my play style. Especially when dueling. I dueled a ronin while wearing improved Sakai armor and it didn't feel right to me that I was decked out in protective gear while he just wore cloth.

Also, I heard the perfect callout for standoff's today. A simple "Hey." It's a shame that Jin doesn't use that more often.

[Scraper]

I'm 5 hours in and I already know I will platinum this game. I can see myself scouring the map to find and do everything.

[raydude]

I just made it to Act III.

Spoilers ahoy:

Spoiler:

Things are looking up. Gearing up to take back Shimura castle, all my friends are here. I get to be the heir to the Shimura legacy!
Oh no, Yuna and Taka are leaving?
One more scouting mission.
NOOOOOOOOOOOooooo!
They will ALL pay!
For Tsushima!
It's a trap!
Yeah man, drink that milk.
The Shogun will demand a head for this.
No way I'm letting Yuna take the blame. I AM THE LAW! I mean Ghost!
Nobu! (My horse) NOOooooooooo!

With the Shogun demanding a head I'm guessing the ending will be like what happened to the 47 ronin.