VIDEO GAME REVIEW
Ghost of Tsushima
Sony PlayStation 4
Ghost of Tsushima won’t strike gamers long familiar with the action-adventure genre as transcendent at first glance. Those who have spent countless hours captivated by, say, Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey and Lord Of The Rings: Shadow of War won’t find its grounded setting appealing from afar. That said, all it takes is one spin, however short, for doubters to conclude that even its well-made trailers don’t do it justice; it’s like a cake that looks nothing out of the ordinary in appearance, but hooks the reluctant with just a single taste. Certainly, its unique sense of style and presentation entices even the most skeptical to binge on it with nary a care for the time.
In Ghost of Tsushima, players take control of samurai warrior Jin Sakai in his fight against the Mongol hordes of Khotun Khan. The invaders have overrun the Japanese island of Tsushima, conquered its castles, ravaged its villages, and have made slaves of its women and children. Only the principal protagonist can hope to stand against them, outnumbered but not outmatched. Through careful use of bow, sword, and stealth, he sets off to fight the raiders, slay their leader, and put an end to their tyranny — all while coming to terms with his understanding of honor, justice, and victory.
Indeed, Ghost of Tsushima winds up being so good that a second pass-through on a harder mode becomes not just an option, but a requisite. The ensuing challenge enables gamers to appreciate it even more, as clear a testament as any on the effort Sucker Punch Productions put into its development. In this regard, it is helped no end by its outstanding audio-visual presentation. It looks pretty damn good, able to pull off its Japanese aesthetic and immersing gamers in its late 13th century setting from the get-go. True, plenty of samurai games have come before it, but it knows to distinguish itself with the perfect mix of gorgeous looks and sounds and compelling gameplay.
As soon as Ghost of Tsushima boots up, players are treated to the awesome sight of the Mongol ships looming across the horizon. The night is dark, and Jin peers into the endless darkness, seeing only the torches of the invaders who mean to sack his home. Fast forward mere minutes later, and he finds himself part of a daring charge of men and horses, throwing himself into a carnage of blood, steel, and arrows. It is a hopeless fight, and yet, amidst the chaos, he finds peace in doing his duty and upholding his honor, even if death beckons with every step.
These are just a handful of the sequences that Ghost of Tsushima is able to showcase at the outset. There are plenty more of them to have, and they all look — and feel — beautiful. That said, the non-scripted sequences are even better. Minutes after the prologue ends, gamers are given the freedom to wander about the place, and that’s where it’s presentation really shines. It pushes its venerable Unreal Engine 5 foundation to the limit; rides across the empty plains or glances at the ocean as the distant stars twinkle underscore the lushness of the sceneries and the painstaking care given to every nook and cranny of the island.
By design, Ghost of Tsushima’s tutorial is fairly rote; the objective is to show the basics of its interface. Jin can swing his katana with a light attack and a heavy attack. He can parry certain enemy strikes and dodge enemy blows, and, if he’s in a pinch, heal himself from some of the damage he’s taken. These moves may make combat seem limited, but it does branch out over time. By accomplishing side missions alongside principal objectives, gamers can add to the central character’s accomplishments and grow his “legend,” its stand-in for an experience bar. And once his legend hits certain thresholds, he gains access to various bonuses like increased health, increased resolve, and special attacks, techniques, and various other perks to make combat easier.
And while this all does sound pretty generic, Ghost of Tsushima is anything but. Its concepts may not be new, but how it implements them is downright amazing to experience. This is due in part to how combat plays out. Fights can be over in mere seconds. Taking damage can be punishing, and in the harder difficulty modes, death is always but a few mistakes away, with enemies being able to eat away at large bits of health in a handful of sword swipes. While Jin is able to strengthen his durability by equipping himself with armor and charms, a few stray hits can end his life. Only through superior skill can he truly triumph, and, given the challenges, it feels gratifying when he does.
From parrying enemy blows to breaking an opponent’s guard, Jin controls fantastically well; he is able to strike, feint, and dodge at a moment’s notice. Ghost of Tsushima’s camera can be a little rough at times, especially in duels, but the overall smoothness of combat combined with the lethal pace it takes turns every fight into a life-and-death experience. There are only a few enemy variations in the game, but the color and status of their armor dictates how aggressive they can be and how skilled they are. Lower-ranked enemies have few moves, but higher-ranked ones, especially those dressed in green and yellow armor, not only have less openings in their swings, but also have access to a variety of special attacks.
Thus, each encounter in Ghost of Tsushima is a deadly one. While the same enemy types are presented over and over again, the pace with which they attack, the moves they do, and the way various weapon types interact with one another make each battle unique. Enemies with swords swing fast, enemies with polearms have unstoppable attacks, and the bigger, larger brutes have huge arcing swings with their weapons. One may be no threat, but when two or three of them come bearing down, gamers need to control Jin as best they can to overcome them.
Some may find the constant challenges tiring, especially on the harder modes, but it’s the unrelenting pressure that makes Ghost of Tsushima feel so unique. Caught under the boot of an invading army, Jin must struggle to survive, with each encounter training both him and the gamer that controls him. Parenthetically, fighting isn’t the only way to deal with the Mongols. While the story is mainly about him being a samurai and following the samurai code, it takes a twist later on when he starts to abandon honor in favor of efficiency and potency in killing his enemies.
Within Ghost of Tsushima, Jin’s transformation comes via silent assassinations, prompts at which he can take down enemies before anyone even notices. He can make use of other tools called ghost weapons, with these ranging from thrown kunai to wound enemies, to various smoke and sticky bombs to debilitate and throw off his attacks. He can also gain access to a bow and a longbow, with both bows capable of firing off a plethora of deadly fire and explosive arrows to deal with enemies from afar.
And this is really how the Ghost of Tsushima is able to stand out. Keep in mind, these concepts are not new; plenty of other games have done this before, able to look and play smoothly while combining fast combat and stealth mechanics with role-playing game elements. Even then, few can claim to blend these together as seamlessly as it does. Its mechanics may have less depth, but the sheer smoothness of its presentation and quality of its gameplay make it stand out all the same. Inside it beats the heart of a samurai flick: a story of a sense of duty conflicting with the need to uphold the greater good.
In a nutshell, Ghost of Tsushima is a brilliant game that nobody should miss. It is the perfect swan song for the Sony Playstation 4, emerging as one of its best releases to date. It may not reinvent its genre, but it is what most action-adventure titles should aspire to be like. Beautiful to look at, smooth to play, interesting to watch, and addictive enough to keep playing until the end. And then some.
THE GOOD:
Outstanding presentation combined with stunning set pieces
Compelling storyline
Fast paced, enjoyable combat mechanics that rely on quick reflexes and player skill in equal measure
Plenty of content on the side that never gets boring or feels rushed
THE BAD:
Exhibits minor slowdown during a few sequences
Occasionally stiff player camera
RATING: 9.5/10
POSTSCRIPT: It’s no accident that Fairy Tail’s release had to be delayed a full quarter. The significant following of the manga and anime franchise necessitated its improvement prior to being deemed worthy of hitting retail shelves. The good news is that the wait has not been for naught. It’s a Japanese role-playing game that doesn’t redefine the genre, but delivers exactly what fans expect: loads of development and interactions of familiar protagonists. In fact, developer Gust went the other extreme; it assumes the popularity of the source material and wastes no time on preambles. It starts off the game smack dab in the middle of events of the Weekly Shonen Magazine series and assumes gamers can immediately follow the narrative.
To be fair, newcomers to the jj intellectual property won’t stay uninformed for long. The beloved story of wizards, dragon slayers, and demons in Earth-land is easy enough to pick up despite the hefty backstories brought up left and right, with gamers tasked to rebuild the Fairy Tail guild to its former glory through quests, the fulfillment of specific missions, the forging and fortifying of relationships, turn-based combat after turn-based combat, and, needless to say, heroic feats that ultimately save the world. In short, it’s nothing new and nothing JRPG veterans haven’t seen before.
Fortunately, the familiar JRPG beats are dressed in resplendent Fairy Tail garb. The three-dimensional models and backgrounds are luscious and meticulously detailed for the most part, backstopping a resplendent sound mix that celebrates its fun, if sometimes, frivolous take on genre staples. Indeed, there are character development and specific story arcs, but not to the point of eating up precious time. And while grinding is a given, it’s not required to excess. There’s likewise a good amount of fan service, but far from overbearing to the point of embarrassment.
All told, Fairy Tail earns its keep by hitting the right notes to satisfy followers of the manga craving for a worthy crossover title. Its ultra-smooth interface and deep but not complicated battle mechanics ensure hours upon hours of enjoyment. And, unlike plenty of JRPG offerings, it’s designed to be completed in a reasonable time frame. Highly recommended.
THE GOOD:
Faithful representation of the source material
Complex but not complicated battle systems
Doesn’t take itself too seriously
THE BAD:
No preambles
While not to excess, grinding still a requirement
Cutscenes and animations better appreciated by those steeped in the series
Avoidable fan service
RATING: 8/10
THE LAST WORD: To argue that the release of Deadly Premonition 2: A Blessing In Disguise on the Nintendo Switch comes as a surprise would be an understatement, and not just because it’s a full decade since the original first hit store shelves. Deadly Premonition was an unusual survival horror title that played around with perspectives a la David Lynch, and the technical issues that plagued it on both the Sony PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 didn’t help. Evidently, it wound up gaining enough of a cult following to enable director Hidetaka Suehiro to follow through on his vision of blending humor, pop culture, and no small measure of the supernatural via a follow-up title for the current-generation hybrid console.
The result, perhaps not surprisingly, is dependent on initial expectations. Deadly Premonition 2: A Blessing In Disguise should be right up the alley of those who viewed its predecessor as transcendent. They’re certainly buoyed by their experience, because it wastes no time introducing series protagonist Francis Morgan, who’s now much older and battling not just an illness, but likewise a faulty memory, particularly as it relates to his investigation of a murder in rural Le Carré, Louisiana 14 years prior. Meanwhile, those without any knowledge of the source material will find themselves struggling to keep their interest in more ways than one.
Which, in a nutshell, is unfortunate, because Deadly Premonition 2: A Blessing In Disguise rewards the effort put into completing its 20-odd hours of gameplay. To be sure, not inconsiderable patience is required; even with the patches, it suffers from issues that belie its $49.99 price tag. Loading takes a while on occasion, and frame rates drop to near-insurmountable levels when the screen gets too busy for comfort. The wonder is that it shouldn’t suffer from the aforesaid concerns since its video and audio presentations hardly push the envelope.
Through all these, though, Deadly Premonition 2: A Blessing In Disguise manages to earn its keep because of its refusal to be anything but true to itself. Its B-movie predilections are, if nothing else, deliberate, in a clear nod to everything that made Deadly Premonition work. Gamers out to play safe and tread the beaten path should stay away. Meanwhile, the more adventurous and willing to dab into a heady mix of noir and the surreal steeped in character development will find it worth their while.
THE GOOD:
Stays true to its roots
Laced with offbeat humor and pop culture references
Heady mix of noir and the surreal
Outstanding character development
THE BAD:
Still not big-free even after patches
Outdated graphics
Significant frame drops
Long load times
Calendar-based trigger events lead to occasional bouts with ennui
RATING: 7.5/10
