Today's post is very special. I'm going to review a game that I've enjoyed so much, and now it's in my top 3.
The game in question is "Ghost of Tsushima".
We move to feudal Japan, to Tsushima, an island which is under Mongol siege, which intends to invade all of Tsushima and kill everyone who doesn't work for them.
An army of Samurai heads towards the beach to confront the Mongols who are arriving in ships.
The Mongols kill almost all the Samurai, capture Lord Shimura alive, and demand that he surrender so that the entire island will submit to Mongol rule.
Our protagonist is Jin Sakai, a samurai trained by his uncle Lord Shimura. Samurais have honor, and Jin has been molded according to his uncle standards.
Jin begins searching for allies to help him rescue his uncle, but the favor doesn't come free, he must do something to earn their support.
The side missions (from the allies) are one-hour mini-stories that feel like complete narratives. Playing them in order is highly recommended, they provide a great deal of context to the main story.
As we delve deeper into the story, we see how Jin has to resort to unethical methods when the situation becomes complicated. Jin doesn't hesitate to do whatever is necessary to reach the fortress where his uncle is being held captive.
When the whole situation reaches Lord Shimura ears, he thinks mongols are lying, he doesnt believe that Jin, who he has trained since childhood, has strayed from the ethical path.
When Lord Shimura is about to be killed, Jin murders the Mongol from behind, dishonorably, in front of his uncle, a situation that forces Lord Shimura to put Jin in jail, and when he escapes, he is banished and the shogun puts a price on his head.
After being expelled, Jin travels throughout Tsushima with the intention of eliminating any Mongol he encounters.
News travels fast, and every time Jin kills Mongols and liberates villages, everyone talks about "The Ghost," a "legend" created to give the people hope.
In the Iki expansion, we learn much more context than we had in the original game, where we can learn more about the Sakai clan, Jin's father and family history, we will also meet his killer, and we will have to explore the path of forgiveness or the path of revenge.
I recommend playing the expansion as soon as you have the chance, and before Act 3.
The map is extremely beautiful, the graphics are a masterpiece, and we can find many structures throughout the map.
Bamboo stands: they serve to increase determination.
Temples: to obtain talismans, which you can equip and gain advantages with.
Springs: they serve for reflection and increase maximun HP.
Fox's Burrows: we can increase the maximum number of talismans we can equip.
The photo mode is incredible, I've taken over 100 photos in just a few days. The graphics are truly wonderful, further down in the post I'll share some photos.
Economy for upgrades, we collect many types of materials: wood, bamboo, iron, gold, steel, resources, and much more.
We can upgrade:
- Katana
- Knife
- Bow
- Longbow
- Armor
- Ammunition Capacity
When Act 3 ends, there are many things to do all over Tsushima.
We also have mythical tales, which will help us unlock powerful new weapons, and it's important to complete the missions as soon as you discover them. (They are discovered through exploration; there are musicians in camps who tell the tale, and the mission is unlocked.)
I recommend you don't focus only on the main mission, I did it out of ignorance and I feel I could have enjoyed playing more in a more balanced way.
Now with "Ghost of Yotei" I'm doing it in a completely different way, exploring calmly and not focusing so much on the main mission.
We have the Legends mode, which features "fantasy" stories, tales that are like "mythology" but set in Japan. It's a cooperative mode, which I haven't explored much yet. I've only just started playing Legends mode, but I can guarantee it's incredible.
Here are some of the many photos I took while playing, I hope you like them.
