Games like ghost of tsushima11/4/2022 ![]() ![]() ![]() I lost count of the number of times I’ve attempted to assassinate someone in front of me, only for Jin to go in for a swipe with the katana and force me into samurai combat until I manage to disappear or toss a smoke bomb. But sacrificing fluidity for narrative consonance does not feel justified in this case. There could be an argument against this particular complaint by claiming that the disconnect is intended, and aims to further drive the conflict Jin has within himself as he transitions from an honorable samurai to the vengeful “ghost” (I’ll get into this in more detail later). These complaints compound during the harrowing moments Ghost of Tsushima presents where ghost and samurai combat types both come into play, testing the structural integrity of its own mechanics as well as my patience. Nitpicks aside, using the ghost abilities and carefully taking out enemies became mundane and at best I was indifferent when encountering groups of enemies. It’s infuriating and a risk I shouldn’t have to worry about. For example, sometimes when I would toss a wind chime, which is supposed to distract one enemy so I could take out another, it would just alert the enemies the moment I toss it. Items like the smoke bombs and firecrackers were cool at first, but I found them to be more useful during samurai combat and even occasionally awkward when in stealth. Much like samurai combat, I couldn’t find much entertainment after repeating these sequences throughout the entire game even after acquiring new tools. So much of the stealth gameplay is spent carefully planning the right way to approach the field, making sure that I won’t be seen when I move in for a kill and finding a convenient window to jump through for a quick escape. Another is upgrading how fast Jin can move while using ‘Focused Hearing’, which is a mechanic that highlights distant/nearby enemies through walls or inside buildings. Some abilities consist of being able to string assassinations together if enemies are close enough to one another, allowing for the quick disposal of larger groups. The other half of combat is represented by Jin’s ghost abilities which overlook all of the assassination skills and stealth tools. Instead of the fights rising in difficulty, they also became routine and disappointingly easier. Just larger enemies with more presentation and even more health. Unfortunately, that’s about all the boss fights are. The camera shifts from the usual, distant third person into a more engaging close up for the one-on-one fight, allowing me to focus on the boss’ movements so I can dodge or guard their attacks. The game produces a cutscene where Jin grasps his katana and stares down at the opponent and doesn’t unsheath the katana until the moment the cutscene ends and I gain control. Samurai combat is also what gets used when encountering boss battles. ![]() After enough hours of combat, the exchanges became routine to the point of tedium. Unfortunately, that is as far as the samurai combat exerted itself in terms of complexity. There are four different sword stances and at first, fighting hordes of enemies felt engaging as I quickly swapped stances in between attacks to be as efficient as possible. For example, the water stance is effective against enemies with shields and the rock stance is great for dealing with other, shieldless swordsmen. Samurai combat is where all of the sword stances reside and each stance has their own combo strings which are effective against the various enemy types. Games like ghost of tsushima upgrade#Even as I gained new abilities through the different upgrade trees, they never became overbearing. Between the standard swordplay combat, which represents the samurai gameplay, and the various stealth abilities which represent the ghost gameplay, neither felt difficult to understand. Something I will commend is how quickly Ghost of Tsushima’s gameplay mechanics are introduced. There is so much going for Ghost of Tsushima, but spectacle alone doesn’t make it worth playing. At all times, I am in the audience of a beautiful representation of Japan’s island of Tsushima, but it is in constant contrast with combat that rarely agreed with itself and the occasional glitches that developed a miserable union. Unfortunately, the engagement and urgency I felt in those few initial moments quickly dissipated as my playthrough continued. Lush with beautiful visuals and incredible presentation, Ghost of Tsushima opens with a promising scene of visceral combat. ![]()
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