Ghost Of Tsushima Director's Cut
Release Date: August 20, 2021
Developer: Sucker Punch
Publisher: PlayStation Studios/Sony Interactive Entertainment
Genres: RPG, Action-Adventure
Platforms: PlayStation
My Platform: PlayStation 5
Difficulty Levels: Easy, Medium, Hard, Lethal
My Level: Medium
Game Difficulty: 3/10
Game Rating: 10/10
Time To Beat: 47hrs30min
Difficulty Related Trophy: No, game can be played on Easy
Missable Trophies: No, there is free roam after the story
Platinum Difficulty: 1/10
Time To Platinum: 48hrs
Iki Island DLC Time To Beat: 12hrs
BEFORE WE DIVE IN
First let me tell you, that this wasn't the first time I played this game. I got it when it was first released in 2020 for the PlayStation 4. I dove right into the game, got the platinum and 100% on the game. Which means for my second playthrough, I already knew how everything worked, what needed to be done and how to do it. That has definitely saved me time while playing the Director's Cut. So if you haven't played this game yet, don't pin your time to finish this game, on my time. Because the first time around, it will take longer than the times mentioned above.
WHAT DO YOU GET WITH THE DIRECTOR'S CUT
The game is just over a year old, when we get a director's cut. But is it actually worth getting? Especially when you already have the game. This is of course very personal. You can just buy the PlayStation 5 upgrade and/or the DLC. But having to pay for the PS5 upgrade can feel icky, especially when you already have the PS4 version. That's why I was on the fence with getting this and in what form. The PS5 has backward compatibility, but installing a PS4 game on the PS5, takes up a lot more space then I want. And since it is kind of a slow year with new games, I decided to buy the Director's Cut, for full price. I just wanted the right version of the game for my collection.
But now to the part what the Director's Cut for the PS5 actually includes
- The full game
- Iki Island DLC
- Hero of Tsushima skin set
- Hachiman's Favor Charm
- Technique Point
- Digital mini art book
- Director's Commentary
- Legends Mode
- Faster loading times(respawning after dying is instantly!)
- Haptic feedback for that brilliant DualSense controller
- Full Japanese lip-sync option
- 3D audio
- 60FPS or 4K resolution
I think it's absolutely worth it. Buying the game full price again, is definitely on the insane level. But I highly recommend getting the upgrade/DLC. The game is just that good and more than worth it.
THE STORY
During the invasion of the Island Tsushima, the leader of the Mongols, The Khan, takes Lord Shimura hostage. Jin Sakai, Lord Shimura's nephew is out to rescue him and defeat the Mongols forever.
Jin Sakai is part of the Samurai and they live by a code
- Loyalty; to their Lord Shimura
- Control; over their emotions
- Honor; fight bravely and uphold the legacy of clan Sakai
To actually save his uncle and the Island of Tsushima, Jin is going to need a lot of help. You need to build your Legend, so that you can upgrade your equipment and get all the goodies you need, to take on the Khan and the Mongol army.
Jin will meet plenty of people who need his help. But there are five people who you journey with for more than just a single side mission.
- Yuna
- Sensei Ishikawa
- Lady Masako
- Warrior Monk
- Kenji
These people will give you Tales of Tsushima throughout the whole game. They all have their own story line, which is also part of Jin's Journey.
With the Director's Cut you also get access to the first DLC, Iki Island. Which of course I will also be talking about in this blog.
THE BUILD
The Island of Tsushima is divided into three different sections, containing multiple regions you all need to liberate. Well, to finish the story you don't need to liberate them all. But if you are going for the platinum you definitely have to. And for the story, I highly recommend doing it anyways. If you go for the platinum or not.
- Izuhara, 24 regions
- Toyotama, 17 regions
- Kamiagata, 15 regions
There is plenty to do for you in this game. I will break it down as good as I can. But I will not mention every single mission that will be available. Because that will be a very long list, and it is way more fun to find that out when you play this game yourself.
The game has five main parts:
- Prologue
- Act 1: Rescue Lord Shimura
- Act 2: Retake Castle Shimura
- Act 3: Kill the Khan
- Ending
This looks like there is not much to it. But evert act has multiple main missions and a hell of a lot of side mission. In this game they are not called main and side mission, but the following
- Jin's Journey(main missions)
- Tales Of Tsushima(side missions)
- Mythic Tales
Of course you can also upgrade all your gear, equipment and skills. To upgrade your skills you need to earn technique points. And you will get those by winning fights, liberating regions and defeating leaders. While earning your technique points, you upgrade your legend. And you legend has 11 different stages
- The Broken Samurai
- The Wandering Samurai
- The People's Hope
- The Unyielding Wind
- The Shadow Samurai
- The Hero Of Tsushima
- The Avenging Guardian
- The Phantom Samurai
- The Demon's Blade
- The Raging Storm
- The Ghost Of Tsushima
When you have reached the last legend status, you will not gain any more technique points from the fights you encounter while you travel over the island. But you will get them for defeating leaders. So don't worry about not getting all your skills unlocked before hand. That will not be an issue, you will be able to get them all.
COLLECTIBLES
Besides all the different type of missions, there is so much more for you to do.
- Exploration; help grow your legend, rest and recover, fill your satchel, and more
- Activities; steady your mind, enhance abilities, help bring peace to the island
- Artifacts; collect to learn more about the Mongols
Exploration
- Vanity Gear
- Inari Shrines*
- Hot Springs*
- Shinto Shrines*
- Lighthouses*
- Pillars Of Honour
Activities
- Haiku
- Bamboo Strikes*
- Duels*
Artifacts
- Mongol Artifacts
- Singing Crickets
- Sashimono Banners
- Records
- Key Items
As you can see I marked multiple things with a *. I will explain this in the platinum section.
Throughout the whole game you will find many resources, which you will need to upgrade your weapons, equipment and gear. The resources are the following
- Bamboo
- Yew Wood
- Wax Wood
- Iron
- Steel
- Gold
- Linen
- Leather
- Silk
- Supplies
- Flowers
- Predator Hides
THE PLATINUM HUNT
This game has a very easy platinum. The game overall is not difficult, when you play on medium. It has a good balance in the fights. But if you are familiar with these type of games and like a challenge. Maybe hard is the better option for you. But you can change the difficulty whenever your want. Back to the platinum. Above all, it just takes a lot of time to get this done. And it is all up to you how and when you do it. You can focus on Jin's Journey and do everything for the platinum afterwards. But, since this is a very heavy story based game. It is kind of a challenge to just do Jin's Journey. You will end up doing a lot of side stuff, guaranteed. After finishing the game there is free roam. Which means you can still do everything that is left to do, including freeing regions, if there are still some left.
There are NO missable or glitched trophies.
For the platinum you do NOT need all the collectibles and you don't need to 100% the game. The collectibles that I have marked with the * are the only ones you do need. While you are exploring the map, these things will be marked on your map with a ?. If you have been close enough to that question mark, it will change into the icon of the type of collectible.
There is one trophy that is not marked on your map at any point during the game. And if you don't look it up, you don't even know that it is a thing. I am talking about 'Honor The Unseen'. There are 10 hidden altars scattered all over the island. When you find such an altar, you need to bow to it, swipe down on your touchpad. When you do it right, it will trigger an action around/in front of you. For example, fireflies will swarm around you, fish will start jumping out of the water, etc. The sign as shown below is such a hidden altar. You really need to keep your eyes open for this!
Other than those altars, it really is an easy ride. So happy hunting!
*MASSIVE STORY RELATED SPOILERS FROM HERE UNTIL THE END OF MY BLOG*
IKI ISLAND
One of the main reasons to get the Director's Cut, is that you get this DLC with it. And I am so glad I went for it. This is such an awesome expansion. You will it unlock it early in the second act of the main game. You can start that story line straight away, if you like. It doesn't contain any spoilers for the main game. But, I highly recommend you finish to finish the game first. My way of thinking is, this expansion has been released more than a year after the game. So it is meant to be played afterwards. And other than that, the enemies on Iki Island are definitely stronger and you timing has to be more accurate. So you really want to have your gear and equipment upgraded as much as possible as you can. But as always the choice is yours, on how you want to play it.
Before I dive into the story and the island, I want to address the time to beat. I have it set on 12hrs, but I haven't done everything possible on Iki. Of course all the main missions, a lot of side stuff and the collectibles are done. But I have still some bits and pieces left to do. So I recon that the completion time for every single thing will be around 14hrs. Give or take.
The story starts when Jin finds out that people on Tsushima Island are losing their mind. Something is driving them mad. After doing some digging, he learns that the leader of the Eagle Tribe, Ankhsar Khatun, is planning to attack Tsushima with the whole of Iki Island at her back. Jin needs to go there, to stop her.
Once on the island Jin notices that the warriors are much stronger, when they are under the spell of the shaman. So your best tactic is to take them out first, in every fight. It will make your battles a bit easier. It won't take long before Jin falls on his knees, and loses a fight. The leader of the Eagle Tribe has captured him. While he is there, she makes Jin drink something. It is a poison. Which will make Jin hallucinate every once and a while throughout the whole story.
It is up to you to free the people/regions of Iki Island and break the spell by killing the leader of the Eagle Tribe. Once you have done that, you have reached the end of this beautiful story. Besides having to defeat these warriors, this story also takes a deeper dive into Jin's past. Especially about the bond between Jin and his father. This is a great addition to the main game. Since in that story it was more about Jin and his uncle, Lord Shimura.
This DLC also brings a whole bunch of new side missions to do, collectibles to collect and people to meet and help. And Sucker Punch gives is actually new stuff like Archery Challenges, Wind Shrines, Animal Sanctuaries etc. Which makes this expansion even more fun and well worth it. It's not just a copy/paste.
FINAL WORD
Where do I even begin?! This game is just absolutely brilliant! It's a shame it came out in the same year as 'The Last Of Us Part 2'. Otherwise this game would have gotten way more rewards, than it has now. But still 'Ghost Of Tsushima' is highly praised among gamers, and rightly so! Every single box gets ticket in this game. The story is very well written, the acting is brilliant, the graphics are insane! And I don't even have a 4K tv, so I can only imagine how this game looks on a screen like that. But the colors in this game are seriously breath taking. Lets not forget the music, I just do not have a single bad word to say about this game. The controls are as smooth as every game should be. And with the PS5 upgrade, you will get the DualSense controller experience for sure.
I already mentioned this earlier, but this game can be played in multiple ways. You can just smash out the main missions, go for all the side stuff first or mix it up. I went for the latter, I always like to mix things up in games like these. I realize not everybody has all the time in the world to game. So they might prefer to focus on the main stuff. But if you do have the time, I highly recommend to do every single thing in the game. The story just asks for it. And I know there is so much to do, that it might feel overwhelming. But it is absolutely worth it. While playing you really connect with the characters you meet and develop a bond with them. And that makes you want to keep going back to do more of those missions.
Of course there is also Legends Mode. Which is the multiplayer section of the game. I haven't played this a lot, but the things I have seen are really good. You can team up with people in your friend list or matchmake with some random folk. Together you have to defeat the Mongols, in different settings. Who will come at you in multiple waves. By doing so you will unlock all kinds of goodies, which you can use to make a better build.
The only problem I encountered with this mode, is that people sometimes disconnect during the game. Which puts the whole at a disadvantage and makes it so much harder to finish a run. I probably won't keep going back to Legends Mode. But I see this as an add on to the game and not part of the main game.
My conclusion, I think Sucker Punch has knocked it out of the park and then some with this game. I can not wait to see what they will bring us next. Do I want a 'Ghost of Tsushima 2'? No. I think it would be great if Sucker Punch makes more DLC's. Preferably about some of the characters you meet, like Yuna, Lady Masako, Sensei Ishikawa etc. Or even a DLC bases on Jin and what he is up to after freeing Iki Island. But a whole new game? I am afraid that that will take away the magic from this one, and that would be a waste and such a shame. But I am not a game developer, designer or whatsoever. It is up to Sucker Punch.
Time for me to wrap this up! If you made it all the way to the end, thank you so very much for reading this. I really hope you like this blog and it got you excited to play the game and/or the DLC.
I did not record my gameplay or streamed it. But if you would like to see my play with other games, head over to my YouTube channel and check it out Dexasaurus Thunder
Have a good one, game on and I'll catch you on the flipside!
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