2020 video game
Ghost of Tsushima is a 2020 action-adventure game developed by Sucker Punch Productions and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. The player controls Jin Sakai, a samurai on a quest to protect Tsushima Island during the first Mongol invasion of Japan. Jin must choose between following the warrior code to fight honorably, or by using practical but dishonorable methods of repelling the Mongols with minimal casualties. The game features a large open world which can be explored either on foot or on horseback. When facing enemies, the player can choose to engage in a direct confrontation using Jin's katana or to use stealth tactics to assassinate opponents. A multiplayer mode titled "Ghost of Tsushima: Legends" was released in October 2020 and made available separately in September 2021.
Sucker Punch began developing the game after the release of "Infamous First Light" in 2014, as the studio wanted to move on from the "Infamous" franchise to create a game with a heavy emphasis on melee combat. The studio collaborated with Japan Studio and visited Tsushima Island twice to ensure that the game was as culturally and historically authentic as possible. The team was heavily inspired by samurai cinema, particularly films directed by Akira Kurosawa, as well as the comic book series "Usagi Yojimbo". The game's landscape and minimalistic art style were influenced by "Shadow of the Colossus", and locations in the game were designed to be "the perfect photographer's dream". While the in-game landmass is similar in shape to Tsushima Island, the team did not intend to create a one-to-one recreation. Ilan Eshkeri and Shigeru Umebayashi composed the game's soundtrack.
"Ghost of Tsushima" was released for the PlayStation 4 in July 2020, and an expanded version for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5, subtitled "Director's Cut" and featuring the "Iki Island" expansion, was released in August 2021. A Windows version of "Director's Cut", developed by Nixxes Software, was released in May 2024. The game received positive reviews from critics, who praised the melee combat, story, characters, performances, and music, though it received some criticism for its implementations of stealth gameplay and open world structure. It had sold over 13 million units by September 2024. It was nominated for several year-end awards, including Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2020 and the 24th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards. A sequel, "Ghost of Yōtei", is scheduled to release in 2025, and a film adaptation is in development.
Gameplay.
"Ghost of Tsushima" is an action-adventure video game played from a third-person perspective. The player has a variety of gameplay options to reach objectives they are given. They can engage in a "standoff", a direct confrontation with enemies using their katana, which can result in a series of fatal strikes against a number of different enemies. In combat, Jin can use different fighting stances to defeat specific types of enemies: "stone stance" for hostile swordsmen; "water stance" for shielded enemies; "wind stance" for spearmen; and "moon stance" for brutes. Eventually the player unlocks "ghost stance", which makes Jin invincible and allows him to kill enemies with a single hit for a limited period of time. To activate ghost stance, players must kill a number of enemies without taking any damage or assassinate a Mongol leader. The player needs to stagger enemies or land a successful parry to break their defense before attacking to deplete their health. The player has access to bows, which can fire multiple types of arrows. At certain points in the game, Jin must duel against non-playable characters (NPCs) who act as bosses with unique offensive tactics and attack animations. The game's highest difficulty is a more realistic mode in which the player and enemies do large amounts of damage to each other, with all non-boss fights ending in one or two successful attacks.
Alternatively, using stealth allows the player to evade enemies and strike them silently. As the player progresses in the game they can unlock chained assassination, which allows Jin to strike several enemies consecutively. To this end, Jin has a large arsenal of ghost weapons. These include firecrackers and wind chime bells to create distractions, smoke bombs to disorient alerted foes, kunai for striking multiple enemies, and explosives to kill groups of enemies. Players will eventually unlock a blowgun that allows them to shoot poison darts and causes victims to hallucinate and attack their peers. When the player restores Jin's health or uses special combat techniques, they deplete their "resolve", which is gained by performing feats of finesse such as assassinating or parrying an enemy.
The game features a large open world which can be explored with or without guidance based on wind direction. The three islands of Tsushima are unlocked gradually as the player progresses. The island of Izuhara is unlocked first, followed by Totoyama and Kamiagata. Access to Iki Island is granted to those who purchased the DLC after entering Izuhara. Players travel to different parts of Tsushima on horseback and can use an item that acts as a grappling hook to access difficult-to-reach areas. As the player explores the world, yellow birds will guide Jin to locations of interest. These include hot springs which increase Jin's maximum health, "Bamboo Strikes" which increase Jin's maximum resolve upon completion, "Pillars of Honor" which contain additional cosmetic designs for Jin's weapons, and locations in which Jin will meditate and compose haiku. By following torii gates and completing a platforming challenge, the player will find Shinto shrines and unlock charms that grant the player passive perks such as decreasing damage taken, reducing enemy detection speed, and increasing how much health is recovered when healing. Foxes will also lead Jin to Inari shrines, which increase the number of charms Jin can equip.
The game features side quests and NPCs with whom the player can interact. Players can also liberate Mongol-controlled villages and camps by eliminating all the enemies stationed in the area. Combat stances are unlocked after Jin observes or kills Mongol leaders. Completing side quests or helping NPCs grants players minor charms and gifts which can be collected at altars. In particular, completing "Mythic Tale" side quests will unlock unique armors and special combat techniques. Each armor set has different properties that provide various benefits during combat. Most sets of armor and clothing can be upgraded by collecting materials found in the game's world. Jin's appearance can also be further customized with masks, helmets and headbands.
Multiplayer.
A multiplayer mode titled "Ghost of Tsushima: Legends" was released in late 2020. Players can access this mode from the menu or by reaching the NPC Gyozen the Storyteller in the single-player campaign, which will transport the player to "Legends" multiplayer lobby. Unlike the single-player campaign, "Legends" is based on Japanese mythology, featuring otherworldly realms and supernatural enemies. "Legends" features four classes: The samurai is the group's tank character who can deal and sustain a large amount of damage, the hunter is the group's sniper who specializes at using ranged weapons such as bows and arrows, the "rōnin" has the ability to summon dogs to aid combat and revives the group, and the assassin can deal a massive amount of damage with one attack and has the "Shadow Strike" ability which allows them to teleport short distances. As the player plays more matches and progresses in the game, they will earn "rank" which allows them to unlock class-specific upgrades and cosmetic items. A player's combat performance is dictated by the "Ki" level of their gear. The higher the player's overall "Ki" level, the more lethal they are, making them better at completing missions with higher difficulty levels. "Legends" features a variety of game modes:
Synopsis.
Characters.
The protagonist, Jin Sakai (Daisuke Tsuji / Kazuya Nakai), is the head and sole remaining member of Clan Sakai and a samurai warrior. He is the nephew and ward of Lord Shimura (Eric Steinberg / Akio Ōtsuka), the "jitō" of Tsushima. He meets several friends and companions, including a thief named Yuna (Sumalee Montano / Yu Mizuno), her blacksmith brother Taka (Eddie Shin / Kappei Yamaguchi), a female warrior named Lady Masako Adachi (Lauren Tom / Mabuki Ando), renowned "kyūjutsu" archer Sensei Sadanobu Ishikawa (François Chau / Shigeru Chiba), merchant and con artist Kenji (James Hiroyuki Liao / Setsuji Sato), Buddhist warrior monk Norio (Earl T. Kim / Mitsuaki Kanuka), Clan Sakai's elderly caretaker Yuriko (Karen Huie / Yuri Tabata), and Jin's childhood friend and leader of the infamous Straw Hat "rōnin", Ryuzo (Leonard Wu / Youhei Tadano). The main antagonist is the ruthless and cunning General Khotun Khan of the Mongol Empire (Patrick Gallagher / Tsutomu Isobe), cousin of Kublai Khan and grandson of Genghis Khan.
Plot.
In 1274, a Mongol fleet led by Khotun Khan invades the Japanese island of Tsushima. The " jitō", Lord Shimura, and his nephew Jin Sakai lead an effort by the five great families of the island (Clan Shimura, Clan Sakai, Clan Adachi, Clan Nagao and Clan Kikuchi) to repel the invaders as they land at Komoda Beach. However, the battle ends in disaster, with the samurai killed by the superior weapons of the Mongols, Shimura captured, and Jin severely wounded and left for dead. He is found and revived by the scavenger Yuna, who informs him that the whole of the island has fallen to the invaders. Jin storms Khotun's stronghold at Castle Kaneda in an attempt to rescue Shimura but is defeated by Khotun and thrown off the castle bridge.
Realizing he cannot defeat the Mongols alone or with traditional samurai tactics, Jin recruits allies and learns tactics of guerilla warfare from Yuna. He recruits Yuna, her blacksmith brother Taka, sake merchant and swindler Kenji, archer Sadanobu Ishikawa, samurai Masako Adachi, and his mercenary friend Ryuzo along with Ryuzo's Straw Hat "rōnin". As Jin disrupts Mongol activities and liberates villages, the islanders begin to revere him as "The Ghost," a samurai spirit that has risen against the Mongols. Taka crafts a grappling hook for Jin to scale Castle Kaneda's walls, and Jin attacks the site with his allies. Destitute and starving from harsh wartime conditions, Ryuzo and the Straw Hats betray Jin to collect the bounty issued to him by Khotun. Jin fends them off, frees Shimura, and retakes Castle Kaneda. Despite their victory, Khotun has already left to conquer Castle Shimura with Ryuzo.
Jin recruits Norio, Norio's warrior monks, and the disgraced Yarikawa family to retake Castle Shimura. He also recruits local pirate Goro on Shimura's behalf to carry a petition for reinforcements and a request to be adopted as his heir to the "shogun". With a new army being assembled, Jin recovers his family's ancestral armor from the Sakai family caretaker Yuriko, who teaches him how to create poison. Under orders from Shimura, Jin and Taka try to infiltrate a fortress where Ryuzo is located but are ambushed and captured by Khotun. When Jin refuses to submit to his rule, Khotun demands Taka kill him in exchange for his freedom. Taka instead attempts to attack Khotun, but he avoids and decapitates him. Jin then escapes with Yuna's help. The Shogun's reinforcements arrive, and Shimura leads the assembled army in an assault on Castle Shimura, driving the Mongols into the inner keep. As the Mongols retreat, they detonate explosives on the bridge leading to the inner courtyard, inflicting massive casualties on the advancing samurai.
Knowing that another frontal attack would only result in more losses, Jin decides to infiltrate the keep to sneak poison into the Mongols' "airag" and kills Ryuzo. However, he again misses Khotun, who has retreated to a stronghold in the north. Despite the castle being taken without the samurai suffering any further losses, Shimura is furious with Jin, as his actions have violated the samurai code of honor. Jin retorts by criticizing the ineffectiveness of the code against the dishonorable Mongols. Knowing that the Shogun will have Jin executed for treason, Shimura urges him to use Yuna as a scapegoat, but Jin refuses and embraces his persona as "The Ghost." Shimura regretfully has Jin arrested. Jin's allies remain loyal to him and help him escape captivity, but his horse is fatally shot by archers in the process. Jin travels north and learns that the Mongols have learned how to craft his poison, which they intend to use in their assault on the Japanese mainland. Before gathering his allies and assaulting Khotun's final stronghold in Port Izumi, Jin leaves a