Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut – Review

Ghost of Tsushima. The game that served as the PlayStation 4’s final hurrah before the arrival of the PlayStation 5. It succeeded to breathe new life into open-world action-adventure games by providing a scenario that many people yearned for. They’ve re-released the game as Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut for the PlayStation 5 to take full advantage of the new hardware, along with new story DLC, more than a year later.

What is Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut

Let’s discuss about one of the Director’s Cut’s primary additions. Once you’ve completed Act 2 of the main tale, you’ll be able to access Iki Island. When loading a post-game save, the game will ask you if you want to start the Iki Island DLC if you’ve already completed the game.

Jin Sakai travels to Iki Island, off the coast of Tsushima, where a Mongol shaman named Ankhsar Khatun, also known as “The Eagle,” has assumed control. After encountering a scouting mission sent out by her to Tsushima, he resolves to head over to take on The Eagle and free Iki island. Things don’t turn out as Jin had imagined, as he experiences firsthand The Eagle’s anarchy.

The plot is intriguing and delves into Jin’s family’s history. We see Clan Sakai throughout the main game, but Jin’s Father’s legacy is one of the DLC’s key themes.

The shaman is a new opponent type introduced on Iki Island. They can buff up the other opponents in their group with their song and dance. The game also adds a new layer of difficulty to combat by allowing adversaries to switch weapons on the fly. This serves to break up the monotony of the main game, when you would switch stances and annihilate adversaries with ease. This modification was welcome since it gave the bouts more diversity and unpredictability.

New Gameplay Changes

Everyone who owns the original game or the new Director’s Cut may now download a free update that includes several much-requested additions. To begin with, Lock-On has entered the fray. The game didn’t come with a Lock-On system at first, but it’s now included. I was a little annoyed by the lack of lock-on, but I’m delighted it’s finally here.

“Off,” “On,” and “Swap on Defeat” are the three options available. One turns it off, one turns it on, and the last one automatically latches on to the next adversary after you’ve defeated the current one, as the names suggest. As in other games featuring a lock-on system, you can manually switch between targets by flicking the right stick.

A new control scheme is also included, which is a nice touch. Instead of using the face buttons, you’ll use R1 and R2 to strike. Great for fans of the Soulsbourne games or those who have recently completed God of War NG+.

Armor Loadouts are another essential feature that has been implemented. This is the one feature in the original game that I wished for. I can now rapidly transition between stealth, battle, and 1v1 loadouts without having to change every component individually.

PS5 Enhancements

The game has a lot of improvements now that it has an official PS5 version. To begin with, the game now runs at 60 frames per second in both Resolution and Framerate modes. The game operates at a checkerboarded 1800p resolution in Framerate mode, and a checkerboarded 2160p resolution in Resolution mode. If you have a PS5 and want to play this game, set it to Resolution mode and don’t look back. Because of the improved clarity, it looks absolutely amazing and has no negative effects on the framerate. This was an incredible joy for my eyes on the LG CX OLED TV with HDR turned on.

Aside from that, the game makes good use of the SSD. The initial release had lightning-fast load times, but thanks to the PS5’s SSD, they’re now nearly instantaneous. Japanese Lip Sync is another amazing innovation made possible by the SSD. Because the sequences were pre-rendered, the original release only contained English lip sync. Cutscenes on the PlayStation 5 are now rendered in real time. This means you can finally enjoy the game’s immersive Japanese dub experience without being pulled out due to poor lip sync.

The Dualsense controller has also been included. It utilises adaptable triggers and haptic feedback in the expected ways. There’s nothing revolutionary here, and it’s mercifully not excessive.

Final Verdict

The PS5 version of Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut is the best method to play this game. Iki Island has approximately 8-10 hours of information and is ideal for people who desire more Tsushima. If you enjoyed the original game, though, I believe you won’t find what you’re seeking for here because it’s more of the same. That’s not a terrible thing because it’s exactly what I wanted when I finished the game the first time. There’s more to see, more Mythic Tales to discover, more breathtaking views to stare upon, and, most importantly, more foxes to pet and rub their bellies.