3.5/5 ★ – fez219's review of Ghost of Tsushima: Iki Island.

Extremely substantive dlc that shares most of the flaws and strengths of the main game. For its length and breadth of content alone, I have to give it props; Iki island has just about as much area and content as an entire act of the base game. It’s a lot! But it does little to fix my combat, exploration, and storytelling qualms I had with the base game. There’s a new enemy type that buffs others, which is cool. There’s also a few new mechanics, like horse charging and pulling with the grappling hook, but nothing game-changing mechanically. There’s new side activities, which is nice if you got bored of the old ones. I really liked the Zelda-ish flute songs and the archery challenges! The story here focuses on Jin’s past and the death of his father, and I found it a fair bit more interesting than the main game’s story. Stilted dialogue and cutscenes are here again, but some Arkham-esque hallucinations help add a bit of spice to the storytelling. There’s also a few times where the (albeit rare) dialogue choices change the flow of a mission, which is cool and I wish the game did much more. Overall, this is a solid dlc that’s worth playing if you want more Ghost of Tsushima, but take a break before jumping in if you’re burned out. And if you weren’t a huge fan of the main game, don’t expect Iki Island to change your mind.