4/5 ★ – juhogr's review of Ghost of Tsushima.

It’s a fun and atmospheric game! The combat with all the different stances for different enemies is simply great once you get the hang of it, it keeps the combat from changing into mindless hacking, because you always have to plan and be aware what kind of enemy you’re fighting, switching stances fast, et cetera. It just feels great, varied and enjoybly fast. I also enjoyed the duels, and the different tactics you have to employ in them when compared to a big battle with multiple enemies. In general I just enjoyed the gameplay loop a lot, and I will most likely play the DLC through as well. The locations look and feel great. I also liked the main idea that you’re a samurai who must learn new skills and new approaches to defeat the enemy. The balance between fighting, stealth, climbing etc. is generally good, I liked the variation of tasks you have to do (in the main story missions at least). Also, I think the game strikes a perfect balance in having equipment to find and upgrade, but not a ridiculous amount of different swords and armours found everywhere, like some games. I very much liked not having to ponder what I should keep in my inventory, what to sell etc. I liked having to complete quests or solve mysteries to get new armour, not finding them on random enemies and chests. Okay, the reasons why I didn’t give it a five-star rating: 1) It is a story-driven game, and the story is fine, but I found it a bit predictable and lacking in imagination — it’s just not very special. The voice actors are good, but the characters sometimes feel more like they’re embodying an idea than a personality. There were some good twists and emotional moments, but overall, it was a bit generic in my opinion. 2) Side quests could have used more variation — even though personally I love clearing out camps, but sometimes it feels that’s all you do, because there’s areas to liberate AND side stories that involve a lot of that same kind of action. Luckily the combat is so great fun, otherwise they would’ve been more of a drag. 3) Yeah, I get it, it’s a historical game about a ruthless invasion, and the Mongols just are the main enemy, but I would’ve found it more interesting if the representation of the Mongols hadn’t been quite so one-sided. Khotun Khan is impressive when you first see him, but the impact kind of wears off as the story goes on, because it’s just more of the same. Also, by the end of the game you have just seen the same Mongol enemy types SO many times, and none of them really have any distinct features or stories, not even the generals/sub-bosses. Some variation and depth in them as well would’ve been good, maybe something like what you get with, say, Ryuzo and Tomoe and Lord Shimura and other grayish characters. 4) Fox dens and shrines and haikus were fun up to a point, but I felt there was some potential wasted there. Maybe I would’ve liked them to have more variation as well? Or something that would’ve made the journey of finding and completing them feel more progressive and satisfying? Still, it’s very much worth it. Not perfect, but definitely recommended. It has some strong Assassin’s Creed vibes, like many people have said (especially Origins comes to mind), but it’s still very much its own thing, and the combat especially is deeper than in AC.