After "Horizon" and "Marvel's Spider-Man" became the twin stars of open-world games in the PS camp with their superb picture quality and super IP, Sucker Punch, which said "it was obviously me first", finally presented "Ghost of Tsushima" to players in the later stage of the PS4 console.
Compared with the previous "one person eats, the whole family is not hungry" period of "Unsung Hero", the open world game environment faced by "Ghost of Tsushima" is more stringent than ever before because two similar "giant ships" in the past two years have raised the upper limit of gameplay and industrial standards. And the Japanese samurai - or let us further refine it to the gameplay subdivision of "samurai sword combat", we will see that the malicious man who turns over and over on the altar every day and his "Sekiro" seem to have interpreted the "sword fighting" gameplay to a certain realm of unity between man and sword.
Therefore, no matter how low-key "Ghost of Tsushima" is promoted, when the commonalities of the genre and the overlap of themes are placed in front of the players, it will still be like a clear and resolute sword-greeting method, making this game step into the Shura field of real swordsmanship from the day it is released.
From the actual performance of Ghost of Tsushima, Sucker Punch has taken a positive attitude, with an open world quest system, a combat feel that ranks among the best in European and American action games, and a high-light atmosphere rendering throughout, challenging the S-level difficulty task of "European and American manufacturers interpreting Japanese samurai culture". Just like the great swordsman Zoro often said: A warrior will never turn around to face his opponent.
1. A sense of ritual that is almost like worshipping - before sunrise, after dusk, the backlight accompanies me to fight
The historical section chosen by Ghost of Tsushima may seem a bit unfamiliar to players who have been exposed to Japanese history through games. I personally think that the reason why the development team chose the Mongol invasion of Japan in 1274 as the background of the game is not only to distinguish the period from many Japanese works, but also because European and American audiences have a certain knowledge reserve of the fear that their ancestors were dominated by the Mongol cavalry, which makes it easier for them to feel involved.
Specifically in the game, the Goryeo army that attacked Tsushima Island as part of the Mongolian coalition in history was omitted, and only relatively stereotyped Mongolian officers and soldiers were retained, portraying them as powerful and ruthless invaders. What the player controls, the protagonist Jin Jing, has to do is to fight against foreign humiliation while recovering lost territory.
In addition to the necessary scene verification and restoration of period dramas, this game also features some deliberately designed "time travel" elements to enhance entertainment and cultural recognition, such as parodying a sword master who has not yet been born, or generals active in the Warring States period, whose equipment will be "transmitted" to the background era of the game in advance for the protagonist Jin Sakai to use. I believe that players who are familiar with Japanese history will definitely find a lot of Easter eggs (slots) in it.
Japanese samurai and samurai movies are what Ghost of Tsushima is trying to show players in both form and spirit. Compared to the superpowered civilians who wander between good and evil in Unsung Heroes, Jin Sakai, who comes from a noble family, undoubtedly has a more noble bloodline. However, we can still feel the natural cultural gap between European and American manufacturers in their understanding of the concept of "Bushido" in the game. For example, in order to rationalize the plot of the infiltration and assassination gameplay, the protagonist's dialectical understanding of the identity of a samurai is used as the ground zero of a series of dramatic conflicts in the game, using the gains and losses in the eyes of Westerners to interpret the honor and disgrace in the hearts of Orientals.
What the development team likes is the visual elements of classic Japanese samurai movies, which also makes "Ghost of Tsushima" full of a strong sense of ritual. Whenever there is a duel between generals in the game, it will immediately switch to the sword and halberd film studio mode, with character positions, camera angles, and light projections. Especially the light, "posing" against the backlight has almost become a fixed action for all characters. No matter whether you are galloping on a horse or drawing a sword to confront, the 1000-watt light bulb always keeps a bright stare at you. The mountains, forests, wilderness, flowers and vegetation are like the strong colors of Zhang Yimou's "Hero" and "House of Flying Daggers". In serious cases, the strong light and the gorgeous scenes cooperate with each other, which is enough to interfere with the player's normal battle rhythm.
This game is particularly outstanding in terms of music. The shakuhachi performance at the E3 exhibition was just the tip of the iceberg of the magnificent repertoire. The actual soundtrack performance is comparable to the 1997 version of "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils" - players can truly experience what it means to "no one can beat me in my BGM."
Perhaps this is the difference in the concept of form and spirit when Western development teams deal with samurai themes, that is, the ritualistic beauty of the whole film has weakened the solemnity and solemnity of the real sword fight to a certain extent, and the player seems to be in a sword-fighting theme park with beautiful scenery and worth checking out everywhere. As for the "Akira Kurosawa filter" with a cinephilic attribute in the game settings, it can only be regarded as a tribute from video games in the list of tributes to Master Kurosawa in later generations.
2. Before you chop someone, you should show respect by fighting with your sword - it will flash, the feel is great, the flash of sword and the shadow of the sword cannot be slow
Compared to the slightly exaggerated audio-visual presentation, Ghost of Tsushima is much more solid and stable in the combat part, and shows an excellent sense of attack that is different from other European and American action games. Wang Shuo once said: "A great writer is one whose works can only be described in two words when his peers read them - despair. Others have already written like this, so why should I mess around with them?"
Last year's "Sekiro" was a carrier of "despair" in the niche field of Japanese samurai themes. "Ghost of Tsushima" rose to the challenge and borrowed a little from it to design a playable combat system. The sonorous feedback of sword fighting is also obviously more "chewy" in the actual operation experience of players. Compared with the "Unsung Heroes" series, which relies entirely on special effects for output, the improvement is significant.
The battles in this game emphasize actively mastering the suppression and counterattack under the rhythm of attack and defense.
The so-called "reference" mainly refers to the fact that this game also has the concept of bullet counterattack and posture bar similar to "Sekiro". Unlike Wolf, which either skips classes or fights to the death, it sets a high threshold for players who like the subject matter of the work but do not have much time and energy to hone their blacksmithing skills. As an open world game, the operation threshold of "Ghost of Tsushima" is much more friendly. First of all, "Ghost of Tsushima" only sets a posture bar for the enemy. Players only need to focus on whether the enemy's moves are defensible, and when attacking, they can judge the enemy type and switch seamlessly and quickly among the four attack postures. Using the correct posture to launch an attack can effectively weaken the enemy's posture bar and put it into a state of defensive collapse. It is the basic combat logic throughout the entire game process.
Then, as a "high-level" skill that is both risky and cool, parrying and emergency dodge will become more profitable as the skill tree is unlocked. Especially in the tense boss battle, going up and slashing often has no effect (the boss battle is not only limited to the ring-like space, but also prohibits players from using all auxiliary attack props, so there is no room for escaping, and the open world will become "Soul Calibur" at this time), players must rely on parrying and evading the enemy's killing moves to engage in close combat with them. The most subtle thing is that most of the player's character's attack actions can be canceled before they are completed. For example, when you just press the button to make the attack starter, but suddenly find that the opponent is going to use a killing move, as long as your reaction and hand speed are fast enough, you can immediately press defense or dodge to cancel the attack, forming a rapid attack and defense conversion. The enemy (usually the boss) also mixes virtual and real moves according to this characteristic of the player, and when the two sides fight fiercely, they will guide the player into a "selfless" fighting state.
Finally, "Ghost of Tsushima" introduces a system called "Resolution". Whether you kill the enemy or achieve a perfect parry, you can gain determination points. By consuming points, you can activate a special move with a defense-breaking effect or restore physical strength. It is up to the player to decide whether to go all in on a special move to suppress the opponent, or leave yourself an "insurance".
Judging by the standards of open world games, the frontal sword fighting part of this game has a feel bonus that exceeds expectations. Players who simply question "European and American developers know nothing about samurai combat" can consider buying it.
Unfortunately, there are too few boss battles in Ghost of Tsushima, and the unique fighting styles of the bosses are inevitably limited. After players have had unforgettable experiences with (killing) two or three of them, they will find that there are only two or three people in the entire game who understand what they want best. If Sucker Punch has DLC plans, boss battles should be the focus of incremental content consideration.
3. The hope of the whole island - be tough, sneak steadily, and throw flying props accurately
"Ghost of Tsushima" has a standard character skill tree. Players can allocate the experience rewards gained in the mission to a list of moves and skills divided into three major categories. The specific content is related to the response to specific enemy moves, the number of props, the derivation of moves in different postures, stealth effects, and large map exploration.
Based on the background setting of historical reality, the protagonist Jing Jingren can't call the wind and rain, go to heaven and earth like his predecessors in "Unknown Heroes". His personal ability is basically firmly limited to a "low magic" state. The upgrade process of the entire skill tree system is mainly centered on optimizing combat efficiency and mastering key skills. From the initial state of the game, you will encounter obstacles everywhere - any random soldier will easily attack you because the protagonist has not unlocked or upgraded some necessary key skill points - to slowly lighting up the skill tree, you can skillfully perform "unparalleled" surrounded by enemy soldiers.
In addition to the core sword fighting, because this game includes stealth elements, some flying props are packed into Jin Jing's arsenal, including bows, blowguns, decoy bombs, smoke bombs, and skill buffs that can assist stealth, so that players sometimes choose a more suitable task method based on their current character development preferences. Although these designs are sufficiently consistent with the game style and gameplay, and also provide a sense of accomplishment in strengthening character abilities, the problem with "Ghost of Tsushima" is that the depth of the skill tree is obviously not enough to support the size of the game. Players may feel that "so many skills should be enough for me to practice slowly" in the early stages because of the low experience value gain efficiency. If you play it in depth, you will find that because the protagonist can only improve one set of martial arts under one weapon, the types of nirvana are even pitiful, and the few types of enemies and boutique BOSS mentioned earlier lead to insufficient motivation for players.
This problem has long existed in open world games, and some manufacturers will continue to add other development or management elements as supplements in addition to character development. Unfortunately, although "Ghost of Tsushima" seems to give signs of "this is possible" on the surface - for example, when players capture some key strongholds, there will be animations of villagers resuming production, and some NPCs also express their desire for Jin Jing to form an independent armed force, but these, like the blank space under the skill upgrade interface, have become unknowns that may be supplemented by DLC in the future.
4. Open World 1.0 is back - the main quest is stable, the side quests are complicated, and the strongholds are nerve-wracking
Among the open world games on the market today, there are top products such as "The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild" and "Red Dead Redemption 2", which are characterized by huge investment and have brought qualitative changes to the development of the genre to varying degrees; Ubisoft is responsible for providing mid-range products, taking into account stable output and quality, which are definitely the safest consumption options for many new players or general game consumers; ankle products are relatively ugly, they are the "Saints Row" series that are on the verge of being eliminated by the times, or "Crackdown 2" which is basically certain to be eliminated by the times.
If you are not sure whether this is a compliment or a slight regret, I can describe the quest design of Ghost of Tsushima in detail, provided that I definitely do not regard the "quest system" itself as a kind of "original sin" of the rigid open world format. Telling players where to go and what to do in the game does not mean boring. How to go and how much of it is repetitive work is the watershed between open world 1.0 and 2.0.
Ghost of Tsushima has a good main storyline. Putting aside the Eastern monarch-subject, father-son relationship, or Bushido culture interpreted by Western developers, the entire play expression and character struggle logic stand up to scrutiny in terms of the protagonist's resistance to invasion and recovery of lost territory. After playing through it in one go, it still has at least an epic feel. The problem lies in the side quests - the kind of collection, battle, and collection battles that are like stars in the sky when you open the map undoubtedly confuses the players again.
The specific task execution process is also a process similar to "from getting started to giving up". Sucker Punch has incorporated a lot of the climbing elements that they were good at before into the tasks. The main task is driven by the plot and the scenes are gorgeous, both of which are plus points for enriching the process, but the side tasks are a bit annoying because of their repetition.
For example, there is a mission where the protagonist has to save 6 villages in order to obtain a piece of equipment. Only after getting 6 keys from the villagers can the box containing the equipment be opened. Each village has 3 to 5 villagers held hostage by the enemy. For each villager rescued, the player has to kill about 5 enemies. Each village has 3 to 5 villagers, which corresponds to 15 to 25 enemy heads. After multiplying by 6 villages, this means repeating this set of prescribed actions 6 times. I was able to observe and sneak in the first two villages patiently, but when I got to the third one, I started to rush in and fight hard. If the hostages were killed, I could just start over, which saved time rather than waiting for the opportunity to backstab them one by one.
I can feel that the reason why Sucker Punch did a relatively low-level job in terms of form is that they bet on the cultural attributes of this game. Although the highly repetitive tasks are a bit annoying, the excellent combat feel and the fact that you can get a set of samurai armor that is both aesthetically pleasing and verified after completing the tasks, and can continue to optimize the appearance and performance after upgrading, are worth it for players who like samurai culture.
Conclusion: More craftsmanship, less spirituality
Sucker Punch hopes to use as much sincerity as possible to make up for its own shortcomings in creativity. Ghost of Tsushima is a "model" work with distinct cultural themes, a gameplay that does not seek to be useless but does not make mistakes, and has surprises but cannot make people happy to the end. Players cannot expect it to expand or deepen the already huge size of the open world, or to beat ten games of the same theme and type.
However, if you like samurai culture and don’t usually play many similar games, Ghost of Tsushima will be a good choice. And for those open world veterans, the collection attribute of this game will undoubtedly be greater than the fresh gaming experience it brings you.