The eagerly anticipated hack-and-slash samurai game Ghost of Tsushima goes on sale for the PlayStation 4 this week, marking one of the last major first-party titles being released for Sony's flagship console before it launches the PlayStation 5 era later this year. Following a lone ronin who rises to drive back Mongol invaders terrorizing 13th century Japan, the game serves as a love letter to Japanese samurai cinema popularized by Akira Kurosawa, while delivering an expansive, open-world gameplay experience.
With the official review embargo lifted, professional critics have lauded the game's breathtaking visuals, lush environments and samurai combat while criticizing its repetitive side-quests and formulaic missions. A selection of reviews for the game are below.
Ben Rayner, Digital Spy: "Ghost of Tsushima is clearly a passion project from Sucker Punch. It takes all the best elements from the developer's previous work, and strips back the open world formulae to make a focused and deeply enjoyable game. Combat is deep enough to always offer an exciting challenge, and exploring Tsushima Island is a pure joy. Combine this with an engaging story that doesn't outstay its welcome, and it's clear Sucker Punch has a hit on its hands."
Ian Walker, Kotaku: "Ghost of Tsushima is pretty as heck -- sporadic capturing left me with almost 50 GB worth of screenshots and short video clips to sift through -- but at its core, it’s just another open-world game. I found myself audibly sighing every time I crested a hill towards a mystery objective only to find another fox to follow or another haiku to compose. These diversions, while unique at first glance, proved to just be busy work as time wore on."
Andrew Webster, The Verge: "When things click, it’s amazing; Ghost is a beautiful game, one full of focused, contemplative moments, from tense, one-on-one sword duels to peaceful retreats to compose haiku under a tree. Ghost doesn't hit the same highs as its cinematic inspirations, but it apes their themes and style in a way that at least feels unique for a video game. The problem is that it so often isn’t quiet. Open-world games are big and busy, and those elements -- the gigantic battles, the sprawling map, the copious sidequests, the repetitive mission structure -- drown out what makes Ghost feel special."
Jacob Siegal, BGR: "In many ways, Ghost of Tsushima feels like the logical conclusion to this console generation. Brilliant storytelling, massive open worlds, challenging and engaging combat -- these are the hallmarks of the biggest games of the last seven years, and while Ghost of Tsushima has its flaws, it successfully coalesces all of these elements into a stellar package that ends up feeling like a perfect send-off for the PS4 era."
Gene Park, The Washington Post: "We’ve never had a samurai game as big as this. Absent any compelling story or characters, Ghost is still a terrific stand-in for the free-roaming digital ronin game I’ve always wanted. Sure, it’s not the Seven Samurai of video games, but who’s really asking for that? There’s a great, captivating open-world samurai game here, only if you strip away the pretension. If only Sony and Sucker Punch did the same."
Sean Keane, CNET: "My experience with Ghost of Tsushima was most enjoyable when I dipped in and out of the game's elements as the mood struck me, rather than relentlessly pursuing the story, side quests or upgrading items. The island is massive enough to support that approach, especially if you play over weeks or months rather than bingeing the whole lot in a fortnight."
Mitchell Saltzman, IGN: "Ghost of Tsushima is an enormous and densely packed samurai adventure that often left me completely awestruck with both its visual spectacle and excellent combat. By steadily introducing new abilities instead of stat upgrades, its swordplay manages to stay challenging, rewarding, and fun throughout the entire 40 to 50 hours that it took me to beat the campaign. A few aspects are surprisingly lacking in polish in comparison to other first-party Sony games, especially when it comes to enemy AI and the stealth part of its stealth/action split. Still this is an extraordinary open-world action-adventure game that solves several issues that have long gone unaddressed in the genre."
Developed by Sucker Punch Productions and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Ghost of Tsushima will be released for the PlayStation 4 on July 17.