Ghost of Tsushima is an excellent open-world adventure from Sucker Punch Productions which adds some innovative ideas to a fairly stagnant genre. The game's depiction of the time period is generic and inoffensive, but that doesn't prevent it from being a stunning visual showcase and a worthwhile swan song for the PS4

Tsushima is a beautiful and compelling world to explore; Combat and exploration are both rewarding and satisfying; A likeable cast of characters across a robust campaign ; Innovates on the open-world formula in some surprising ways;

The main narrative is a little boring and predictable; Lacking in challenge even on the hardest difficulty ; A few unusual technical issues;

Ghost of Tsushima effortlessly combines solid swordplay with a compelling story. This new open-world RPG, exclusive to the PlayStation 4, takes samurai Jin Sakai on a daunting quest as he retakes his home island of Tsushima from the Mongols. His story is an interesting one, and it would be easy for developer Sucker Punch to use Ghost’s style as an excuse to phone in the mechanics. Instead, the game offers one of the best sword combat systems in recent memory. Ghost isn’t quite perfect, but my gripes pale in comparison to the joy I felt while playing the game. It, along with The Last of Us Part II, allows the PlayStation 4 to go out with a bang. Both games exemplify the best of late-generation titles, though in very different ways. The island of Tsushima is an open-world marvel. The world feels truly open, as you can enter each building, climb rooftops, and explore without fatigue. The world shows off varying landscapes, from rolling fields to snowcapped mountains. The varied environmen...

Stellar storytelling; Massively interactive open world; Well-executed combat; Unique tasks and side quests;

Awkward movement mechanics;

A competent but shallow and overfamiliar attempt to replicate Assassin’s Creed style open world adventure in the world of 13th century samurai.

The period atmosphere is excellent, with a beautiful open world and lots of attention to detail; Highly enjoyable combat, that feels authentic without being overcomplicated.

None of the gameplay elements, including the combat, have any real depth and they fail to properly support the main themes of the story; Very formulaic structure and mission design.

For a game that’s supposed to close out a console generation, Ghost of Tsushima is frustratingly old-fashioned in its design. It looks every bit the stunningly cinematic samurai epic and there's plently of slashy enjoyment to be had here, but it’s constantly hampered by little faults that chip away at and dull its blade.

Looks and sounds gorgeous (especially in photo mode); Great attention and respect to Japanese traditions and culture; Epic one-on-one samurai duels;

Dated and generic open world and stealth design; Frustratingly linear in places; Messy and annoying mob combat;

Looks and sounds gorgeous (especially in photo mode); Great attention and respect to Japanese traditions and culture; Epic one-on-one samurai duels;

Dated and generic open world and stealth design; Frustratingly linear in places; Messy and annoying mob combat;

It might be overshadowed by the other PlayStation exclusive this summer, but GoT's believable game world and superb combat system show that the PS4 has an embarrassment of riches right now. It does fall into some of the less welcome open-world tropes, with some formulaic elements, but everything is lifted by Sucker Punch's keen attention to detail and clear love for Japanese samurai cinema.

Beautiful game world; Well-told story; Intuitive and intelligent combat system; Vast amount of character customisation; Kurosawa film mode is a great gimmick;

Some open-world elements seem formulaic which makes it feel like a grind at times; Enemy types can lack variety;