WAY OF THE GHOST

Oscar Taylor-Kent breaks down the ten things you need to know about Sucker Punch’s open world samurai epic Ghost Of Tsushima.

Jin Kasai is a legend. Some say he died on the beaches of Tsushima, repelling the first Mongol invasion of Japan. Others say he lived on, a one-man army, striking fear into the hearts of the invaders. The truth is for you to discover, as you play the island’s last surviving samurai as he tries to save it from devastation at the hands of the occupying army.

Ghost Of Tsushima is Sucker Punch’s love letter to Japanese cinema, and a culmination of the previous open worlds it created married to the mastery that only comes from working with PS4 for so many years. Here’s everything we know so far, and all the reasons you need to strap on your samurai armour.

NEXT-GEN BLOOD

It’s coming to PS4 – but it could straddle generations

Releasing this summer, Ghost Of Tsushima will be one of the last big-budget PlayStation 4 games – a culmination of everything the developer has learned about making games for the console over the years. Based on that alone, you can expect every droplet of power to be squeezed from the machine to create one of the most advanced games on the system. Also, it’s launching quite close to PS5’s ‘holiday 2020’ release date. If The Last Of Us’ PS3-to-PS4 remaster is anything to go by, might this be one of the earlier experiences we can try out again on the new hardware?

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You’re the last samurai, facing incredible odds. The sort you can relish!

Set in 1274, the game takes place during the brutal Mongol invasion of the island. As the final samurai on Tsushima, Jin is outmatched by sheer force of numbers. You’ll come across ruined villages that have been ransacked by the Mongol forces, who leave a burning trail in their wake. But while you might be able to hold your own fighting off a few soldiers at once, you’ll need to be wary of the mounted army. If you let enemies sound the alarm, you might find the rest of them closer than is comfortable. As it progresses, the game tells you how many days it’s been since the Mongol invasion began.

(WAY)POINTLESS

You’re not just sightseeing as you ride around, you’re navigating