Like many of the PlayStation exclusives this generation, Ghost of Tsushima has come out to both great reviews and amazing fan reception. Sucker Punch Productions’ samurai epic has become the PS4’s fastest-selling new IP in its seven-year lifespan, even at the tail end of the console’s life,. It’s clear there’s been a severe lack of engrossing samurai games for a long time, and Ghost of Tsushima is just one of many recent efforts to bring back the samurai game.
Titles like Nioh and Sekiro headlined the recent resurgence of samurai-inspired games, but both games dipped into supernatural elements in tandem with the classic samurai media aesthetic. Some of the classic samurai-inspired games like Way of the Samurai or even Samurai Warriors focused more on posing an interesting and grounded depiction of samurai history. Then there’s games like Samurai Shodown and For Honor which work to capture the fun of samurai sword combat in a less-than-realistic format. While Ghost of Tsushima is one of the most popular games recently, the game also marks the peak of the samurai game resurgence in modern gaming.
Touches of Japanese Folklore
While Ghost of Tsushima is the most recent mainstream samurai game, it’s not the first game to start the modern resurgence of samurai games. Both Nioh/Nioh 2 and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice both capture what it feels like to be a samurai and explore a feudal Japan setting in modern graphical detail. The only main difference between these two and Ghost of Tsushima is that these games lean more into Japanese folklore and mythology, adding in supernatural elements as opposed to a realistic approach. Where Ghost of Tsushima uses Khotun Khan as a grounded main villain, both Sekiro and Nioh have creatures and supernatural beings as the main antagonists of those games.
That being said, all of these games capture the same samurai-inspired aesthetic that Ghost of Tsushima achieved, only with the added supernatural flair of Japanese art and folklore. With Sekiro and Nioh being “soulsborne” games, many typically associate both games with a darker and more muted visual style. The truth is that Sekiro and Nioh in many ways capture a lot of the bright and warm colors of samurai media to directly contrast their Dark Souls-esque dark corners as well. Ghost of Tsushima has plenty of vistas and moments throughout the game that are similar to Nioh and Sekiro, but the supernatural aspects still separate those games from Ghost distinctly.
A Grounded Samurai Tale
Ghost of Tsushima is also a heavily story-driven game despite being an open world action game. While the game’s open world encourages exploration and wonder, the avenging of Tsushima against the Mongols is still the main conflict driving players forward. Tsushima’s narrative is grounded in reality compared to the aforementioned titles, but certainly isn’t the first to do so. The Way of the Samurai games in particular were also heavily grounded in late Japanese samurai history. Not only that, but Way of the Samurai’s story was particularly innovative as one of the earliest story-driven games on PS2 to have a branching storyline with multiple endings.
Comparatively, Ghost of Tsushima’s story isn’t revolutionary or deep by any means. Jin Sakai’s revenge tale is one of many story-driven revenge tales in the gaming sphere, particularly Assassin’s Creed 2 comes to mind as a prime comparison. Jin’s struggle with maintaining honor in tandem with staying alive is the most interesting part of the narrative, which is exactly what Way of the Samurai dives deep into. The game’s overarching conflict is about the heavily militarized government outlawing and abolishing the samurai way of life. The many branching storylines in Way of the Samurai allow players to experience the life of a wandering Ronin their own way. In terms of story, Way of the Samurai is easily one of the deepest and most compelling samurai stories in games.
Flashy Sword Combat
Then there’s games like Samurai Shodown or For Honor, which encapsulate the stereotypical combat skills of samurai in games. Both games allow players to fulfill the base power fantasy of being a highly trained samurai proficient with a katana. The Samurai Shodown games exemplify this notion absolutely, as a fighting game dedicated to samurai duels and flashy sword combat. Same deal with For Honor, even though the game is a mish-mash of iconic warriors throughout history. The samurai classes in For Honor utilize sword clashes and parries for defense, alongside plenty of dexterity for quick and graceful slashes to take out enemies.
Ghost of Tsushima’s combat is similar in the sense that it emphasizes the grace and speed of typical samurai combat. While Ghost of Tsushima’s combat is a bit more versatile because of its open world nature, the game’s combat doesn’t necessarily have the same type of competitive depth that Samurai Shodown and For Honor have. That’s not to say Ghost of Tsushima’s combat is simplistic by comparison, since players can significantly change tactics by swapping battle stances and employing a variety of offensive and defensive tactics. In this same sense, it gamifies the combat in a way that’s realistic but still fun for players.
The lineage of samurai games is varied, and Ghost of Tsushima pulls inspiration from a lot of the games throughout history in the same subgenre. Regardless, Ghost of Tsushima will likely stand on its own as a truly remarkable samurai game compared to its predecessors. The game certainly deserves all the love it’s been receiving lately.
Ghost of Tsushima is available now on PS4.
