They were into movies long before games, so it’s really them just doubling down on things wherever they think there’s opportunities for moar monies.
Ghosts of Tsushima Review thread
- Thread starter CriticalGaming
- Start date
I feel that the open world of Ghosts works to its detriment, mainly because there is very little to do or see. Yes, it is very pretty, but pretty will only get you so far. There is stuff to find, but not enough of it. Outside of the collectibles, this game offers very little else, yeah there is a fox shrine here or bamboo chopping thing there. But its all easily found on the world map and if you can't find it, a yellow bird will show up and guide you to it. Outside of that, there is nothing, there is no need to explore this game world because there is nothing there to find. In other open world games, they always give you reasons to explore. Take something like Red Dead Redemption 2 for example, an oddly shaped tree might mean treasure, or a random house might mean you discover someone has been creating abominations. I'm currently addicted to Breath of the Wild again and that game is always offering you something to find or do. Ghosts does none of that and the beautiful game world seems cold and empty and dead. For an island under attack, there seems to be very little going on. Where are the caravans of people fleeing there destroyed homes? Mongols transporting prisoners? Or just people moving around in general? Yeah, you might run into a group of 4 or 5 Mongols to fight every now and then, but that's it. In fact I don't think anyone leaves their settlements unless they're out on a mission with you. Again, it makes the world feel dead.
I have never been so bored playing a game as I have with this game. I got to the point of rescuing Jin's uncle and the game went "Sorry, your Mongol brute is in another castle" and I was done. I tried to play a bit more but I would turn the game on, look at the beautiful dead world, sigh and turn it off again 5 minutes later.
I think having the game broken up into semi open world levels would of suited the game so much better. You don't have to change much else. You have an objective to complete and you go about it any way you want. You and hack and slash your way in or sneak about. You can have shrines, bamboo chopping, haiku writing, all of it hidden in these levels. You can have the collectibles, you can even have the weather changing to be stormy the more dishonourable you are. But a more focused game in my opinion would of made for a better experience.
It's why I love Evil Within 2. In the sequel they will either improve on the open world or make it semi-open similar to God of War. You have your points and I understand, but I love exploring that island so much. It was really therapeutic for me getting lost in the world.
Well, the island is basically occupied after the intro.... people aren't fleeing because there is nowhere to flee. to. The Mongols have a blockade (that you break near the end of the game) on the water, so there is literally nothing to do but sit tight and hope the professionals work it out or someone comes from the mainland to see WTF is going on. And Jin and co, or Lord Shimura are the professionals in this case, who are doing things as part of the story, explaining why you don't bump into them faffing about elsewhere.
The obligatory collectibles are not the sole open world content, all the sidequests are accountable to that too, and would be lost if you just followed the through path of Jin+Uncle_Mongols.
As the collectible stuff goes, well, I can't say any open world game really has ever done a job of that. Hell, BotW is probably worse on that front because Nintendo these days feels the need to have x3000 of everything, and most of the Korok puzzles just repeat with little variance and over 3.4 of the shrines are either the same combat encounter or outright just a room saying thanks for coming. Collecathons work.... alrightish, in platforming/traversal games (like Mario Odyssey, Sunset Overdive, somewhat in inFamous, or The Pathless) where, but with simple walking/riding mechanics, not so much.
No they are not ALL of it, but they do make up a huge bulk of it. As someone who doesn't enjoy mindless collecting, it was especially noticeable how much was purely cosmetic. That was one of the big negatives for me with the game, as it felt really strange, to have so many ways to get the same type of item. I have a VERY low tolerance for "collectables for collecting's sake" type content, and much prefer it when the game actually incorporates it into the narrative. Where it's got a tangible benefit, either to the MC, or to the world. My favorite example of this, is the first inFamous game. There was a "find all the shard fragments" part to the game, and I loved it. Partly because they actually gave you a "pulse radar" ability with the minimap, so you could know when there was one nearby, though you still had to find it in the environment. But finding those fragments, actually benefited Cole. It gave him an expanded power bar, allowing him to sling around WAY more electricity by the end of the game. So it felt organic to the game, and was actually a productive use of my time.
In GoT, you just...find lots of headbands. Yay? Given the entire island is under lockdown, and resources are scarce (so much so that the currency is "supplies", assuming food), I would've much preferred collectable missions that centered around...I dunno, something to help the villagers? I mean that is Jin's driving motivation anyway, his sense of duty and love for his people. It's why he's willing to cross the line and use very bad tactics in war, to minimize the number of Tsushima deaths. So, why am I spending so much time picking up sword sheaths? And headbands? Seriously I have like 40 of them, I only have one head damnit! But a collectible quest where I find hidden food caches from a now dead smuggler, and tag them so that villagers can obtain them, and thus not starve? Perhaps expanding the various villages in some way? To show how you are helping to stabilize the region? That is way more up my alley.
Oh this could have been cool. "Another village needs your help Jin."
I mean if not done like Fallout 4 obviously. But still cool, maybe expand the side quests offered by villagers when you helped grow the village large enough. Or have those villagers provide the cosmetic rewards for saving them out in the world. You could return to a town having saved someone, only to find out they are a tailer or smith and they made you a collectible as a reward. This could make the "collecting" aspect more engaging because it's a reward for doing content rather than something you stumble upon, or by doing a challenge-less task.
Yeah, a collectible for each village I helped, would have way more meaning to me, than "Haiku Headband 27" Wearing the banner (a collectible in the game that is at least interesting for it's historical tidbits? But still ultimately just mindless gathering), of a village, where the quest for them was like, I dunno, fighting off a series of mongol hordes attacking. And I can wear it behind my armor, the tattered flag of their village, the survived the attack, and is now their symbol, given to Jin. That he can wear on the back of his armor, because you know, they did that shit back then. THAT would've been cool. Every time I saw it, I would think "oh yeah, that was that time I fought 30+ dudes, while the villagers joined in and helped with the combat, throwing rocks or cookery, or whatever. Good times."
I know I'm glad to wait a while on this one. I gave my original copy of the game to my brother so he could borrow it for a while. Plus, No More Heroes III comes out next Friday. I will be busy with that.
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This game is on the stylish action list now! I am not surprised!
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Stylish Action - TV Tropes
For some action heroes, it's not enough to just save the world; they've gotta look good doin' it. Stylish Action is a sub-genre of action video games that involves unrealistic combat and the fun that comes from learning how to create it. Its main …
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