Ghost Of Tsushima REVIEW: 7 Ups & 2 Downs

Downs...

2. Exploration Sometimes Lacks Achievement

Ghost of Tsushima Fox Den
Sony Interactive Entertainment

However, even though Tsushima having a lot of things to do is undoubtedly great in terms of getting more bang for your buck, the density of content can prove off-putting after a while.

When Tsushima's environmental cues work, they really work. There's nothing quite like following a fox to honour a nearby shrine, and then to pet said fox, or following a bird to a nearby onsen or bamboo post to strengthen your sword arm. It's just that sometimes with the sheer amount of content on offer, it can prove difficult to get a peaceful thought; you'll be following your best mate, the fox, to a nearby shrine, only to rescue a peasant and then trigger another side mission, all the while your other friend, the bird, will be nagging you to go somewhere else.

There've been plenty of occasions while playing the game where I've set out to do a side mission I've been neglecting, only to encounter another one on the way there and get distracted. Meanwhile, in the process of actually doing said mission, I'll encounter a fox or bird or other environmental cue and feel compelled to go ahead and stop everything and follow them. This is without actually doing much exploration, so that sense of achievement sort of gets lost in translation.

Players are sure to appreciate the wealth of content Tsushima has to offer, but the sheer density of tales available can be frustrating to navigate.

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Content Producer/Presenter

WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well. In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.