OFFICIAL THREAD: Ghost of Tsushima

purbeast0

No Lifer
Sep 13, 2001
52,834
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Anyone else grabbing this on Friday? I'm going to head to Best Buy around opening and try to get the steelbook version but if not just the normal one.

I'm trying to avoid all reviews and videos about this so if you post any media in here, please don't spoil anything for people.
 

Aikouka

Lifer
Nov 27, 2001
30,383
912
126
I was originally a bit hesitant due to it looking like Assassin's Creed in Japan... which actually doesn't sound like the worst thing. Albeit, reviews have been fairly positive.
 

sze5003

Lifer
Aug 18, 2012
14,177
622
126
Yup I'm getting it Friday. My company is complaining for people to take PTO since most developers are all work from home. They know around November/December a flood of PTO will come in so I took off Friday.

I watched ACG and skill up review the game. The combat looks promising. Seems like a mix of nioh/sekiru but not as difficult. The enemies seem to get more difficult to fight as you get further in the game.

It doesn't seem like they just get more hp which in my book is good. They are saying the enemies as you progress have newer moves. It's got your typical clear this area side missions from what I've read but what open world game now doesn't have a set of repetitive side missions. I've heard the side stories here can be cool because they tell some story of lore.
 

Aikouka

Lifer
Nov 27, 2001
30,383
912
126
Anyone else grabbing this on Friday? I'm going to head to Best Buy around opening and try to get the steelbook version but if not just the normal one.

I was curious to see what comes in the different versions, and it looks like the Special Edition comes with a bonus that makes me raise a brow a bit...

"1 Technique Point"

I always get a bit wary at in-game upgrades (there appears to also be a "Charm of Hachiman’s Favor", but I don't know what that is). My guess is that this is something similar to a free talent point, which seems awkward to include in a fancy edition.
 

sze5003

Lifer
Aug 18, 2012
14,177
622
126
I was curious to see what comes in the different versions, and it looks like the Special Edition comes with a bonus that makes me raise a brow a bit...

"1 Technique Point"

I always get a bit wary at in-game upgrades (there appears to also be a "Charm of Hachiman’s Favor", but I don't know what that is). My guess is that this is something similar to a free talent point, which seems awkward to include in a fancy edition.
If it's charms, those can be found in game through exploring. They offer some stat increase like defense/attack, health, etc. Fightingcowboy on YouTube did a getting started video on the game and he says all the charms you basically have to explore the world to find. Kind of difficult to know where each one is so it's not so cut and dry like go here and find it. They usually are off the beaten path.

Technique points are just different portions of your skill tree you can upgrade. There are several techniques to upgrade and these aren't anything special blocked behind a pay wall either.
 

Aikouka

Lifer
Nov 27, 2001
30,383
912
126
If it's charms, those can be found in game through exploring. They offer some stat increase like defense/attack, health, etc. Fightingcowboy on YouTube did a getting started video on the game and he says all the charms you basically have to explore the world to find. Kind of difficult to know where each one is so it's not so cut and dry like go here and find it. They usually are off the beaten path.

Technique points are just different portions of your skill tree you can upgrade. There are several techniques to upgrade and these aren't anything special blocked behind a pay wall either.

My problem is that we're talking about in-game items with an effect on gameplay that are locked to editions that cost more. The only benefit of the $70 Limited Edition is the steelbook and those two in-game items as every other bonus comes with the $60 early edition (but not the $60 standard edition if you buy in late).

In general, it's a dubious practice that I feel a bit uncomfortable supporting. Although, I'm pretty sure so few people would care enough to avoid the game for such a thing that it wouldn't matter either anyway.
 

sze5003

Lifer
Aug 18, 2012
14,177
622
126
My problem is that we're talking about in-game items with an effect on gameplay that are locked to editions that cost more. The only benefit of the $70 Limited Edition is the steelbook and those two in-game items as every other bonus comes with the $60 early edition (but not the $60 standard edition if you buy in late).

In general, it's a dubious practice that I feel a bit uncomfortable supporting. Although, I'm pretty sure so few people would care enough to avoid the game for such a thing that it wouldn't matter either anyway.
Yea I understand but charms or technique points are not things that are locked to editions of the game. You get technique points by just playing the game and the charms you find by exploring regardless of what version of the game you buy.

The only upside to the special edition I guess is you start off with that one charm that may take me a couple of day to find if I really want to go for it.

There's no multiplayer so I look at like oh this person got a skin I don't have, but it's not like I'll know about it or see it since there is no multiplayer.

I guess personally I have never had the need or want to get anything other than a standard edition of any video game in my existence. But I see how it could be upsetting to others.
 

purbeast0

No Lifer
Sep 13, 2001
52,834
5,713
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It looks like the "launch" edition is only for preorders? At least on Best Buy's site it's no longer available only standard edition. I'm still gonna just run to the store tomorrow at 10am and see if I can get the SE and if not get whatever I can get for $60.
 

sze5003

Lifer
Aug 18, 2012
14,177
622
126
Yea mine says launch edition but I ordered it on July 13th which I'll go pick up tomorrow morning. Didn't realize it's a preorder thing.
 

Aikouka

Lifer
Nov 27, 2001
30,383
912
126
Yea I understand but charms or technique points are not things that are locked to editions of the game. You get technique points by just playing the game and the charms you find by exploring regardless of what version of the game you buy.

Oh, I'm not trying to suggest that they're all locked behind the fancier edition, but rather, you get a leg-up compared to other players simply because you paid a bit more. I guess you could say that it just feels a little scummy. I kind of expect this sort of thing from a company like 2K.

It looks like the "launch" edition is only for preorders? At least on Best Buy's site it's no longer available only standard edition. I'm still gonna just run to the store tomorrow at 10am and see if I can get the SE and if not get whatever I can get for $60.

Here's the direct link... does it work for you? I was able to add it to my cart.
 

purbeast0

No Lifer
Sep 13, 2001
52,834
5,713
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Here's the direct link... does it work for you? I was able to add it to my cart.
I have a "find a store" and have it at some places like 20 minutes away but I'm not driving anywhere other than the one down the street. It's not that big of a deal to me. And I want to try and get the SE in store before getting the launch/standard edition.

The other day I could add it to my cart and when I went to pick in store pickup, which was an option, it gave me an error saying it was not in stock. It was acting very strange on like Tuesday or so when I tried at different times throughout the day.
 

Aikouka

Lifer
Nov 27, 2001
30,383
912
126
I have a "find a store" and have it at some places like 20 minutes away but I'm not driving anywhere other than the one down the street. It's not that big of a deal to me. And I want to try and get the SE in store before getting the launch/standard edition.

The other day I could add it to my cart and when I went to pick in store pickup, which was an option, it gave me an error saying it was not in stock. It was acting very strange on like Tuesday or so when I tried at different times throughout the day.

I figured that I could always "upgrade" a pre-order if there's the fancy box in the store.

In regard to steelbooks, it can be surprising how much value they hold after purchase, but it really depends on the game/movie. I remember considering the Avengers Endgame steelbook, and when I checked the price on the Infinity War steelbook, it was still going for $40+ on eBay. On the flip side, when I checked a few other (UHD) steelbooks that I have (such as Baby Driver), they weren't worth as much.
 

purbeast0

No Lifer
Sep 13, 2001
52,834
5,713
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I figured that I could always "upgrade" a pre-order if there's the fancy box in the store.

In regard to steelbooks, it can be surprising how much value they hold after purchase, but it really depends on the game/movie. I remember considering the Avengers Endgame steelbook, and when I checked the price on the Infinity War steelbook, it was still going for $40+ on eBay. On the flip side, when I checked a few other (UHD) steelbooks that I have (such as Baby Driver), they weren't worth as much.
Yeah I'm not concerned about the resale value or anything, I just think they look cool lol. It's really a waste of $10 if I think about it and if they had an SE and I opted to save $10 to not get it, I'd be over it by the time I got to my car lol.
 

Aikouka

Lifer
Nov 27, 2001
30,383
912
126
Yeah I'm not concerned about the resale value or anything, I just think they look cool lol. It's really a waste of $10 if I think about it and if they had an SE and I opted to save $10 to not get it, I'd be over it by the time I got to my car lol.

For me, it usually comes down to the art. Sometimes, the art on the steelbook is a lot nicer looking, and other times, it's... well... not. Although, they also used to leave the back flap loose after opening it, which I was never a fan of. However, they seem to glue the back flap to the steelbook now, which is nice.
 

EXCellR8

Diamond Member
Sep 1, 2010
3,979
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Gonna let you guys play it a bit before I jump in. It's kind of seeming a lot more generic than I was envisioning; there's a lot of complaints about the "dullness" of some aspects. Basically, the consensus is that it's good, with plenty to do, but sells itself short in some regard--which is a shame. Certainly still considering it, though.

Comparing it to Horizon Zero Dawn, which might be unfair, it kind of looks and feels sterile.
 
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Saylick

Diamond Member
Sep 10, 2012
3,084
6,184
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Gonna let you guys play it a bit before I jump in. It's kind of seeming a lot more generic than I was envisioning; there's a lot of complaints about the "dullness" of some aspects. Basically, the consensus is that it's good, with plenty to do, but sells itself short in some regard--which is a shame. Certainly still considering it, though.

Comparing it to Horizon Zero Dawn, which might be unfair, it kind of looks and feels sterile.
LOL. I'm pretty much in the same boat. If Ghost of Tsushima came out 2-3 years ago I'd probably own it by now, but there's been so many great PS4 games that came out already that this game just feels underwhelming. I'm in that "Just give me PS5 games already!" mindset. As an aside, I am aware that The Last of Us came out at the tail end of the PS3 generation too but it's easier to give leeway to ND than it is for Sucker Punch, and I think most can agree that Ghost of Tsushima ain't TLOU.
 

purbeast0

No Lifer
Sep 13, 2001
52,834
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You wouldn't own it by now because it's not out yet :)

And I hope it's not like HZD really because I have tried to play that game twice now and stopped after about 3 hours both times. I wasn't sucked into it and I don't really like all the crap you have to do/control in the game. I'm sure I'll give it another go at some point.

In the first 3 hours I played HZD I actually thought that game felt super generic with forgettable characters just because of the voice acting and facial animations and the way the characters interact. Something about it just seemed very off and I just couldn't get sucked in to it. I don't even remember anyones name other than Aloy. Now granted, it was only 3 hours so keep that in mind lol. That probably has a lot to do with that.
 

sze5003

Lifer
Aug 18, 2012
14,177
622
126
HZD's story did nothing for me. I got near the end but never finished it. Forgot why I stopped playing it but I'm pretty sure I had like 1-2 main missions to go. I also think I didn't have much else to do back then.

I did keep playing because I liked the different type of animals or bots that you had to take down. The weapons were cool too and you had to use different techniques for each guy. I agree that it was a lot of stuff to take control of. Now it's too old for me to go back to because I won't remember all the controls and I'd have to get used to the gameplay style again.
 

purbeast0

No Lifer
Sep 13, 2001
52,834
5,713
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Went to Best Buy at 10:10am today and they had like 2 copies of Ghosts of Tsushima standard edition left. I was lucky to even get one lol. No SE for me and I was over it before I checked out.
 

Aikouka

Lifer
Nov 27, 2001
30,383
912
126
I took a look at my local Best Buy, and they had no copies left. Also, I received an e-mail stating that my pre-order was taking longer to prepare and that I had to wait for the e-mail to pick it up. My guess is that either they're swamped with pre-orders, or they simply don't have enough copies to satisfy all allocated pre-orders.

I also took a peek at Target, and the only Target (according to their online site) that has a copy is about 20 miles away. This makes me wonder if the game had constrained manufacturing from the pandemic and just didn't get enough copies made.
 

purbeast0

No Lifer
Sep 13, 2001
52,834
5,713
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I'm like 45 mins into Ghost of Tsushima. So far I'm liking it. I started with Japanese voice and English subtitles but I decided to turn it off because there is a lot of dialog while playing, and it's hard to focus on what you have to do and look down. Also the mouths not matching the Japanese audio did not bother me since I was looking at the text as they spoke. I'm going to try it out in English for a bit and see how I like it.
 

sze5003

Lifer
Aug 18, 2012
14,177
622
126
I played about 20-30 min so far. I don't know if the patch installed yet because I did notice the characters in cutscenes sometimes appear blurry when not directly in front of them. Like if the scene moves to show a side view or something, I do see some blurriness. Checked the settings and it is set on resolution mode on my LG C8 with HDR on.

I guess while I'm playing last of us 2 at the same time, the graphics and animations are hard to get used to now in this game.

The combat is interesting, it's not just hack and slash, you actually need to know your enemies and when a block or heavy attack is required vs a party or a dodge. I like that you can't just mash buttons.

So far I really like the combat but I drastically need to get better. I like that the health needs to be watched too. You can easily die in a couple of hits if not careful.

It's odd that you use one action button for everything and overall some of the animations could use more polish. Perhaps the cutscene animations being a bit blurry when not head on was the only thing that bothered me.

10 minutes in I was notified the patch was installed so maybe when I reboot the game it could help clear that up.
 

purbeast0

No Lifer
Sep 13, 2001
52,834
5,713
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I didn't notice any blurriness. I am not playing with HDR though as my projector does not support it. I am assuming the patch installed because I didn't see anything when I started the game up. But I did install the game like 90 minutes before starting it and just kept my PS4 on while it installed and my son played Mario Odyssey.

And yeah it definitely doesn't look as good as TLOU2 but I'm not surprised. It still looks fantastic thus far.
 

purbeast0

No Lifer
Sep 13, 2001
52,834
5,713
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I got about 3 hours into it. I'm really liking it thus far. I hope it keeps being this awesome. The random encounters and mongol bases you run into are fun. I hope they don't get old.
 

sze5003

Lifer
Aug 18, 2012
14,177
622
126
I think I have an issue just exploring every ? area on the map. It's a lot of fun to use the wind to figure out where to go.

This is actually a pretty refreshing concept although it takes me a while to actually figure out where to go. I like that you have a distance meter in the top left to tell you how far you have left to travel.

I took out a small Mongol post and already died several times. Found a new set of swords too but I can't tell if they are better than my current set.

I think I'm supposed to do the main story but I've just been riding the horse around exploring like crazy. I hope it doesn't fatigue me soon. At the same time I don't know if I'm supposed to be in an area or not, which is probably why I died so many times despite there not being any level to the enemies. It's definitely a beautiful world to ride through and enjoy.