Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut Upgrades, New Trophies and Features

Ghost of Tsushima Director’s cut is sort of an extension to the PS4 exclusive title, Ghost of Tsushima. The Sucker Punch game was one of the best games of 2020. This samurai epic was able to live up to its expectations and was successful in delivering an action-packed game. So, it must not have been surprising for people to see the PS4 exclusive by Sucker Punch to make a comeback for one last adventure in the form of Ghost of Tsushima: Director’s Cut. If you are planning to play the game then you must know that this expanded version of the original game features a new island, storyline, and cool, PlayStation 5-exclusive features. The least to say, the original game was already a very close to achieving perfection, and Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut takes it to a different level altogether.

Since the game has been announced the price of Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut has raised a controversy and some confusion. If you don’t own the 2020 launched Ghost of Tsushima, then for your information, the cost of PS4 version is $59.99 and PS5 version is $69.99. If you wish to upgrade the standard PS4 version to the PS4’s Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut it will cost you $19.99, whereas upgrading from the standard PS4 version to the PS5’s Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut costs $9.99. Collective upgrades costs $29.99 on PS5.

Ghost of Tsushima Overview

The plot of Ghost of Tsushima happens to take place during the timeline of the first Mongol invasion of Japan. The game is Set on the Japanese island of Tsushima, and the story revolves around a samurai named Jin Sakai who is on a quest to liberate his island and people from the Mongolian invaders. In order to achieve that Jin Sakai makes alliances with various people and individuals, some of which may have personal interests and not concerned about the Tsushima island or whole Japan itself. Ghost of Tsushima seems to have drawn inspiration from some of the greatest samurai films such as Ran, Seven Samurai, 13 Assassins, and Yojimbo.

If you are a kind of player who likes to play the game at hardest level and just want to smash your enemies then you surely can expect yourself not proceeding in the game after a certain point. Since this game aspires to make you feel like a samurai, it expects you to be patient. In almost all enemy encounters, it’s best to wait for foes to strike first. Timing plays a very important role during the combat in this game. If you are successfully able to time your counter, dodge or parry attacks, it shall leave enemies open to strike. A perfect dodge followed by a counterattack kills multiple enemies in a single strike. You might feel a different kick if you successfully pull off a perfect dodge.

Apart from that there are four samurai stances in the game. Based on the kind of enemy you are fighting you might have to change your stance. You will be unlocking these stances as you proceed in the game. Sometimes you may get involved in a combat where facing different enemies require different stances. Changing your stance mid-battle is essential for defeating the four main enemy types. Stone stance is Jin Sakai’s standard form, and it works best against swordsmen. To fight against men with shields you will need Water Stance. To counter the lethal attacks of spearmen you will require wind stance. Finally, the rigid Moon stance cuts down even the toughest brutes. At first you might find it difficult to switch between stances mid-fight, and may choose to stick to just one stance, but as your move forward in the game and combats gets difficult, you will have to learn to change stance during combat to fight against different kinds of enemies.

The duels in this game are its biggest highlights. You may come across different groups of foes and challenge them while exploring the open world of the game. Once you issue a challenge, you and a single foe come face to face in your respective stances. The key here is waiting for your enemy to strike and time the counter. They’ll sometimes flinch or yell to trick you into attacking first. If you do, you’ll suffer severe damage when they attack. Eventually, you’ll chain-kill up to five enemies during duels. The most amazing thing about these duels is that they never become repetitive no matter how many times you engage in them. One can play this game on loop just for those duels.

Although there are some other weapons as well but your main and only weapon is the Sakai Storm Katana. Despite that you may not feel there is a dearth of weapon variation. It is because of the vast array of combos you’ll unlock as you proceed in the game. Bows, kunai, darts, and various bombs supplement your main weapon, and give you a tactical advantage.

Killing enemies and completing main and sub-quests nets you experience points. Gain enough experience, and you’ll earn skill points. Skill points unlock new attacks, such as combos, weapons, and techniques. Some of the most useful skills involve lengthening the parry window or regenerating health upon successful kills. There’s no customization to speak of with regards to skills. Still, by the end of the game, you’ll gain enough experience and skill points to unlock every attribute possible.

Honed Skills

Charms, obtained by completing side quests, augment your stats in several ways. Defense, melee, ranged, stealth, and utility charms have many benefits, including restoring health, increasing damage dealt, hastening arrow nocking speed, and reducing enemy detection. You will be able to make customization in Jin Sakai because of these Charms. For example, Charms emphasizing stealth and chain assassinations are great for raiding forts unseen. A combination of strength and parry-enhancing charms help you take on overwhelming numbers. You can make Jin virtually unstoppable with the right charms in place.

You’ll be able to upgrade your weapons and outfit at merchant shops using upgrade materials found scattered throughout Tsushima. Items, such as bamboo, wood, leather, silk, flowers, iron, and gold, emit an obvious glow that makes it easier to see them even from a distance. Upgrading is a straightforward affair, requiring only the requisite number of upgrade materials. You also needn’t worry about branching upgrade paths. There’s only one track to follow within the upgrade menu for whatever you need improved. Enemies become harder as the game progresses, so you’ll want to ensure your sword is strong and your armor is tough.

Side Quests

Apart from the main story, there are numerous side quests known as Tales of Tsushima. These mostly consist of teaming up with allies, foes and rivals, and fight against mutual enemies and help them resolve their personal struggles. Side quests contributes an extra depth to the narrative of the game, and allows you to explore and see how different groups and clans on Tsushima island are dealing with Mongol invasion.

Mythic Tales are one-on-one duels against deadly warriors. These combats and battles best showcases the influence the creators of Ghost of Tsushima had of the classic Samurai films. You’ll receive these quests from different people such as wandering musicians in villages or ruined battlefields. You will find most of these targets in remotely secluded areas, such a deep caverns or impossibly high mountain peaks, allowing you to explore the open world even more. Each warrior you encounter has distinguishable techniques, weapons, and armors that you can make yours once claim victory over these warriors. In a way, it’s in your best interest to complete Mythic Tales whenever you find them.

Like most other open-world games, Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut also includes collectibles. You can find them in the form of fox dens, Shinto shrines, Mongol artifacts, Sashimono banners, lighthouses, and other items. Rewards for snatching collectibles include status-boosting charms, headbands, and dyes and kits to customize your outfit and sword. However, locating these collectibles is a bit dicey, as some people might like doing it and some people might find the process too tedious.

Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut: Iki Island

If you’ve had keen interest in history, you might be aware that apart from to Tsushima, another Japanese island, known as the Iki Island was also invaded by the Mongols during the same time period. You would be really excited to learn that you would be able to explore a whole new chapter in Jin’s journey that will take place on Iki Island in Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut. In this new story, Jin travels to Iki island to investigate rumors of a Mongol presence. But soon, he finds himself caught up in events with deeply personal stakes that will force him to relive some traumatic moments from his past.

We’ll have more to share about the story of Iki soon, but today we can confirm that beyond a whole new story and new characters, this new island also features tons of new content including brand new environments to explore, new armor for Jin as well as his horse, new mini-games, new techniques, new enemy types, and much more. There are even new animals to pet!

On both platforms, Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut will also offer new Trophies to unlock for the new Iki Island content.

Co-Op Gameplay

Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut offers three different modes: Legends, the game’s online, co-op mode. Instead of playing as Jin, you’ll play as a literal ghost of Tsushima who fights demons and spirits in an underworld based on Japanese mythology. The two core modes include a co-op story for one to two players, and also a Survival mode for up to four players. You’ll also get to play the tale of lyo, which is a raid mode, and concludes the Legends’ story.

Legends mode features four character classes: Samurai, Assassins, Hunters, and Ronin. Samurai are front-line fighters that control similarly to Jin, whereas Nimble Assassins strike hard, fast, and can even teleport across the battlefield. Hunters on the other hand are the game’s long-range warriors, who attack from a distant location with a variety of deadly arrows. Finally, Ronin ensure the team’s survival thanks to their healing abilities.

The story mode is a comparatively short. The co-op mode filled with beautiful landscapes and formidable enemies. You could play this mode solo, though we’ll recommend to play this mode with another player. Combining strategies to defeat enemies ads a different excitement to the gameplay.

Survival mode is Legends’ heart. You and up to three other players defend locations from waves of increasingly difficult enemies. You’re free to play with random folks, but it’s better to gather a solid group of friends to execute tactics. Your team composition should include each of the aforementioned character classes. You do not want to lack a healing Ronin when things get tense.

PlayStation 5 Exclusive Features 

Although, players will be able to experience the content of Iki island in Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut both on PS4 and PS5 , there are few new and exclusive features for PlayStation 5.

A lot of people were dissatisfied with the Japanese lip sync in the original version of Ghost of Tsushima, and the creators have worked hard on fixing this issue in the new Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut. Thanks to the PS5’s ability to render cinematics in real time, cutscenes in Ghost of Tsushima and on Iki Island on PS5 will now offer lip sync for Japanese voice over.

Another fantastic upgrade is that Ghost of Tsushima, Ghost of Tsushima: Legends, and the new Iki Island expansion will be powered by haptic feedback and adaptive triggers in Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut. Needless to say that there will be major improvements and enhancements to 3D audio on PS5, as well as faster load times, 4K resolution options along with framerates targeting 60 FPS.

Transferring your progress

If you already own Ghost of Tsushima on PS4, you’ll be able to transfer your save to PS5 to pick up where you left off. For new players, the new Iki Island content will be available beginning in Act 2 of Ghost of Tsushima, after you’ve made your way to the Toyotama region.

Other updates

Alongside the Director’s Cut, anyone who already owns Ghost of Tsushima will be able to download a patch containing some new updates. Once again, many of these updates are directly thanks to the constant stream of feedback you’ve been providing us since launch, which we’re extremely appreciative of.

All players will receive a patch with some new accessibility options for alternate controller layouts, as well as the option to enable a target lock-on during combat. And for the person who tweets at us all the time asking for an option to hide your quiver during gameplay: yes, we’ll be adding that, too! 

Finally, for Ghost of Tsushima: Legends fans, we’ll also be releasing some new updates, including an all-new mode that we’re excited to detail in the weeks to come. All Ghost of Tsushima: Legends*** updates will be available at no additional charge to owners of any version of Ghost of Tsushima on either platform. 

Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut has been launched on August 20 for $69.99 USD on PS5 and $59.99 USD on PS4.