It was only a matter of time until Ghost of Tsushima received a PS5 upgrade, the game was released so close to the launch of the system, it was honestly surprising that there wasn’t a PS5 version right away. Sure there was an FPS boost for running the PS4 version on PS5, but nothing substantial. Well, here we are a little over a year after release and we finally have a massive substantial update, in the Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut! Bringing the Island of Tsushima to the PS5, but also a large expansion set on the new Iki Island! But the question remains, with the power of the PS5 how do you update possibly one of the most beautiful games ever released?
Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut
Developer: Sucker Punch
Price: $70 USD
Platform: PS4, PS5
The answer? Not much.
The somewhat sad, but honest truth is that the PS5 version of Ghost of Tsushima doesn’t bring too much to graphically updating the game. There’s some lighting changes, upgraded textures, smoother framerate, and the game runs at native true 4k now. Making the overall experience much smoother compared to playing it on my base PS4. Unlike Spider-Man: Miles Morales there just isn’t a substantial graphical difference between the two versions. No fancy bells and whistles like Ray Tracing. But here’s the good news, it doesn’t really need it.
Like I said earlier, Ghost of Tsushima is possibly one of the most beautiful games ever made. You can check out my review of the base game for more on that. So, even with the minimal upgrades, it looks amazing. Riding your horse out into a massive field of flowers is still jaw dropping. You can still spend hours taking pictures of Jin in various armors living out your Samurai photographer fantasies. It’s a true testament to Sucker Punch’s art direction that the game looks as good as it does and didn’t really need that much of an upgrade to look “Next Gen.” It feels like getting a new graphics card and getting to play the game on Ultra rather than just High.
Experience hot springs in 4k 60fps action
Other major addition to the PS5 version is Dualsense. If you have a PS5, Dualsense capabilities are one of the most hit or miss aspects of the console. When they’re done right, they’re incredibly immersive and one of the coolest things about the console, when done poorly, it just feels like extra rumble and work. Thankfully, for Ghost, the Dualsense capabilities are probably the best outside of Astro’s Playroom. They really just went above and beyond with it. You feel everything from the clash of swords to cats purring. They even went as far as to put in the feeling of your horse’s footsteps that change depending on what kind of terrain it’s walking on. It feels incredible and is honestly one of the greatest sells for both this upgrade and DualSense as a whole.
Your horse gets some deadly upgrades
But enough about the PS5 version, Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut also came to PS4 with a whole slew of new features there too. The biggest of which is: Iki Island. Iki Island is a large expansion to the main game set on an Island near Tsushima where a separate branch of the Mongol invasion force is trying to take it over. Unlike the force that attacked Tsushima, they’re attacking psychologically as well as traditional raids. Breaking the minds of the Island’s people with some kind of poison. Upon finding out about this, Jin obviously decides to travel to the island and deal with them the way he knows best: fear inspiring slaughter.
Iki Island is simply more Ghost, but it brings in a few new elements to spice everything up. There are new enemy shamans that perform a chat that buffs all nearby enemies. New collectibles and minigames, like a fighting ring and archery challenges, and my personal favorite: animal shrines, where the reward is petting the various animals of Iki Island. The absolute delight that comes with petting a monkey cannot be overstated.
Honestly the best part of the expansion
Arguably the best part of Iki Island is the story. It works almost like a thesis statement to the overall themes of Ghost. It takes a more critical look at how most common people actually see the Samurai, the separation between the warlike mentality of the Shogunate and regular people just trying to live their lives. Which drives home thematic points the main game tried to say but didn’t have the time or breathing room to do so. Iki Island also tackles the troubled history between Jin and his father. How this history led him to take on the mentality he now has and how his clan affected Iki Island and beyond. It’s one of the rare expansions that elevates the main plot of the game and works really well whether you’ve finished the game or are in the middle of it.
In addition to all of this they also made a beautiful new map that somehow feels completely different then Tsushima. Full of new biomes like a purple wisteria forest, fields of gorgeous flowers, and new tropical and rocky biomes. If you spent a lot of time in photo mode before, get read to dump even more time into it.
That sticky Iki
This is just the tip of the iceberg of new content. There’s also dozens of quality of life changes like multiple control styles, target lock on, and the much requested Japanese lip sync for maximum immersion. This is on top of an expanded multiplayer experience, and dozens of new cosmetic items in both modes. It’s just a completely full featured upgrade, and that can’t be overstated.
The Final Word
Overall, Ghost of Tsushima: Director’s Cut is well worth the price for Iki Island alone. It adds dozens of hours of new content that elevates everything that came before it and gives you more of what you already like. Whether you’re playing the game for the first time or are hopping back in, it’s an excellent expansion to an already great game. And you get to pet monkeys and cats now, what’s not to love?
– MonsterVine Rating: 4 out of 5 – Good
