Essays 18 December 2020, 18:00

The Best PS4 Exclusives - Absolute Must-play List!

Exes, exclusives – they often determine which console we buy. In this generation, by far the most interesting titles of this type were available on Sony PlayStation 4 – and we chose the best of them.

7. Ghost of Tsushima

What's that about? About samurai, the conflict between honor and efficiency, beautiful Japanese landscapes, creating haiku, and petting foxes.

In all the lists of the most interesting periods and historical places in which the action of the next installment of the Assassin's Creed series could take place, feudal Japan has long occupied the leading position. Despite the strong interest of players in the topics of samurai, bushido, and ninjutsu, which seemed to fit perfectly with the formula of the popular series, Ubisoft was still delayed with the transfer of the war with the Knights Templar to the Asian soil. Ubisoft waited long enough so that finally the topic was "picked up" by the Sucker Punch Productions studio, known for creating the inFamous series. And created a game at least as good, and according to many people even better than the best installments of Assassin's Creed.

Ghost of Tsushima takes players to the thirteenth century, to the eponymous island of Tsushima, which becomes the first target of a powerful Mongol invasion. A small group of local samurai faces the overwhelming forces of the invaders and despite a heroic struggle eventually are defeated. The island is overrun by nomads, but it turns out that Jin Sakai, one of the samurai, survived the massacre. After licking his wounds, he decides to stop the invaders. However, he quickly learns that the honorable methods of combat that have been instilled in him throughout his life do not work against a clever enemy. In order to win, he must defy his own rules.

Developed by Sucker Punch, the title does not strive for great originality – in the game, players will find quite typical for open-world game activities such as looking for collectibles and completing simple side quests. However, this is not a big problem, because the gameplay mechanics turn out to be perfectly designed, and the world is fabulously plastic, coherent, and encourages exploration. To face the challenges we are interested in, we do not chase the markers, we just have to follow the direction of the wind, which will lead us to the destination. Every hill can hide beautiful views and every sunset is memorable. Side activities fit perfectly into the game world and its atmosphere, making you follow the mythical foxes in search of hidden shrines, relax in hot springs, and create haiku.

When it comes to combat, we can feel like a great samurai and challenge enemies to an open duel, resolved with a single, perfect cut. Or become the eponymous "ghost" and quietly eliminate opponents with an arsenal of tools that Hattori Hanzo would not be ashamed of. Ghost of Tsushima is not a revolutionary game. But it polishes mechanics befitting this genre almost to perfection, adding to it an oriental touch.

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7. Ghost of Tsushima