Platform: PS5
16th century Japan, the middle of the Mongol invasion. Samurai Jin Sakai has lost everything – his family, his standing, and perhaps worst of all, his honour. As the Mongol horde dominates his once-idyllic island home of Tsushima, Jin is forced to go underground, fighting back against the invaders from the shadows.
If that sounds familiar, that’s because Ghost of Tsushima: Director's Cut doesn't really change anything about the basic scenario of the game. It is, by and large, the same brilliant open-world stealth-'em-up that graced the PS4 a year ago.
However, the Director's Cut stands out on a couple of fronts. One is technological, with the remaster making full use of the PS5's power to deliver somewhat improved visuals. "Somewhat" may not be quite the eye-popping experience some players may have been hoping for, but Ghost of Tsushima was already a beautiful looking game. Here, developer Sucker Punch offers two graphical modes – one focusing on maintaining a 60fps frame rate for a smoother journey across Tsushima, albeit with the same 'checkerboard' approach of the original release running on PS4 Pro, and one prioritising a higher 2160p resolution to deliver something closer to true 4K.
Ultimately, Ghost of Tsushima: Director's Cut offers more of the same – but in the best way.
The benefit of either mode is, of course, dependent on you having a good enough TV to benefit from the visual tweaks, but for those who do, this release takes a game that was already one of the prettiest players would see last year, and makes it even more of a treat for the eyes.
Other benefits include more immersive haptic responses through the PS5's DualSense. The controller's advanced motors make the gallop of Jin's horse pulse through your grip, or send a jolt with every clash of blades. The haptics even enhance more subtle elements of the game, such as the gusts of breeze that serve as directional guides almost feeling like they're wisping through your hands, or the pounding of Jin's heart beating in your palms as enemies come close to discovering his hiding spot. It all pulls you even deeper into Jin's world.
One aspect that will likely stand out to fans of the sort of samurai cinema that inspired Ghost of Tsushima is that the Director's Cut finally delivers a full and accurate lip sync to the Japanese dub. It's a small touch, but one where its absence felt like an oversight in the original release – especially when it boasted a "Kurosawa mode" filter but had characters' lip-flap animation was mapped to the English audio.
The other big stand out is the new Iki Island location, exclusive to this version of the game. Accessible from Act 2 of the main story, the expansion takes Jin to a whole new island to face a very different type of Mongol threat – the chief antagonist being a clan leader called the Eagle, who prefers to use poisons, potions, and mysticism to prey upon enemies. Compared to the brutish tanks who take over Tsushima, the Eagle is far more of a mirror to the surreptitious role that Jin himself has adopted in the main game.
There's also more narrative focus on Jin himself, and his legacy. Between two new Mythic Tales to play through, one dealing with the Sakai family's heritage, and some very introspective moments, the journey across Iki Island will likely leave players with a deeper understanding of Jin Sakai than ever before.
Mechanically, the Director's Cut adds a few new features – chiefly a few new skills for Jin to learn on Iki Island, and a new lock-on feature for combat – but, as with the visuals, the foundations from the PS4 release were already solid. Sucker Punch hasn't had to drastically revamp anything, as what was already there largely already worked.
Ultimately, Ghost of Tsushima: Director's Cut offers more of the same – but in the best way. What was already one of the best games of 2020 is simply elevated further here, making it the definitive edition of a samurai saga for the ages. If that isn't enough to tempt players back to Tsushima, the fact that Jin can now find animal sanctuaries and pet wild monkeys just might do the trick. A modern masterpiece.