possibly the best implementation of a story driven open world game to-date, in the same vein as assassins creed. ghosts of tsushima hits every beat. Its story is very compelling and combat very good, but the stealth could've used a bit more nuance considering how integral it is to the plot. this game is a really good capstone to the ps4 era, but only it's stance system feels new. the rest of this game feels like something I've played before, albeit with much better presentation than any assassins creed game I've ever played. overall, very solid, but not groundbreaking.

People praise this game for going back to the old JRPG formula but don't recognize why we moved away from that formula in the first place. The combat system is interesting and compelling but unfortunately just drags too much to be consistently interesting. The stories of these characters range from mildly interesting to incredibly boring, and the lack of party interactions is very disappointing. This game is begging for a sequel that solves all these problems and the foundation is cool, but it's just too boring to see through to completion for me, especially when it's competition is games like Persona 5 who take this foundation and fix its problems in new and interesting ways.

definitive stealth game with intricately designed levels and environments that not only feel real (at least when the AI isn't goofy) but feel amazing to plan through, manipulate, and control to get the perfect kill. or just run away and adapt if things go south. this game allows everyone to have their own personal way of completing the mission while also rewarding breaking out of your comfort zone and trying a different approach. with all the content of the previous two games and ioi's history of continued support, this is a game i see myself continuing to enjoy for a while.