Wow i didn't expect to enjoy this as much as I did.

Ghost of Tsushima isn't a groundbreaking openworld game, but it is REALLY REALLY fun :3

Easily the weakest aspect of this game is it's story. While I wouldn't call it bad, it is very bland. The game has the pieces to a good story with Jin's weakening honor, his quest for revenge, and his pursuit to free his people, but it doesn't say much with any of this. The acting is pretty much the same. Very serviceable, with only a few stand out moments.

But the gameplay? That's a whooole 'nother story.

While exploration is also kind weak, that is wear the faults of this game end. Ghost Of Tushima's traversal is actually really fun. Sure it's not groundbreaking or anything. It doesnt come close to a game like TOTK, or Spiderman 2, but it's much better than GOW or FF7 remake.

While riding your horse, running, jumping, and climbing are all ok, it's how these aspects mix together with the grappling hook that really make things fun.

There's these optional shrines that can give you a strong charm if you complete lengthy platforming puzzle. And while I found little use for most of the shrines (since most of them just give minor stat upgrades), I'd still do the shrines because of how much fun it was to jump, climb, and swing around. :D

My only problem with the grappling hook is that the game barely takes advantage of it, so ends up feeling missed potential. Sure there's a few enemy camps, and Iki island puzzles where you can do some cool platforming, but I would've liked more.

Combat is fucking FIREEE thooo. Sure it's not as crazy as something like Bayonetta or DMC, but it's still really fun :3

The game really shines when it gives you an enemy camp, and says "Go". Ghost of Tushima gives you soooo manyyy options to kill your enemies. You can stab them, blow them up, shoot them, assassinate them, trample them with your horse, and sooo much more.

The boss fights in the game are pretty great too! Again, they aren't insane, and they do take away all of your combat tools other than your sword, but I didn't mind that. Ghost of Tsushima's combat system is honestly strong enough to make pure sword fights really fun.

You can get pretty fancy with you combos if you know what you're doing, and mixing up your attacks on a boss with a Ghost stance, or a dance of wrath never got old.

Oh, also the clothing in this game is FIIIIREEEEEEE
THANK U SUCKER PUNCH FOR GIVING JIN SO MUCH SAUCE

"I guess no matter how hard you try, you can’t escape your past..."

God this one hit hard.

While I have yet to play The Last Of Us Part 2, or the first game before, this game's story has been unmissable due to its impact on internet culture. Hell even though I spoiled myself many years ago and watched Markiplier's play-through of the game, it still managed to hit so fucking hard.

To start, the game is incredibly cinematic. But not in a over-the-top bombastic way, rather a reserved and emotional way. More than anything else, the developers wanted to tell you a story, and I was sooo down.

The Last Of Us's acting is phenomenal. This is one of the few games I've played where I feel like almost every actor could've earned an award for their performances. But Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson easily stole the show.

The writing for this game was amazing as well. While it was difficult for me to block out the spoilers I've been exposed to for the second game, I still found so much nuance in this game's story and dialogue.
Even if the second game was never made, Jole and Ellie would feel like fully realized characters. All of the credit goes to Neil Druckmann and all the lovely people who worked on this game.

As for the gameplay, I actually really liked it. In many ways it felt like a much faster Resident Evil 2. Limited ammo and supplies, and lots of scary enemies that need to die. While the combat took me a while to get the hang of (fuck the clickers), once I started playing aggressively I was mowing through EVERYBODY

But yeah, this game is a MUST PLAY, and I can't wait to try out Part 2