We’ve had seven fantastic years of PlayStation 4 exclusives, and while Sony’s hot-streak of successful first-party games might yet continue on the PlayStation 5, it only seems fitting that they bring a close to their current generation of hardware with one of its most anticipated projects.
While The Last of Us 2 would have been enough to draw the curtains on what’s been a spectacular showcase, Ghost of Tsushima is actually the game that will wave the PS4 into that good night. Yet is it worthy of holding the title of last first-party Sony exclusive? Well, let’s just take a scan around the internet and see what the critics have to say about that.
GameSpot – 7/10
Ghost of Tsushima is at its best when you’re riding your horse and taking in the beautiful world on your own terms, armed with a sword and a screenshot button, allowing the environmental cues and your own curiosity to guide you. It’s not quite a Criterion classic, but a lot of the time it sure looks like one.
Ghost of Tsushima is out 17 July, 2020.
Eurogamer
I maintain that Ghost of Tsushima is still, largely, quite fun. The problem is it’s an easy, breezy, lite beer kind of fun – the kind that Sucker Punch is known for, after all – and the blanket genericism of it just doesn’t sit well against such a po-faced tone. It’s another game fallen victim to the palatability blender, coming out the other side as a slightly formless smudge of every genre, without a mastery of any.
Destructoid – 9.5/10
With Ghost of Tsushima under its belt, Sucker Punch deserves to be in the same conversation as Insomniac, Naughty Dog, and Sony Santa Monica. If this generation is to wrap up soon, it’s fitting that it’ll end with Tsushima: one of its most beautiful games thus far.
Attack of the Fanboy – 4.5/5
Ghost of Tsushima is a masterclass on how to make an open world feel palatable and focused while still offering the rewarding progression necessary to make it all come together. A mixture of traditional swordfighting combat and stealth sequences meld well with the beautiful, organically unfolding island of Tsushima and come together to form one of the best open world action games of the year.
Games Radar – 4.5/5
It would be understandable for developer Sucker Punch to feel nervous about releasing a game so close to the critically-acclaimed The Last of Us 2, and as PS5 glimmers on the horizon, but it shouldn’t. This is a worthy swan song for the PS4, and a tribute to the Japanese culture it so clearly reveres.
VG247 – 3/5
It has its moments, but like Jin Sakai in the opening hours, the past holds it back. It’s Open World: The Video Game. It’s far too easy, too – the lack of consequence for failure makes it feel like you’re just going through the motions. If you’ll excuse the wind-based pun, it’s a breeze. While playing it, I often found my mind wandering. By the third and final act, I just wanted it to be over. Like the samurai, Ghost of Tsushima feels like a relic of a bygone era.
Last Updated: July 14, 2020
Iskape
July 15, 2020 at 07:31
Some sharp critiques by some reviewers. It still looks amazing, even if the gameplay doesn’t quite hold up!
CodeDisQus
July 15, 2020 at 14:39
One thing is for certain, the PS4 had one of if not the BEST last year in gaming, Dreams, TLOU 2, GoT (lol), Iron Man VR, FF7 and more most likely, Sony REALLY REALLY gave people a reason to hang on to their PS4s.
The great news about these great reviews is that Sucker Punch, KILLS it with the sequel, hopefully they take what they learned from here and if there is a sequel to this game, they can build on it well..!
SagatatiaRZA
July 16, 2020 at 04:13
I 100% predicted that some in the critic community would attack this game for its difficulty, with the most relative game being Sekiro. I even mentioned this to a friend a few weeks ago and here we are. News flash homies, not everybody wants to suffer through a game for intense but sporadic rewards. Sometimes it’s better to have a steady stream of rewarding gameplay and to feel empowered through it.