Octopus Overlords

NPR says gorgeous world, but story dragged down by flat characters.

https://www.npr.org/2020/07/17/89232260 ... f-tsushima

And there were times when I wasn't that interested — Ghost of Tsushima suffers from flat characterizations, so flat sometimes they can deflate an entire storyline. At one point, I broke the news to a man that his brother was murdered by Mongols. He barely acknowledged it, a lapse so weird it threw me out of the game. Your brother was just murdered, and you're just going to talk about it for two seconds and move onto the next topic of conversation? That doesn't feel human. A war game that doesn't get too into its feelings makes sense for Jin himself, who's striving to control his emotions. But not everybody in the game is a highly trained samurai like him.

Playing through Jin's eyes makes you understand his love for Tsushima, even though his character is — well, meh.

But the gorgeous surroundings and killer combat mechanisms help redeem GoT. You take on enemies with a katana, and you can shift through different stances that are effective against different types of fighters. As you level up, you get more weapons, abilities, and moves to make things infinitely easier. You start with just basic attacks — and eventually become strong enough to tear through armies with just your sword.

I started it last night. Played for about an hour, then felt an overwhelming urge to watch "Seven Samurai". So I spent the next 3.5 hours doing that instead.

Will get back to Ghost of Tsushima tonight and post some impressions.

can you set this to have Japanese dialogue with English subtitles?

hitbyambulance wrote: ↑Sat Jul 18, 2020 3:35 pm can you set this to have Japanese dialogue with English subtitles?

Yes. I would add, however, that all the lip syncing is done to the English voice track. So if you use Japanese voices, the sync is way off, the point of being a significant distraction. I started with the Japanese track, but switched pretty quickly.

You can also put on a “Kurosawa” filter that is Black & White with film grain. It’s pretty cool.

The lip sync isn't bothering me...but now it probably will.

Put in around 4 hours today. I mostly like it...I think.

Pros
- Incredibly beautiful world. Honestly might be the most beautiful I've ever seen. I enjoy simply running or riding from place to place to just take in the scenery.
- Melee combat is very fun. It's a great combination of dodging, parrying, and striking that has been a blast so far.
- "Stand offs" are cool. You can call out an enemy when you approach, triggering a standoff. If you time your strike correctly, you kill them instantly. If you don't, you lose a huge chunk of health. It's a fun risk/reward mechanic.
- While the main character and story is 'meh', the Tales (sidequests...ish) have been quite good so far.
- The music is wonderful.
- It absolutely nails the Kurosawa samurai film aesthetic

Cons
- The stealth is underwhelming (and that's putting it nicely). It's all based on line of sight, but since you often will no clue where the enemy is that can see you, it's difficult to break that. And if an enemy happens to have the sun behind them, good luck being able to see them.
- The camera can be wonky as hell during combat, especially if you're inside. I've started simply running for an exit if I get spotted inside because it's damn near impossible.
- The main character has about as much personality as my chair.
- While the world graphics are stunning, the actual character models are very bland and the animations and lip-synching are nothing to write home about.


For better or worse, it's a great big open world with a bunch of map markers to find. It’s Assassins Creed Samurai, basically. That format has only kept me interested all the way through a few times (AC Origins, Dragon Age Inquisition, Witcher 3), so we'll see how much staying power this has. At least it's pretty while you find the next markers.

Gamespot

In an interview with Ghost of Tsushima narrative director Nate Fox, he told me, "The game is definitely scripted to provide more storms as you do things which are extremely Ghost driven."

As evidenced by the forum avatar I’ve used these past few decades, the subject matter interests me. Took me a while to get the hang of the combat, but I’m loving it so far.

wonderpug wrote: ↑Sun Jul 19, 2020 11:05 am As evidenced by the forum avatar I’ve used these past few decades, the subject matter interests me. Took me a while to get the hang of the combat, but I’m loving it so far.

Only been able to play one hour (why I keep buying physical disks from Amazon is beyond me) but It hits all the right notes with me as well.

Another couple hours, and I’m really starting to come around to this one. Now that I understand the gameplay loop (instead of feeling like I was just doing random “stuff”) it’s starting to shine.

I really like that the missions (so far) have been fairly quick, self-contained events. I’m not chasing 32 markers all over a map or assaulting a fortress with 273 guards. Instead, I get a bit of story, fight one or two battles, then close the chapter. It keeps me interested to keep exploring around the mission area for new goodies, rather than getting burned out on hour long events.

Still not entirely sure the best way to build my character though. I’ve gone mainly with the Deflection tree so far, which has proved very useful.

For anyone who didn’t realize it, swiping right on the touchpad cleans your sword and sheathes it.

I'm about 5 hours in at this point and finding the game to be fantastic. The swordplay is Witcheresque, but the excellent parry system mentioned by others is a nice level of refinement. The level of polish and setting are right on mark. I knew I was buying in to the setting when I found myself slowly riding to a destination while playing the flute; so serene.

I think whether or not you are going to enjoy this game is dependent on how much you want to 'be' a samurai. The game play doesn't offer much that hasn't been done before. Instead, it's an amalgamation of a bunch of open world features perfected.

Sawyer wrote: ↑Mon Jul 20, 2020 7:01 am I'm about 5 hours in at this point and finding the game to be fantastic. The swordplay is Witcheresque, but the excellent parry system mentioned by others is a nice level of refinement. The level of polish and setting are right on mark. I knew I was buying in to the setting when I found myself slowly riding to a destination while playing the flute; so serene.

I think whether or not you are going to enjoy this game is dependent on how much you want to 'be' a samurai. The game play doesn't offer much that hasn't been done before. Instead, it's an amalgamation of a bunch of open world features perfected.

Agreed. On combat, I find myself looking for choke points and areas that funnel my attackers. I have found that judging the distance of my sword strikes lets me hit a heavy attack just as the enemy gets in range. Granted, I'm still early in the game but most of the time the enemy is just getting into his stance when my blade hits. So satisfying

I really like it so far. The only thing that I really have a problem with is that they keep wanting to get to Canada Castle.

It can't actually be pronounced like that. Can it?

I see the name of it, and I want to hear them say Ka-NAY-da. Every time. Why is this the only thing that bothers me?

Ka-NAY-da Eh!

TETSUOOOOOOOO!

Took me a while to warm up to it, but I’m fully bought in now. This game is fantastic.

It’s easily the most beautiful game I’ve ever seen, and I’m left in awe of the breathtaking landscapes multiple times each play session. My only minor gripe there is that some of the settlements seem to be copy/pasted, but that’s not a huge deal.

I’ve started to better understand stealth, and it’s really quite fun now. I’m usually about 50/50 on choosing stealth vs straight-up attacking, partly because stealth means I’d miss the “standoff” opportunity, which is my favorite part of the game. Those are awesome. Enemy attacks have started getting a bit more difficult to dodge/parry, but still manageable. Pro tips: always take out the archers first.

I think this could be a very solid GOTY contender for me, something I don’t say lightly in a year that has already seen a shoe-in for that with a brilliant remake of my favorite game of all time (FF VII).

Don't have much time to play right now and I don't have a Pro, so I think I will wait for the PS5 to come out and enjoy it on the new machine.

Jag wrote: ↑Tue Jul 21, 2020 10:55 am Don't have much time to play right now and I don't have a Pro, so I think I will wait for the PS5 to come out and enjoy it on the new machine.

FWIW it runs absurdly well on the base PS4. Load times are almost too fast to read the loading screen tool tips.

wonderpug wrote:

Jag wrote: ↑Tue Jul 21, 2020 10:55 am Don't have much time to play right now and I don't have a Pro, so I think I will wait for the PS5 to come out and enjoy it on the new machine.

FWIW it runs absurdly well on the base PS4. Load times are almost too fast to read the loading screen tool tips.

Yeah the programmers did an excellent job optimizing loading times. I don't even mind too much when I die since the game gets me right back into the fight pretty quickly. Now the fan on my PS4 sounds like a jet engine for parts of the game but it sure looks pretty on my vanilla PS4.

I find myself bowing to enemies that I defeat in standoffs and standup fights. Also, the straw hat seems to add more gravitas to cutscenes.

raydude wrote: ↑Wed Jul 22, 2020 8:05 am As my straw hat lifts up and I turn my gaze to Lady Masako.

I was wearing a straw hat but changed out of it because all the cutscenes ended up looking like this.

Now the fan on my PS4 sounds like a jet engine for parts of the game but it sure looks pretty on my vanilla PS4.

Yeah, I was gonna mention that. My PS4 sounds like it's having a hell of a time keeping up, but I haven't seen a single framerate issue and every single locale is stunningly beautiful.

I like how I have to be cognizant of the range on my heavy attacks. For the second bandit I misjudged the range and whiffed because I thought I was in stone stance. In stone stance you can hit an enemy two steps away. But I was in water stance, which only hits an enemy one and a half steps away. In retrospect I should have realized I wasn't in stone stance from the fact that I held my katana up high and that the heavy attack setup (thrust) was all wrong.

A couple random things I've found amusing:
- When you're following someone inside a house, they immediately slam the door on you and you have to open it again.
- "You're starving and have nothing? Well then, let me loot all the supplies from your camp!"
- I almost cleared out my first camp using stealth only. One stupid archer was hiding behind a barricade, and I didn't see him until I literally ran right into him.

A couple more random things I really like:
- When you're following someone, they always stay in front of you if you're galloping or sprinting. Not like other games where you have to actively slow down to stay behind them.
- This game is HUGE. I'm maybe 12-15 hours in, and I haven't even cleared out half of the first island (there three islands).
- While Jin himself hasn't become any more interesting, the writing for the quests continues to be really strong.
- Combat is becoming significantly more challenging the more I progress. Nearly every battle is against multiple enemy types, and you have to be very aware of how you're switching between stances. I did realize today that the icons for each of the stances indicate what type they're strong against (sword, shields, or spears). That's been a huge lifesaver.

A couple random things I don't like:
- I find the yellow birds to be mostly useless. They almost always lead me to whatever quest marker I was headed towards anyways.
- Indoor combat continues to be a fight more against the camera than the enemies.
- Archers suck.

I found this scene in the bamboo forest near Sensei Ishikawa's dojo. A woodcutter was chopping and I thought I saw a man impaled on a bamboo stump. On coming closer I noticed the stump was actually the tree growing through the man. Jin also found this confusing and asked "How did the tree.." It's not marked as a secret nor do you get a reward. I wonder how many of these easter eggs are scattered throughout the game?

[censored]

That’s a spoiler

wonderpug wrote: ↑Thu Jul 23, 2020 3:00 pm That’s a spoiler

+1

WTF Kasey?

The Tale of the Bear

After a long night of running into Mongol patrols every 30 feet (seriously, I ran into three of them, one after another) I went back to the Golden Inn to upgrade my katana and tanto. And also to listen to the latest rumors. I overheard two men saying that a young thief in samurai armor was running around killing mongols. To which the other replied that he heard the thief was a woman. No, said the man. That is the younger brother. He dresses him up like that to protect him. Hmmm, I wonder if Yuna would be offended. No matter. As long as the people have hope.

My swords well honed, I whistled for Nobu and set out for a house which had been taken over by Mongols. I came across a bear fighting three of the invaders. It knocked two of them into the air and on their backs. A good omen, I thought, when even the animals are fighting back. Then the bear saw me. We stared at each other. I do not want to hurt you, I thought. I just want to see if your kills have anything worth picking up. Then he charged. I spurred my horse into a gallop. I did not need the bear's hide this day. But he did not give up. I could hear my horses labored breathing as the bear continued the chase. Finally I let loose an arrow and the bear heaved a mighty sigh as it hit. I felt I had to pay my respects before gathering his pelt.

"I'm sorry," I said out loud as I bowed to the bear.
----
I was actually surprised when Jin said that out loud. Just thought I'd share that little scene.

Alefroth wrote: ↑Thu Jul 23, 2020 3:01 pm

wonderpug wrote: ↑Thu Jul 23, 2020 3:00 pm That’s a spoiler

+1

WTF Kasey?

If memory serves, Kasey is not the greatest at recognizing what constitutes a spoiler.

I would agree with that. So I won't compound my mistake by trying to EXPLAIN that.

Finished Act 1 tonight. The game continues to set new standards in incredible visuals, causing me to simply stop and take in the amazing scenery at least once a night. Opening up the toolbox of ninja gadgets and different arrows has been fun, although I find I use them very judiciously because replenishing them can be a bugger sometimes.

I have felt the “samesies” starting to creep in a bit, but it’s still such a strong overall game that it’s kept me interested.

Kasey Chang wrote: ↑Fri Jul 24, 2020 7:33 pm I would agree with that. So I won't compound my mistake by trying to EXPLAIN that.

At least you corrected it in the most dramatic way possible.

Skinypupy wrote: ↑Sun Jul 26, 2020 1:23 am I have felt the “samesies” starting to creep in a bit, but it’s still such a strong overall game that it’s kept me interested.

I'm still headed to the south coast, to give some context to my next statement. I think I've rescued 4 kidnapped damsels on the road. Really? That's a little annoying, mostly as it makes me remember it's a game. On the other hand, I walked into a Mongol camp where they had tortured some of my people and thought to myself, "those bastards," before laughing at myself.

On a side note, if you enjoy history and haven't listened to Hardcore History, Wrath of the Khans, do yourself a favor and listen to it. The Mongols really were bastards.

Sold 2.4 million copies in the first three days, making it the fastest selling, first party original IP on PS4. That’s pretty cool.

I 100%’d the first island tonight. Finished liberating every village, which displays the entire map and all the undiscovered markers. Thought that was a nice touch.

On to the next island full of undiscovered markers.

Came back from real-life vacation, did some samurai stuff, and having a little rest with my horse.

After a battle. This game is gorgeous.

That’s a great shot. I really need to start using the photo tool more.

This is the only game that has ever caused me to simply stop and take in the scenery multiple times every single time I boot It up. There really is no other game that compares, from a graphics standpoint. I have found the views from shrines and haiku spots to be the most breathtaking.