Jin Sakai on Tsushima, 1274. Image: Sucker Punch Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment
Ghost of Tsushima is an open-world samurai action game from Sucker Punch, released on 17 July 2020 for PS4 and ported to PC on 16 May 2024. You play Jin Sakai defending Tsushima from the 1274 Mongol invasion, forced to abandon samurai honour for guerrilla tactics. Its combat and art direction are outstanding; its open-world structure is conventional.
Ghost of Tsushima at a glance
| Developer | Sucker Punch Productions |
| Released | 17 July 2020 (PS4) · Director's Cut 2021 · PC 16 May 2024 |
| Platforms | PC, PS4, PS5 |
| Expansion | Iki Island (Director's Cut only) |
| Length | ~25 hours main story · 50–60 hours for most content |
Which version should you buy?
The Director's Cut. It includes the Iki Island expansion — a substantial new region with its own story exploring Jin's father, worth roughly eight hours — plus Japanese lip-sync, faster loading and DualSense support.
Iki Island is not sold separately from the base game on PC, so the Director's Cut is effectively the only version worth considering there. On PlayStation, the standard edition is missing the best side content in the game.
What is the story?
In 1274, a Mongol fleet lands on Tsushima. The island's samurai meet them in a formal charge and are annihilated. Jin Sakai survives, and everything afterwards follows from a single problem: the honourable way to fight has already failed.
To win, Jin has to become the Ghost — poisoning, assassinating, terrifying. The game's real subject is what that costs him socially, and his relationship with his uncle Lord Shimura, who cannot accept it.
It is not subtle, but it is well told and consistently performed. The Japanese voice track with subtitles is the recommended way to play.
What is the combat like?
The best reason to play it.
Jin has four stances — Stone, Water, Wind, Moon — each effective against a different enemy type: swordsmen, shieldbearers, spearmen and brutes. Switching mid-fight against mixed groups is the core skill, and once it becomes reflexive the combat sings.
Parrying and perfect dodges matter more than blocking, and duels — one-on-one encounters staged as set pieces — are the highlights.
The alternative is the Ghost path: kunai, smoke bombs, chain assassinations and terror tactics that make enemies flee. Both approaches are fully viable, and the game never punishes you for choosing one.
Four combat stances, each countering a different enemy type.
How good does it actually look?
Exceptional, and it has aged remarkably well because the achievement is artistic rather than technical.
Sucker Punch built the island around wind, colour and weather. Grass, leaves and banners are constantly moving, and the game uses that wind as its navigation system — instead of a minimap waypoint, a gust blows toward your objective. It is the smartest design choice in the game and removes almost all HUD clutter.
Kurosawa Mode renders everything in black and white with film grain and period-appropriate audio. It is a genuine alternative way to play, not a filter gimmick.
What are the weaknesses?
The open world is formulaic. Camps to clear, foxes to follow, hot springs, haiku spots, bamboo strikes. It is a well-executed Ubisoft-style checklist, and if you are tired of that structure this will not change your mind.
Side content repeats. The optional tales are decent but many follow the same beats, and the map is generous with markers.
The story is predictable. The honour-versus-pragmatism conflict is signposted early and resolves roughly where you expect.
None of this stops it being enjoyable — the moment-to-moment combat and traversal are strong enough to carry a conventional structure.
Is the PC version good?
Yes, and it is an unusually strong port. Uncapped frame rate, ultrawide and 32:9 support, DLSS, FSR and XeSS, and full DualSense support if you use a PlayStation controller over USB.
Tuning advice: the game is GPU-bound, so upscaling gives the biggest return — set DLSS or FSR to Quality first. Foliage and shadow quality are the most expensive settings after that, but lowering foliage noticeably harms the game's signature look, so cut shadows first. It runs well on mid-range hardware.
Is there multiplayer?
Yes — Ghost of Tsushima: Legends, a co-op mode with four classes, wave-based Survival missions and two-player story missions. It has its own progression and a distinctly more supernatural tone.
It was added free after launch and is included in the Director's Cut. It is a genuine bonus rather than an afterthought, though it requires PlayStation Plus on console.
Where can you buy it?
- PC — Steam and the Epic Games Store
- PlayStation — PlayStation Store (PS4 and PS5)
Buying advice
Always choose the Director's Cut — Iki Island and Legends are the two best pieces of extra content and the price gap in a sale is small. Sony's first-party PC ports discount steadily after release, and Ghost of Tsushima appears in PlayStation seasonal sales regularly. A sequel, Ghost of Yōtei, has been announced by Sucker Punch.
A note on cracked builds: they are illegal, a known malware vector, and cannot access Legends multiplayer, which requires official servers. They are also frozen at whichever version was cracked, so you lose subsequent patches. IGGG Guides does not link to pirated software.
Ghost of Tsushima FAQ
How long is Ghost of Tsushima?
About 25 hours for the main story, 50–60 including side tales, Iki Island and collectibles.
What does the Director's Cut add?
The Iki Island expansion, Japanese lip-sync, DualSense haptics, faster loading and 60fps on PS5.
Is Iki Island worth playing?
Yes. It is roughly eight hours, tells a more personal story about Jin's father, and is better paced than parts of the main campaign.
Should I play in Japanese or English?
Japanese with subtitles suits the setting better, and the Director's Cut adds proper lip-sync for it.
Is Ghost of Tsushima historically accurate?
The 1274 Mongol invasion of Tsushima is real; Jin, the characters and most events are fiction. Sucker Punch aimed for the feel of samurai cinema rather than documentary accuracy.
Is there a sequel?
Yes — Ghost of Yōtei has been announced, set in a different era and location.
The verdict
Ghost of Tsushima pairs one of the best combat systems in any open-world game with art direction that turns a conventional map into somewhere worth wandering. The wind-based navigation and Kurosawa Mode show real confidence.
The open-world checklist beneath it is familiar and the story goes where you expect. It is still an easy recommendation — buy the Director's Cut.
Best for: fans of samurai cinema and stance-based melee combat.
Skip if: you are burnt out on marker-driven open worlds.
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Last updated: 6 September 2026