Ghost of Tsushima has accumulated 2020 with his beautiful game world, his sympathetic figures and his fun action gameplay out of the mass of Open World Games, as hero Jin’s ground Kana in the glittering light of the Far Eastern Lunch Sunday. Excused when it comes to the Samurai adventure for PS4 and PS5, we are always slightly poetic.

In the course of the publication of the Director’s Cuts, a Complete Edition with Story Enlargement, we may now explore the island of Iki apart from Tsushimas with Jin. We have taken the addon under the magnifying glass and found that broke down more from the very good well-known with smaller innovations on you.

Old enemy, new island

Have you mastered the first act of the main game, you can take the Iki Island path similar to the Frozen Wild Addon of Horizon Zero Dawn. On the small, adjacent island – the size is approximately comparable to the southern part Tsushimas – has also widely made the Mongolian threat and now threatens to terrorize Jin’s homeland from the southeast. Of course, the brave Samurai can not allow and decides without hesitation to counteract the evil on Iki Island.

However, the liberation campaign ends in a disaster: not only Kentert Jin’s boat at the crossing, he is also captured quickly from the new enemy. And that would not be bad enough, our bold hero is poisoned by the leader of the Mongols, a shaman named eagle. With the help of Plunderer Tenzo, soldier of the last defensive faction on IKI, he escapes, however, and the mission Kill Adler, Rejagage the Mongols starts.

What we have experienced on the main paths from the history for the about four to five hours , ranging from history to the familiar, very good level of the Ghost of Tsushima campaign. Again, the nearby side characters and Jin, including his gloomy, past by cruel war trains, are the highlight. But again, we also get an antagonist who speaks to Jin again and again through the consequences of poisoning in hallucinations, but otherwise Khotun Khan remains one-dimensional and pale. In these surreal dream sequences, the picture of purple turns, it becomes gloomy and crows reluctantly over our samurai. A little reminds the whole thing to the drug trips from Far Cry 3, but without the quality.

If you have completed the right compact major mission, a few worthwhile co-missions are waiting for you, which turn around well-known NPCs like the leader of the plunderer, which is looking for your daughter into a moral dilemma. Even a well-known face from the main game will meet her again in one of the missions – and without betraying too much here, we had to smile very much in unexpected reunion. Away, you expect new mythical stories that immerse yourself in Folklore Japan and are a nice change.

New Challenges, New Collective Crystal: On Iki Island, you can now participate in bowing challenges (shoot several lamps in a short time) and play for cats (no joke) in a simple mini-game flute – stroking you should of course also. Outside, you will learn more background info through collectable scrolls on the invasion of the Mongols on the Eiland. And clear, hot baths may, of course, to take Iki as in the main game or miss a new cut of bamboo screens with Jins Katana. Ghost of Tsushima stays loyal here and offers small, nice innovations.

Speaking animals: In addition to the cats, Jin’s horse also plays a greater role in the addon. The faithful Ross not only takes a larger part in history, but can now gallop with a storm ride enemies in wind parts over the pile. If we have often risen from the saddle during the Standard Edition, we had a lot of fun to pull the Mongol from elevated position over the skull.

Iki, you Far Eastern beauty

The action adventure of Sucker Punch is one of the most beautiful games of the past years thanks to its artstyles and foulful scenes **. Iki Island has also been very well (!) Frequently forced to open the easily expanded photomodus. Picturesque cliffs, from green fern overgrown steppes and abandoned villages and idyllic flower meadows. The optical level from the main game is kept, but does not expect anything extraordinary on the island, which stands out from the usual down-to-earth, realistic Open World.

From this we had no problems with technology similar to the main game, also from bugs we were spared. On the PS5 you can enjoy the game in 4k and 60fps, on the PS4 Pro you choose how usual between two graphics modes (resolution / frame rate).

News of the Director’s Cuts

Finally, we want to go to the differences to the standard version of Ghost of Tsushima and also on the free patch, which appears to the release on August 20th.

New Director’s Cut content on PS4 / PS5: In addition to the already published multiplayer Got: Legends and the fourth degree of difficulty, of course, the IKI extension awaits you. In addition, there’s a digital artbook.

New Director’s Cut content on PS5:

• Haptic feedback and support of the adaptive triggers of the dualsense
• 3D audio
• Lip synchronicity of the Japanese voice output

The free content for all GOT versions: In addition to the free controller mapping, the most important innovation is the lock-on function, the lack of which was a small criticism in our test to the main game. Now she was supplemented, but more poorly than right. Too often the wrong opponent is called and it can be seen clearly that the function does not fit the liquid freeflow combat system. For the sake of completeness, it is still mentioned that even the separate cooperating legends with rivals also gives another mode. All information can be found in our news on the announcement.

Rendered score: Have you already played the main game, you can easily transfer your data via cloud or external storage medium to the PS5.

Overall, the Director’s Cut is specifically for newcomers a veritable circumferential monster. If you belong to the fan faction, you want more of the very good, you only have to decide whether the surcharge of 20 euros (PS4) or 30 euros (PS5) is worthwhile for the innovations. In the quality, Sucker Punch is definitely loyal and we had a very good time on Iki Island.