Ghost of Tsushima - Director's Cut

This is an old post I wrote awhile ago an never got around to uploading.

Hey folks, I know its been awhile since my last update, and I didn't mean to take a hiatus for this long, but life and writing my second novel got in the way. I'm still not paid for my writing, so I can only do this in my spare time. Anyway, its been almost a year since Ghost of Tsushima came out, which I raved about both in my review and with my friends Gil and Jim on The Players Club Podcast. Last Friday Sucker Punch launched Ghost of Tsushima: Director's Cut, which includes the first story driven DLC. Iki Island gives us a whole new island (Ikishima) to explore. In addition, there's an update and new content coming to Legends mode down the line.

Iki Island sees Jin traveling to the neighboring Ikishima after a strange new poison begins to infect locals on Tsushima, along with whispers of someone called The Eagle trying to subdue Ikishima. Complicating things is that Ikishima is where Jin's father died several years ago, and he has terrible memories of the place. That would be enough, but the locals hate Samurai, Clan Sakai in particular.

Post game DLC is very hit or miss. I personally find most of it to be mediocre, and the truly great pieces of content like Mass Effect 2: Lair of the Shadow Broker or The Witcher 3: Blood & Wine, are few and far between. I'm happy to say that Iki Island is exactly what a DLC should be. It's more Ghost of Tsushima, it has a new area to explore, it introduces a few new game mechanics, nothing game breaking, and at around 10-12 hours, doesn't overstay its welcome. I'm looking at you Assassin's Creed. Even better? The story is good, really good. It compliments the main game in that it expands upon certain things we already know about Jin, and it addresses his deep personal trauma over watching his father get killed. At the same time, we also get a few harsh reminders that as beautiful and cool as everything is, this is a brutal feudal system people are living under and the lower classes have little to no rights. Jin is a good man and the embodiment of what a Samurai should be, but the more he learns about the history of the island and his fathers actions years ago, we see that the hatred the locals have for the Samurai is entirely justified.

Ikishima is full of easter eggs and hidden secrets to find, and I thoroughly enjoyed my return to Thirteenth Century Japan. If you enjoyed Ghost of Tsushima, you'll enjoy Iki Island. If you haven't played Ghost of Tsushima, the new director's cut is the best version of the game and now is the perfect time to play it. It has my highest recommendation.