Review of Ghost of Tsushima

So, last of us part 2 left PlayStation players divided. So let's hope sucker punch can close out the PS4 in the same great way they started it with Infamous Second Son (that's actually really poetic👏) I LOVED this game (I have been having a blast playing this game the past few days) set in 1274 on the Island of Tsushima in Japan, you play as Jim Sakai a samurai who is one of the sole survivors of a mongol invasion. Now, the honorable ways of the samurai won't be enough to defeat this army and Jin must learn new ways to fight back including the way of the ghost in order to save his island. Let's get into it by starting with the combat which is AMAZING (it's not button mashy and is about studying your opponent and thinking about what move or stance to use like a real samurai and other things like standoffs and duels are so freaking cool) and the story was really investing (I really liked Jin and liked seeing everything he's been taught to believe about honor and combat to be challenged and having to do what he must to save his island) and this game is BEAUTIFUL (not only is the open world great to explore, but this game's graphics are mind blowing great and there's times I'm just staring in awe and some of the landscapes and great detail) and this game definitely feels like a great homage to samurai flicks from the 50s and 60s (Akira Kurosawa's influence is felt throughout this entire game from the gameplay, to duels, to cutscenes, to even a filter you can use called Kurosawa mode which makes the game black and white) my only SMALL issues with the game are with some side stuff and exploration outside the story (a couple side quest are a little boring and sometimes trying to find things to look for in open world aren't that interesting. Most of the time it's really cool and beautiful to look at, but some hidden things are a little lame for me) in the end, this game blew me away that really took me back to classic samurai films by Akira Kurosawa with amazing gameplay, a really good story, a gorgeous open world and a reminder of why I love video games and how much they've evolved into the art form they are and I'm giving it a 9.7 out of 10