Ghost of Tsushima and its Ubisoft-Style world discouraged me from exploring

[Cosmic Voyager]

Sure. It doesn't mean we're not allowed to moan about it though :)

And you've basically highlighted the problem with modern AAA games and their bloated budgets: they take a popular 'template' and run with it to reduce risk. And then everything is simply a variation on a theme.

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By all means, moan away :)

I agree with that, but I also think that's a problem in every sector of gaming, not just AAA. The indie equivalent of Ubisoft style open worlds would probably be metroidvanias and roguelikes (I say this as someone who loves metroidvanias and likes roguelikes ok).

It's also a just a problem with any business in general. Businesses will always chase the trends that are proven to be successful. After the MCU started making an insane amount of money, you see all sorts of other film studios copy their interconnected template (WB with the DC movie universe, Universal with the Monster movie universe, etc.)

 

[RecLib]

Ghosts of Tsushima's Open World experience, specifically the open world experience not the whole game, is definitely extremely bland. All the walk behind this fox 40 times, dip in this hot spring 50 times, pick up several dozen scabards from underneath these little stone shrine things.

None of the collectables are fun or interesting to do, at all. The only ones with any real gameplay to them where the platforming shrines, but those also weren't fun. I genuinely believe it would have been a better game as a linear narrative experience and cut out all open world. Integrate the better side quest chains into the main story.


The thing about boring empty collectables in an open world game is that they can still be okay if movement is fun. Suckerpunch's previous work, Infamous 2, it didn't matter that much that the noncollectable were bland because it was still fun just to move around. But it isn't especially exciting to just run around on horse back and awkwardly maneuver around some cliffs.

 

[Van Bur3n]

What's an example of a deep open world?

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Open worlds done by Rockstar, BGS and CDPR. CDPR being the weaker of the three, but for their first open world with TW3, they certainly outdid most. I imagine Cyberpunk will be even better.

 

[Brinbe]

This game definitely leaves a strong first impression. It's gorgeously beautiful and I've spent so much time in photo mode. But I can definitely see the OP's point. I'm not even halfway through act 1, just done couple of the main story missions but mostly just exploring the initial starting area, and I already have that seen there/done that feeling coming on. As if I've already uncovered all this game has to offer, just multiplied out a bunch of times. If I'm already getting tired of it now, I dunno if the progression/combat loop alone will be enough to sustain me on. I can only slice and dice so many mongols before I get bored.

Those bringing up RDR2 are on the right track, as I feel that game did engaging open world exploration perfectly. This isn't even about the random encounters/events/etc, the stuff that Rockstar budgets allow for, it's simply about giving real purpose to exploration without it feeling rote or checklist-like. It's also why Fallout 3/New Vegas/Morrowind were super compelling open world games even compared to Fallout 4, you were rewarded in tangible ways for exploring, whether that be legendary weapons or good side stories, etc.

And I think BOTW would've been good if there was ever a real reason to explore, but there really wasn't. Exploration for exploration's sake on its own is overrated. There needs to be a good real carrot at the end of the stick or up on that mountain. And I agree that so far the shrine traversal stuff has been the highlight.

Anyway, I'll give GOT more of a run through today and see if my feelings change. I really loved it just a few days ago but the latest play session left a bad taste.

 

[Jonathan Lanza]

BotW has more than that, but traversal is one of its strengths for sure. In Tsushima I came across a cliff separated by a small river. In BotW I could've jumped off, flown over, gripped the wall and climbed up like a badass. But in Tsushima oh... guess I gotta find a bridge.

The fact that you are half-ninja but can only climb up clearly labeled handgrips is WHACK.

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To be fair having this issue while also having an issue with no reason to explore is a little counter intuitive.
Ideally your reason to explore is to find a way across said river.

 

[Craymond]

Turn off the HUD and follow golden birds and the wind. It is so not Ubisoft and is truly relaxing.

 

[Yautja_Warrior]

Ghost has become one of my favourite open world games this gen. Exploring the world is really satisfying compared to games like Assassin's Creed. The amount of ? on the map felt like a blessing compared to AC Odyssey's million ?

The fast load times when using quick travel is also very welcome.

 

[MoonsaultSlayer]

I wonder what the OP would think about me purposefully setting markers in the white clouded areas of the map and exploring just to clear the fog... I love exploring. The second act area is the most beautiful area in any game I've played or seen in my opinion.

 

[Begaria]

A lot of those spots powered up your health, resolve, gave charms, increase some charm strengths, unlocked charm slots, getting the stances, the few Mystic arts, or some new armor (plus mats for upgrades). There were a ton of reasons to explore from a mechanic perspective.

 

[Deleted member 17092]

I agree it could have more variety with the NPCs and maybe do a bit more with wildlife (more hunting, maybe some crafting elements). But overall I enjoy the bigger shrines, the birds and lightning bugs guiding you to collectables, and yeah the main companion quests are all quite good. I feel like you add too much more and it starts to feel needlessly bloated.

And yeah ^ the hot springs and bamboo chopping really level you up, and the shrines have the best charms, some of which are pretty OP.

The environments are beautiful so it's kind of just exploring for the sake of looking at stuff and the shrines get you the best vistas.

Overall I actually think it's very well done.

 

[Empyrean Cocytus]

There isn't a lot of differentiation between the villages. Most have 1-2 aspects (like sneaking other houses) that are easy to exploit. There's a lot of copying and pasting. And a lot of times it's just easier to go in full Samurai and just wreck everyone's shit. The kunai and smoke bombs are especially broken.

 

[Deleted member 13101]

I'm on my 2nd playthrough, and my traversal and experience is quite different from the first. Traversal isn't meant to uncover the map, the wind is supposed to guide you to things, at your leisure. Everywhere there is natural beauty, and the ground fog, wind effects, and fields of grasses/flowers outdo other open worlds including BOTW. There are hidden quests and encounters in the game too, that are not marked by question marks, map markers, or journal entries - and they count towards character progression. There have been multiple times where following a golden bird led to hours off the path I had intended to take.

Nothing here is Ubisoft-specific or even Ubisoft-like, which makes the "Ubisoft" moniker is curious. There are a finite number of encounter locations, a number disclosed to you at the start of the game and much less than AC Origins/Odyssey. The closest thing to the resolve mechanic is in AC Origins/Odyssey, where you have powers that will "cost" certain segments of the power meter. This is rather recent to Ubisoft games, and with GOT you have more choice in how you can use and regenerate this meter.

 

[sku]

Agree with OP. I enjoyed the game, but only because I gave up on exploration early on and just focused on the main quest and some of the larger side quests.

 

[KartuneDX]

Can't agree with anything here seeing as GoT is far from a Ubisoft open-world. Marks on a map that you willingly open?

That doesn't make it a Ubisoft style open-world. You don't even need to use the map once to function the entire game (I didn't), simply discovering objectives via the journal + guiding wind, or organic exploration. The game takes the Ubisoft formula and tosses it out the window while building on the innovations of BotW.

 

[AllBizness]

All I know is I hate Asscreed and GoT plays nothing like it.

 

[RPGam3r]

The only difference between Ubisoft style open-world and non is a map system showing points of interest. I wouldn't mind the option to play either way.

But people acting like non-Ubisoft style open-world is amazing different, couldn't roll my eyes any harder.

 

[Andromeda]

I'm more annoyed with the fact that nothing is truely hidden anymore. Questions marks are not hidden stuff. I want a game that rewards true exploration. A random weapon in a cave hidden on the side of a cliff or something. No question mark, no hints except for maybe a random dude saying somewhere "damn i lost my weapon when i was at the beach the other day" ...

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This is exactly what I want. It was the exact same problem in Horizon. Great combat, great graphics, but exploration was meaningless and without surprise of discovery. Kind of paradoxical in the world of Horizon.

The game that does it the best is Bloodborne. But even a game like TLOU2 has more rewarding exploration than Horizon or Far Cry.

 

[KartuneDX]

Also I'll add the OP seems to mostly complaining about the actual mission structure rather then the open-world, which I don't understand why you've labeled in Ubisoft style. There's more of a Rockstar influence than anything.

The actual overworld is brilliantly designed, and nothing feels overwhelming the way Ubi games do immediately. If you go into GoT with the impression it'll play out like a Ubisoft game you're definitely psyching yourself out of the best experience in the last few years.

 

[ket]

Can't agree with anything here seeing as GoT is far from a Ubisoft open-world. Marks on a map that you willingly open?

That doesn't make it a Ubisoft style open-world. You don't even need to use the map once to function the entire game (I didn't), simply discovering objectives via the journal + guiding wind, or organic exploration. The game takes the Ubisoft formula and tosses it out the window while building on the innovations of BotW.

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i said in the op that the way you discover the content is not like an ubisoft game (it's more like red dead 2 in that regard). but the actual content (aside from the sidemissions) is pretty similar to an ubisoft game: a set of activities that are found throughout the entire map. i think the biggest difference is that GOT's activities are mostly non-violent but imo have the same flaws due to be repeated almost everywhere on the map.

there were so many times where i would go after a question mark and then get disappointed when it turned out to be another pillar of honor or another fox den that i've been finding since the first hours of the game.

 

[KartuneDX]

i said in the op that the way you discover the content is not like an ubisoft game (it's more like red dead 2 in that regard). but the actual content (aside from the sidemissions) is pretty similar to an ubisoft game: a set of activities that are found throughout the entire map. i think the biggest difference is that GOT's activities are mostly non-violent but imo have the same flaws due to be repeated almost everywhere on the map.

there were so many times where i would go after a question mark and then get disappointed when it turned out to be another pillar of honor or another fox den that i've been finding since the first hours of the game.

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The island of the first act does sort of play out as a Great Plateau area with a taste of just about everything in the game but for me it's just all the better never running out of things to do, and it's especially more enjoyable that these activities are way more varied in form and function than say, Korok seeds and shrines.

 

[TheRuralJuror]

I think folks are going to need to get their expectations in check when it comes to map markers. There's a lot of pros and cons to the design that we supposedly want that studios have to come to grips with when it comes to the larger market. One of the better reads I've seen on it was the following:

Lessons in Open World Design: A Ghost Recon Story

Reflecting on what I learned about exploration design from building Ghost Recon: Breakpoint

medium.com

He really goes into map markers and why they're there and how a lot players need a reason to visit and explore and the difficulties that come with that in addition to other challenges. Here's a snippet that touches on some of what you referenced when trying to leave in natural discoveries:

"Among other things, we decided to add question mark icons all over the map to help the player discover the 'hidden' locations. Some crates were added to each of them, and if you'd recon the place using binoculars or drones, you'd also know which equipment they contained.
Icons killed the magic of the blossoming tree for me: I didn't enjoy discovering a place quite as much. Even with the curiosity-inducing question mark, they were far from mysteries now. These places became simple and occasional things I could do as something of a sidetrack (whenever I felt like doing them, or if I just wanted to pick up some loot).
In short: the satisfying sense of discovery vanished."

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[jasius]

It's about 1-2 months after uberhyped PERFECT game release(Games that have high 9 scores) that people can finally state their true feelings about it, without being instantly shot down.

This happens EVERY SINGLE GAME. It'd be far better if we realized that all games have flaws and accept it initially, but these concepts aren't good for hype youtubers that make their money off of ads and sponsored content, they make money off of swooning over the next big game, and getting over excited by it. They do tend to follow this cycle, I'm sure you'll find youtube videos this month stating the same thing about this game, because now the zeitgeist is turning, the "honeymoon" phase is over now reality sets in.

Yea the game's open world is just the same as any other game's, the thing that redeems it is the OK combat.

 

[Lowrys]

bruh. the wind is supposed to guide you. you mark the direction you want to head into and the wind will be blowing that way, there's always a serene breeze blowing in the direction you want to head into and the leaves fly and sway that direction too, but if you need further help you can just make an upward motion on the trackpad and the wind will strongly blow that way.

I'm confused.

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Yes, I understand how the wind works. But it's basically just a fancy line right to my selected objective. That's the opposite of organic exploration.

It's fine, but I want to know what direction I am going. I.e. am I going north, or south, or whatever, to help me get my bearings in the world. It's ridiculous I don't know if I'm heading inland or to the coast or whatever.

 

[Alek]

Most people only play a game for a few hours or don't finish it, but if they do finish it to completion it doesn't mean they like it? What?

The games loading times and qol features put it above most other open world games for me.. it was long but painless. I enjoyed every minute of it.

somethings wrong with Ghost of Tsushima and it's "Ubisoft stylezeslls" but hey, let's oogle over AssCreed Valhalla!!!!1!

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That's right. Most people don't finish games, and even those that do, it doesn't mean they liked it. You simply can't infer the players feelings from trophy completion percentages. For instance, a game that's 1 hour long might have really high trophy completion percentages, but does that mean that it was loved by players? That seems unlikely.

The only thing it tells us is that for whatever reason, they were motivated to get that trophy. This motivation could be that the game was really fun and players really liked playing it, or it could be, that it was a trophy that was not too difficult to acquire, or didn't take too much time. Or perhaps even, that getting that trophy was tied up with other rewards in the game, so players felt compelled to do everything because that was the only way to get the true ending (or some such reward).

High platinum percentage most of the time just means it was loss easy, not that the game was so amazing people felt compelled to do everything.

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Right. In general I don't think people feel compelled to do everything, even in games with really well designed side content. The Witcher 3 for instance has a considerably rarer platinum trophy percentage, and yet I think that game has much more compelling side content than Ghost of Tsushima. Does that tell us that Ghost actually had better side content than Witcher 3? In all likelihood it's just a reflection on the fact that the side content in Ghost is easier and in particular, shorter.

 

[JohnnyToonami]

GoT world is boring and OP you're right. The game had good graphics and music, not much else.

 

[bell wood's jet cola]

This game definitely leaves a strong first impression. It's gorgeously beautiful and I've spent so much time in photo mode. But I can definitely see the OP's point. I'm not even halfway through act 1, just done couple of the main story missions but mostly just exploring the initial starting area, and I already have that seen there/done that feeling coming on. As if I've already uncovered all this game has to offer, just multiplied out a bunch of times. If I'm already getting tired of it now, I dunno if the progression/combat loop alone will be enough to sustain me on. I can only slice and dice so many mongols before I get bored.

Those bringing up RDR2 are on the right track, as I feel that game did engaging open world exploration perfectly. This isn't even about the random encounters/events/etc, the stuff that Rockstar budgets allow for, it's simply about giving real purpose to exploration without it feeling rote or checklist-like. It's also why Fallout 3/New Vegas/Morrowind were super compelling open world games even compared to Fallout 4, you were rewarded in tangible ways for exploring, whether that be legendary weapons or good side stories, etc.

And I think BOTW would've been good if there was ever a real reason to explore, but there really wasn't. Exploration for exploration's sake on its own is overrated. There needs to be a good real carrot at the end of the stick or up on that mountain. And I agree that so far the shrine traversal stuff has been the highlight.

Anyway, I'll give GOT more of a run through today and see if my feelings change. I really loved it just a few days ago but the latest play session left a bad taste.

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I'm on Act 2 and have pretty much quit playing the game. I think I'll return at some point, but the copy/paste side missions, battles that play out exactly the same everywhere I go, and fairly middling main story have pretty much bored me to tears. I really need to just stop hitting all the question marks and finish the main game, cuz all the fox/hot springs stuff has completely lost me. Def. a game that gives a great first impression but wears out its welcome after a few hours.

It does have BEAUTIFUL environments, however: maybe the best I've ever seen. Combat is also tons of fun at first, but just. gets. so. old: the duels play out the same way every time, with identical camera angles and no difficulty curve I get these are a nice way to pick up some extra health, but the execution sucks after the first five or six times you experience it.

 

[Video Games Are Dumb]

I'm the opposite. I haven't been playing all that much because of lacking time, but I have barely touched main mission content because I get distracted all the time.

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Are you sure you aren't me? I legit cleared the first two islands and kinda fell off cause the story missions are too slow. I just wanna drop into a town and lay waste.

 

[SuperSonic]

The funny thing is if the Korok seeds in BotW were marked on the map it would be just like an Ubisoft game. Hundreds of points on a map with the same repeated activities. As someone who is playing the game again exploration boils down to either finding a korok seed or a chest with rupees or some weapon I can't take with me because my inventory is full. BotW is not rewarding 90% of the time.

 

[Bruceleeroy]

SD almost made the perfect open world game but they should have had the courage to remove the map completely. The visual ques in the environment are more than enough to get you to explore. It would have felt like a truly new experience if they had completely ditched the map.

 

[Thrill_house]

Can't agree on this one. Was the opposite for me. I couldn't even get halfway through AC odyssey but couldn't put this down. I loved the exploration and little rewards you received for wandering around. This series is going to replace AC for myself honestly. It just did everything better

 

[SpotAnime]

Ghosts of Tsushima's Open World experience, specifically the open world experience not the whole game, is definitely extremely bland. All the walk behind this fox 40 times, dip in this hot spring 50 times, pick up several dozen scabards from underneath these little stone shrine things.

None of the collectables are fun or interesting to do, at all. The only ones with any real gameplay to them where the platforming shrines, but those also weren't fun. I genuinely believe it would have been a better game as a linear narrative experience and cut out all open world. Integrate the better side quest chains into the main story.

The thing about boring empty collectables in an open world game is that they can still be okay if movement is fun. Suckerpunch's previous work, Infamous 2, it didn't matter that much that the noncollectable were bland because it was still fun just to move around. But it isn't especially exciting to just run around on horse back and awkwardly maneuver around some cliffs.

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This game definitely leaves a strong first impression. It's gorgeously beautiful and I've spent so much time in photo mode. But I can definitely see the OP's point. I'm not even halfway through act 1, just done couple of the main story missions but mostly just exploring the initial starting area, and I already have that seen there/done that feeling coming on. As if I've already uncovered all this game has to offer, just multiplied out a bunch of times. If I'm already getting tired of it now, I dunno if the progression/combat loop alone will be enough to sustain me on. I can only slice and dice so many mongols before I get bored.

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The second act area is the most beautiful area in any game I've played or seen in my opinion.

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I'm on Act 2 and have pretty much quit playing the game. I think I'll return at some point, but the copy/paste side missions, battles that play out exactly the same everywhere I go, and fairly middling main story have pretty much bored me to tears. I really need to just stop hitting all the question marks and finish the main game, cuz all the fox/hot springs stuff has completely lost me. Def. a game that gives a great first impression but wears out its welcome after a few hours.

It does have BEAUTIFUL environments, however: maybe the best I've ever seen. Combat is also tons of fun at first, but just. gets. so. old: the duels play out the same way every time, with identical camera angles and no difficulty curve I get these are a nice way to pick up some extra health, but the execution sucks after the first five or six times you experience it.

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I quoted all of these because I echo the same sentiment as everyone. A great first impression doesn't hide the sheer number of bland sidequests and rote enemy encounters. It also doesn't make up for the generic reward system. The different robes and hats, the weapon skins, the skill tree(s) are not enough of a carrot for me, especially since I'm gaining rewards for items I rarely use. There's also some polarization about Act 2 here - either it's the greatest thing ever or more of the same. If the former, shame since I really have no motivation to get through Act 1 to see it. And if it's the latter, good thing I'm not eager to spend more of my time to get there.

I said this in the OT a couple of days ago - it feels like a PS3 game in a PS4 wrapper.

I fell off hard from this. It's a shame - the presentation and setting would otherwise indicate this is a game high on my interest list.

Nothing here is Ubisoft-specific or even Ubisoft-like, which makes the "Ubisoft" moniker is curious.

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Because it follows the same formula Ubisoft has used throughout their countless franchises and iterations (Far Cry, Assassin's Creed, Ghost Recon, Even The Crew for Christ's sake).

 

[Nephilim]

You discover always the same things.

The world is very beautiful, the controls fun, the combat good and the mainquests are really where it all comes together.

Open world design philosophy, sidestuff, sidequests and character progression are not even in the same leauge as the last two Assassins Creed games, which isn't exactly a high bar either when it comes to those things, sadly.

 

[NLCPRESIDENT]

You discover always the same things.

The world is very beautiful, the controls fun, the combat good and the mainquests are really where it all comes together.

Open world design philosophy, sidestuff, sidequests and character progression are not even in the same leauge as the last two Assassins Creed games, which isn't exactly a high bar either when it comes to those things, sadly.

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Well, it's the first game in the series. And the design philosophy, imo, is the best in any open world that I've played; fast load times makes fast travel actually.. fast! Not having to climb back down courses after completing them or less backtracking, Non intrusive visual cues to guide players... I appreciated all that stuff while you couldn't pay to play an assassins creed game.

There was a point in the game where I was like
"Omg this fkn game won't end!!😡" so it's not all bubbles with me, but I loved it.

 

[leng jai]

Well, it's the first game in the series. And the design philosophy, imo, is the best in any open world that I've played; fast load times makes fast travel actually.. fast! Not having to climb back down courses after completing them or less backtracking, Non intrusive visual cues to guide players... I appreciated all that stuff while you couldn't pay to play an assassins creed game.

There was a point in the game where I was like
"Omg this fkn game won't end!!😡" so it's not all bubbles with me, but I loved it.

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It's so wack to see people who think AC has the worst open world design ever suddenly love this game which has basically the same template hiding under a few UI tricks that become repetitive in their own way before you're halfway through act 1.

 

[NLCPRESIDENT]

It's so wack to see people who think AC has the worst open world design ever suddenly love this game which has basically the same template hiding under a few UI tricks that become repetitive in their own way before you're halfway through act 1.

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It may be the same template but as far as content, assassins creed games pack to much for me. If you think that's wack how about hating on a new ip with a bunch of generalizations in favor of a yearly franchise!

The combat alone in GoT is more than enough a reason to never play another assassins creed again. Lol

 

[FreshYoungDoggo]

Blows my mind how many open world games didn't take enough lessons from how Breath of The Wild incentivized you to explore the world organically without the map full of icons shit.

 

[AllMight1]

The game's incredibly similar to Witcher 3 amd BOTW and if it were like Ubisoft open world games i wouldve dropped it after 2 hours

 

[bbg_g]

I disagree. I just finished Ghost and loved the game overall. I generally don't look at open world games in that perspective. For me it's main story first, and then all the side quests are a bonus. I really loved the side character quests as well as the mystic quests. I generally don't look at a game like a checklist of things to do though and I really loved just randomly heading in random directions and seeing the world.

I didn't finish BOTW but I finished both Ghost and Witcher 3.

 

[Deleted member 6235]

yeah the game's open world sucks. But the combat is so damn fun that it didn't bother me that much

it's why i'm so excited for it's co-op mode!!!!! give it to me!!!!

 

[Yautja_Warrior]

Just finished the game and got the Platinum Trophy. Enjoyed every moment of exploring this beautiful world. The art style, lighting, gameplay, story, side missions (Tales) it all works together to create one of the best open world games this gen.

 

[cowbanana]

Just finished the game and got the Platinum Trophy. Enjoyed every moment of exploring this beautiful world. The art style, lighting, gameplay, story, side missions (Tales) it all works together to create one of the best open world games this gen.

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I agree. Ghost of Tsushima is my current GOTY. I was blown away by the overall quality of GoT, especially the beautiful world exploration. Such a great cast of characters as well as a great story with a strong and emotional ending.

 

[I Wanna Be The Guy]

It's checklist open world design and it's dull, repetitive and not engaging to explore. I have no reason to explore it. It's all the same shit over and over again. I was so done with the game before I evem finished the first act.

 

[No Idea]

Everyone saying it gives a good first impression that doesn't last long is spot on. Right around the end of Act 1 I found myself getting bored with it. The mission design can get extremely repetitive, it almost feels as if the game was rushed. I went ahead and got the platinum trophy, but only because it didn't require much time or effort.

 

[Prine]

Blows my mind how many open world games didn't take enough lessons from how Breath of The Wild incentivized you to explore the world organically without the map full of icons shit.

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It's not an easy thing to do. RDR2 is the only game that does this as well imo "what's up with that clearing in the forest? The trees are bent out of shape....HOLY SHIT?! A god damn meteorite site. Perhaps there's something interesting to find?". Game was littered with these beautifully crafted situations of events long past or currently unfolding.

 

[sredgrin]

SD almost made the perfect open world game but they should have had the courage to remove the map completely. The visual ques in the environment are more than enough to get you to explore. It would have felt like a truly new experience if they had completely ditched the map.

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That would have made some missions comical. You have to go to the far south of the first map and then all the way back to the middle for the main missions regarding the blacksmith and there's barely any visual signposting for the areas you're heading to.

Ghosts has a visual language of "there's something over there' but not "This is over there." That works for something like BOTW (and it works better there because you can see stuff from much further away typically) with its relatively light story, but not something mission driven.

 

[Morrigan]

Ghost has become one of my favourite open world games this gen. Exploring the world is really satisfying compared to games like Assassin's Creed. The amount of ? on the map felt like a blessing compared to AC Odyssey's million ?

The fast load times when using quick travel is also very welcome.

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A lot of those spots powered up your health, resolve, gave charms, increase some charm strengths, unlocked charm slots, getting the stances, the few Mystic arts, or some new armor (plus mats for upgrades). There were a ton of reasons to explore from a mechanic perspective.

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Agreed.

It's definitely a "checklist Ubisoft" style open-world game, but... it's just much better paced, and just does everything better than Ubisoft games. Literally every single thing is better. Combat is solid and fun (on Hard at least, I imagine it's very boring if there's no meaningful danger though), the story and characters are much more engaging than Ubisoft games, fast-travel is super fast, the world is beautiful, the wind mechanic is lovely, the foxes are cute and I never got all that sick of petting them. Clearing a camp of Mongols can actually reward you with something meaningful gameplay-wise (vs clearing a bandit camp in AssCreed giving you crappy loot you don't need). The character quests/stories are also far better than anything in Ubisoft games.

I understand people saying they got bored quickly, it makes sense because the limited number of activities do feel repetitive, but since the gameplay itself was pretty good, I didn't mind too much and it wasn't so damn long that it overstayed its welcome. It could have used a bit of trimming, sure, but it wasn't too bloated for a big open-world game.

I'd compare it to Horizon Zero Dawn probably. Just solid gameplay and good pacing all around.

 

[hydruxo]

Completely disagree. You were rewarded in some way for nearly all points of interest on the map. Whether it was new sheathes, charms, skill points, etc. Not to mention the world was gorgeous and the combat continued to get more layers added on with more tools / skills all the way through to the very end. The only thing that I think they could've cut down on were the number of Inari Shrines. There were probably twice as many as there needed to be because you'd run into them far more often than any other POI. Another thing about Tsushima that it does well are the side missions. I genuinely think this game has some of the best side missions of any open world game. They flesh out the game world its inhabitants, and the NPC focused questlines (Masako, Norio, etc.) were all fantastic and did an excellent job of helping you understand those characters' motivations. Then the Mythic Tales were the absolute best missions in the whole game as well, and gave you interesting new abilities. I had a blast exploring in this, it never got tiring for me.

 

[Bruceleeroy]

That would have made some missions comical. You have to go to the far south of the first map and then all the way back to the middle for the main missions regarding the blacksmith and there's barely any visual signposting for the areas you're heading to.

Ghosts has a visual language of "there's something over there' but not "This is over there." That works for something like BOTW (and it works better there because you can see stuff from much further away typically) with its relatively light story, but not something mission driven.

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I disagree the wind is a perfect guide it could have easily been used as it already is. Even BoTW has to use a map but maps take away your ability to truly immerse yourself in an open world.

 

[Artdayne]

What's an example of a deep open world?

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Gothic 1 and Gothic 2 NOTR.

 

[BioDigital Jazzman]

I think the issue with the open world for me is that after a little while nothing matters. You aren't going to find a poison sword or a mythic fire bow( AC odyssey is on my mind). You may get a charm that you probably won't use or a costume but most of it's worthless after a while. That's just the nature of what kind of game it is. Like just today I was going around, found 3 fox dens that will strengthen my charms (yay...) and a haiku. None of that was rewarding and I'm just mowing down any enemy that gets in my way

I just look at these nice environments and think, it's wasted on a historical game that can't do anything out there or fun with it.