![]() ![]() Instead, it functions more as a side story taking place somewhere in the middle of the base game’s events, sort of like The Frozen Wilds and Horizon Zero Dawn. The Iki Island expansion isn’t a semi-sequel to Ghost of Tsushima like Miles Morales was to Spider-Man. It certainly keeps things interesting, and keeps exploration from becoming too monotonous. Instead, every so often, they put interesting little twists on them- like a light house that isn’t guarded by enemies, but instead serves as more of a platforming challenge or a hot spring that has monkeys chilling around Jin while he soaks himself or an animal sanctuary where Mongols have set up an ambush to take you by surprise. Better yet, most of the activities scattered throughout the map don’t just slavishly stick to their formulas. The main Raider town also has a dueling arena, with plenty of challengers to take on in 1v1 fights for rewards. You can participate in archery challenges scattered throughout the map and try to get bronze, silver, or gold rankings to improve a Concentration charm. You can track down spots where animals have gathered and play your flute there to make it a sanctuary for them. Instead, the Iki Island expansion puts more of an emphasis on an entirely new set of open world activities. Other returning activities are also here, including bamboo strike challenges, Shinto shrines, haiku spots, lighting light houses, and hot springs- though most of these aren’t nearly as numerous as they were in the base game. There are, of course, several new side quests (which, by the way, boast much better design and quality than the side quests in the base game generally did), as well as a couple new Mythic Tales to take on, and clearing out Mongol forts, of course, is still an important (and addictive) side activity. This is a large expansion with around fifteen hours of content (if not more) if you decide to do more than just the main story quests, and as you’d expect, there’s a nice variety of optional activities on offer. Of course, there’s plenty to do around Iki Island. As such, while still maintaining the visual identity of the base game, the expansion’s map is able to take players to some locations that feel very unique from anything that can be found on Tsushima island. Iki is a lawless, untamed place that is not nearly as civilized as Tsushima is, and also still bears many haunting scars of the conflicts it saw a few years back. ![]() In terms of its aesthetic and art design, it’s obviously following in the footsteps of Ghost of Tsushima itself, with similarly vibrant sights, gorgeous scenes of natural beauty, liberal use of oversaturated hues, and more, but at the same time, the island’s backstory helps it carve out its own identity. They’re not completely gone here, of course, but they don’t pop up once every couple of minutes either.īeyond that, Iki Island is also a visually distinct place. What’s more, it even pulls back to a great extent on how annoyingly frequent those songbird distractions could be in the base game. With in-world elements such as plumes of smokes or golden songbirds, or with distinctly designed natural landmarks that instantly grab attention, the expansion constantly keeps nudging players to keep exploring and finding new and exciting things. Organic and diegetic exploration was where Ghost of Tsushima really excelled, and the Iki Island expansion continues to build on that. This newest chapter in Jin’s story takes us away from Tsushima and over to Iki itself, and just as Tsushima was in the base game, the expansion’s new map is a brilliantly designed one. Let’s start off with the most obvious talking point- Iki Island itself, which is where the expansion is set. Here, we’re going to go over a few of the expansion’s biggest highlights, and how it expands upon Ghost of Tsushima in meaningful ways. And that chunk of content is a truly excellent addition, not only because it builds on Ghost of Tsushima’s strengths, but also because it has a few interesting new elements of its own. ![]() ![]() All of its visual, performance, and quality-of-life upgrades are, of course, appreciated, but the biggest way it adds to Sucker Punch’s open world epic is by adding even more content to it, in the form of the meaty new Iki Island expansion. Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut is out now, and it is, unsurprisingly, an excellent update of a great game. ![]()
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