History VideoGame / GhostOfTsushima

* HorrifyingTheHorror: The Mongols clearly rely on fear to scare their enemies, as they did in real life. Jin's Ghost tactics can send Mongol soldiers in outright panic, running away in fear.

But this is about to change. Kublai Khan, ruler of the [[UsefulNotes/{{Mongolia}} Mongol Empire]], has sent his cousin, [[BigBad Khotun Khan]], to conquer the Japanese archipelago, beginning with Tsushima. He is a ruthless tactician, and in his first battle he goads the Samurai into a reckless charge, slaughtering them and capturing the Jitō of Tsushima, Lord Shimura.

** Shimura represents the Superego as he is more concerned with societal rules and conventions like honor and setting an example for the lower class citizens, even at the expense of their lives.[[spoiler: This causes a rift and eventual fallout between him and Jin, who has his code of honor, as Jin decides to do whatever it takes to save lives, societal conventions be damned. Upon poisoning the Mongols, Shimura orders Jin's arrest after unsuccessfully trying to convince the latter black Yuna for poisoning the enemy. After Jin escapes, due to the face that he was to be shipped off to the Shogun for judge, Shimura receives orders to kill Jin; something he intends to do after dealing with the Mongols.]]
** Ishikawa represents the Ego, while he does adhere to the rules and conventions of society like Shimura, he is not above using surroundings such as hornet nests, and explosive barrels agains enemies. He is also not above tasking individuals to aid in his pursuit of Tomoe. Furthermore he desired to adopt Tomoe, until they had a falling out and [[spoiler: ultimately aligns himself with Jin after Sakai's own falling out with his uncle due to poisoning the Mongols; something that Ishikawa warned Jin to tread carefully, but did not officially oppose the plan like Shimura]].

The Director's Cut has been [[https://blog.playstation.com/2024/03/06/ghost-of-tsushima-directors-cut-is-coming-to-pc-on-may-16/ announced to release]] for the UsefulNotes/MicrosoftWindows on May 16th, 2024.

* AnAesop:
** This game constantly discusses CodeOfHonour. The lesson here is that just because it is a tradition and many people are abiding that rule, it isn't always a right thing to follow, especially blindly. Jin has to learn this the hard way in the intro.
** This game purports to show how ugly Japanese higher classes were in terms of politics. Japanese nobles are shown to be unwilling to help the citizens due to lower social class while going on at length about the "Samurai code", which proves itself to be ineffective many times. Furthermore, Lord Shimura blatantly states that the citizens aren't the top priority as he sees them more as an expendable, showing how much the higher classes in Japan disregarded the lower class citizens.

The Director's Cut has been [[https://blog.playstation.com/2024/03/06/ghost-of-tsushima-directors-cut-is-coming-to-pc-on-may-16/ announced to release]] on UsefulNotes/MicrosoftWindows on May 16th, 2024.

** Masako represents the Id as she is more prone to rush in to battle to attack her enemies in her quest to avenge her loved ones. She nearly had a falling out with [[spoiler: Jin after she attacked him when he decided to defend Jushin, a monk, who she falsely accused of killing her family. Her sister Hana was the actual culprit.]]
** Shimura represents the Superego as he is more concerned with societal rules and conventions like honor and setting an example for the lower class citizens, even at the expense of their lives.[[spoiler: This causes a rift and eventual fallout between him and Jin, who has his code of honor, as Jin decides to do whatever it takes to save lives, societal conventions be damned.]]
** Ishikawa represents the Ego, while he does adhere to the rules and conventions of society like Shimura, he is not above using surroundings such as hornet nests, and explosive barrels agains enemies. He is also not above tasking individuals to aid in his pursuit of Tomoe. Furthermore he desired to adopt Tomoe, until they had a falling out and [[spoiler: ultimately aligns himself with Jin after Sakai's own falling out with his uncle]].

* LesCollaborateurs: The [[spoiler:Straw Hats]] become this to the Mongols after [[spoiler:their leader, Ryuzo, takes up the Khan's bounty on Jin in return for food for his men.]]

* AscendedMeme: During a ''State of Play'' showcase for the game, fans jokingly referred to the black-and-white grainy-film style visual of one of the modes players can use as "Kurosawa Mode" (named after Creator/AkiraKurosawa, famous for his film ''Film/TheSevenSamurai''), only for this particular feature to actually be called as such when starting the game. What makes this significant is that Sucker Punch had to get permission from Kurosawa's estate first, meaning they approved it!

* MultiMeleeMaster: New to the expansion are Mongols who carry multiple weapons on their person, switching between them mid-fight and accordingly forcing Jin to switch his sword styles to best counter their new fighting moves. Khunbish, the Eagle's {{Dragon}}, uses three weapon styles, and the Eagle herself switches between her CoolSword and her shamanistic staff in battle, helped by the fact that Jin's MindScrew is getting increasingly severe from the fact that [[spoiler: they're fighting in the same location where his father died, which is aggravating his hallucinations and guilt complex]].

''Ghost of Tsushima'' is a WideOpenSandbox ActionAdventure game developed by Creator/SuckerPunch for the [[UsefulNotes/PlayStation4 Sony PlayStation 4]]. It was released on July 17, 2020.

** The Shrine of Ash is a shout-out to ''VideoGame/GodOfWar''. Honoring the shrine while wearing the Clan Sakai armour unlocks the Ghost of Sparta dye, the Spartan mask, and the Helm of War helmet; a reference to Kratos' body paint.

* AwesomeButImpractical: Two of the stances [[JustForPun stand out]].

** There are also several scripted events where either Jin, his allies, or even the Mongols have to [[JustForPun bear]] the brunt of an ursine surprise:

** The latest update to the game has added the Forbidden Shrine, a shout-out to ''VideoGame/HorizonForbiddenWest''. Wearing Tadayori's armour while completing the shrine's puzzle will unlock the Sign of the Hunter headband and the Seeker's Attire dye; a reference to Aloy's clothes.

It is 1274, the height of the [[UsefulNotes/KamakuraShogunate Kamakura]] period. By the law of the Shogunate, the island of Tsushima -- located between mainland Japan and the Korean peninsula -- is ruled by Samurai lords, who act as both soldiers and nobility in accordance with their CodeOfHonor. Their word is law, and they have brought rigid order to the once-lawless island.