Game of the Year: #3 - Ghost of Tsushima

I've just finished it, jumped straight onto Assassins Creed Valhalla, and all I can think is how I wish I was still playing Ghost of Tsushima. Utterly spectacular

Mine too.
Like playing a Kurosawa film.

I spent a lot of time playing GoT when it released, but lost interest about halfway through. Maybe I should return to the island and finish out the campaign.

I will say that the combat doesn't feel as satisfying after playing Demon's Souls. 🙃

Excellent Excellent game and I'm not even that keen on open world games, but the combat kept the gameplay feeling fresh and the art design kept me interested in the world, definitely my game of the year.

Comment section!

Interesting, looks like FF7R is 2nd and TLOU2 is 1st then.

Sunker Punch did an amazing job and are a great addition to Sony's games developers.

Was this game well received in Japan?

@Total_Weirdo It's Famitsu's GOTY, so yeah I guess. ^^

My personal AAA GOTY - loved everything about it. Absolutely everything.

So I’m guessing...

#2 Miles Morales
#1 TLoU2

Just finished Miles Morales last night and thought it was excellent. The story is Miles (...) better than the first game and it has so much heart.

The whole time I was thinking, ‘this would have made an excellent movie in the MCU’.

Sorry, just realised Miles Morales was #9.

No idea what #2 could be then? I think #1 is a given at this point...

#2 Journey to the Savage Planet! Oh you know it’s true.

It's one of the best 2020 games along with final fantasy 7 remaster and doom eternal

I just got it updated having not realised i had my update settings set to manual. The difference since updating is amazing plus the animations are really smooth which is a relief as it run like a PS3 game previously

You know it's a PlayStation dedicated website when nobody voted "poor" or "very poor". Review bombing is a real Plague and I'm glad we're in a safe place here

@fR_eeBritney definitely FF7 Remake

Even Pushsquare gets it wrong, this was def GOTY! Story, combat, graphics, music, u name it, they did it best!!!!

@Culjoseth
14 comments this time
grabs my popcorn and watch the rage

@BusyOlf it never ran like a PS3 game! What were u playing?

My GOTY easily. Can't wait to replay on the PS5 as well!

You must have mistakenly put this game at number 3 when you know
it belongs at number 1

@nessisonett
I think we are gonna see a twist TLOU part 2 FF7 Remake number 1

@Gaming365247 Nah, almost every staff member has TLOU2 as their number 1 so it’s surely a given!

My game of the year and one of my personal favourite games ever, with no particular prior interest or bias to samurai cinema or Japanese history. In the most positive way, the cliche plot and cartoonish villain works as a brilliant springboard into what makes this game special: being placed in the shoes of Jin. This delicate place within the game’s world lets the player experience the identity crisis that comes when everything you know is threatened and may be lost forever. It’s an extremely well realized coming of age story done in a way only games can do in that the emotional journey lies outside of the main plot.
Themes of justice, revenge, honour, dedication, family, friendship, nationalism, mentorship, equality, mercy, forgiveness, duality, and ultimately identity are all handled through the act of playing; the experience of moving through this world.
These themes swirled my thoughts every time I chose to end an enemy’s suffering, bow to a fallen civilian, standoff against a small army, climb and reclaim a sacred shrine, reflect on my actions in a natural hot spring, make sense of the chaos by writing a haiku inspired by the beauty around me, help a friend overcome their own shortcomings, or simply feel connected to the island I’m fighting for by following a bird or fox to a point of interest. All things you don’t have to do.
In the same way art imitates life, the weather even changes depending on Jin’s actions, dispelled by a melody from his flute and a reminder that change is possible, that you are in control of your actions and your destiny.
The way in which the world, narrative, systems and mechanics all work together to support these themes is an astounding accomplishment and an experience I will frankly never forget. The fact that this is all on top of a mechanically rock solid game is just amazing and I’m very grateful to Sucker Punch for giving me this experience.
Sorry for the length.

👻 ghost of tshushima is the game of the year.word up son

Bought it in the sale can't wait to jump in.

Phenomenal game that makes it impossible to play an Assassins Creed game and not think of how GoT is better in every possible way. Even outside the great story, world, and combat, the thing that doesnt get mentioned nearly enough is how perfect this game runs on ps4. This is by far the most polished game released this generation. Not only having arguably some of the best graphics, but the ridiculous short loading times just blowed my mind. In an age where games get rushed out before they are done, its refreshing to get a product that probably could have been released a year earlier but was polished to perfection......also getting a free multiplayer mode that puts most live service games to shame is the cherry on top

@Jayslow Definitely agree about AC. GoT had an authenticity to it’s characters/world that AC just can’t match.

It's a great game but it's sssooo repetitive, which turns it into a bit of a slog to get through. Looks spectacular though and love the photo mode

Excellent game. The combat got a little repetitive towards the end but the beautiful world never got old. One of the best settings in the history of gaming

It's an amazing game i really really enjoyed playing it and got the platinum at the end. It was absolutely not repetitive for me not more then any other open world game. Enjoyed every single part of it. A masterpiece for me.

So Last of Us 2 will get the 1st place. I will get the popcorn ready for the comment section.

@Clemerek
Make sure its saltless because there will be enough of it in the comments

We need Tom Clancy and ghost recon and Tom Clancy breaking point for PlayStation plus

I had fun but its nothing special, the open world is pretty but with little meaningful to explore. AI is broken for stealth and its far too easy towards the end. The combat was very fun though and the blue side quests at least were actually very good, its a series I'd like to see continue and iron out the wrinkles

I bought it, did the first tutorial part (almost perfectly) and then went to bed. Next day I was like "what were the controls already!?". Now started playing Miles Morales and the Last of Us 2. When I finished all games I am currently playing I am going to put all my focus on this game. Looking forward to it and shouldn't rush it next time.

3??? Y'all insane x)
Seriously though, this one is number one for me!

My fav this year, TLOU2 was brilliant, but just a bit too... heavy. GoT was all round brilliant for me, really loved it, and the free DLC is icing on the Kurosawa flavoured cake.

Started playing on Christmas Day and whilst an enthralling game, there are some aspects that hold it back for me. Most notably are the inability to draw the camera back (on obsession with many modern games to have a close up, off centre camera), the roll move is too easy to mistakenly activate in the heat of battle and horse-back combat seems worthless as the enemy always fling you off (probably cos a spear man always seems to appear at the last second).

I haven’t really played open world games like this outside of Breath of the Wild but I doubt this game is going to convert me to more of them.

I own but yet to play FFVII Remake so yet to see which of the 2 will be my PS4 GoTY.

Probably my Goty. Combat was awesome fun, the world was beautiful and great to explore, the story was well told, and the characters were interesting and likable.

@Gaming365247 Pretty ironic considering you get salty whenever someone brings up the TLOU2 to criticize it in a peaceful manner.

@playthedangame
I’d say it’s definitely one of my all time favorite games. On the PS5 it already looks next gen. So smooth and beautiful. Such an amazing game.

@Clemerek TLOU 2 was a good game but GoT and FF VII Remake come above it for me, just felt the story was flawed and had pacing issues, no.3 for me, i have 100% on the trophies as well so played it plenty.

@Rhaoulos - Just wait till The Last of Us shows up...

@nessisonett - It does seems likely, but then again, FFVII Remake generally hasn't done well in rankings and awards shows, so I wouldn't be surprised if 2nd went to something else instead (even Cyberpunk).

I haven't finished it yet, but if there's one word to sum up Ghost of Tsushima, it's 'atmospheric'. Everything, from riding/walking through the various forests/fields/towns, etc., engaging in skirmishes with the various soldiers/bandits/ronin, infiltrating/assaulting mongol camps, or even following foxes to remote shrines, is dripping with atmosphere, and looks absolutely beautiful, thanks in large part to the crazy good lighting the game has. Add to that the game's remarkably solid swordplay, and, much like Zelda: Breath of the Wild, simply exploring the world is an absolute joy to experience, and easily among the best experiences I had this year.

Game of the year for me..loved every moment of it and i cannot understand why its not number 1..i wasnt bothered by the fact that decisions you made didnt really change the outcome much but i was in for the story it told and how that story unfolded plus the fact it looked and sounded stunning all the way to the finale..amazing..

Haven’t tried it yet, but I’m excited to play it on PS5 when I finally get my hands on one.

As people have said above: platinumed this game and went straight onto Valhalla, sheesh! This is m GOTY by far making Valhalla look and feel distinctly ordinary to me. The characters in GOT are on another level in many ways, (IMHO of course 🤠)

@Jimmer-jammer
I thought the sub quests were a particular highlight as well, the Tomoe and Norio quests were nice mirrors to how your actions may be perceived by others.

I just need to remember this is someone else's opinion and that this is the real GOTY and anyone who says otherwise is just completely and utterly wrong!

@Gaming365247 you seem to be the one sweating already.

Got it for Xmas and added it to my backlog. It's fairly high up the Queue however

Only started it a few days ago but so far so good. It's an incredibly pretty game, almost too pretty at times as I'm trying to explore here and it's bloody hard to do so when one is stopping every five minutes or so in order to take a blooming photo.

😉

I like Jin, there is some good dry humour available amongst the killing and the story seems relatively simple although I imagine it's more complicated than it first seems.

I also like how the developers actively encourage you to explore by setting mission objectives so far from your location. I'm currently heading south as there are a few things to do down there but on the way I'll run into a village or a Mongol patrol or a fox or whatever and a new 'adventure' will begin.

First of all I'm.just trying to enjoy the game for what it is but when it feels right I'll cast my final judgement. Right now I think it's a level begin open world epics like RDR2 and The Witcher 3 so a fairer comparison, as far as Sony games go, would be Horizon Zero Dawn or even Days Gone (a game I personally really enjoyed). Of course Assassin's Creed is perhaps the most pertinent model and Ghost seems to be a tad more polished than Odyssey and more refined. Still it's early days.

If Ghost is your personal GOTY that's cool, I can appreciate that. It may end up being mine (in retrospect of course) but right now I understand why at least one game ranks above it as the game in question is an absolute masterpiece.

started it on boxing day, about 20 hours in and i've only just hit the second part of the island. everything is just so polished, the aesthetic, atmosphere and attention to detail is fantastic. i'm playing on PS5 so the combat is really smooth. i'd avoided it til now thinking the focus on combat would really put me off (and my general aversion to open world games) but the combat is really well done.. the timing is a bit more forgiving than i thought it would be (though maybe on hard/legend difficulty it's not!). every frame is unbelievably pretty, easy to see why so many screenshots from this game were entered in the community screenshot of the year competition. i actually like that at the heart of most of the side quests is a simple premise and that is to care about your home and its residents, none of them have ever really felt like a chore (yet).

@Cornaboyzzz
Lol nah i dont care either way.
Its either gonna be a twist with #2 being The Last Of Us Part 2 and #1 being Final fantasy 7 remake to avoid upsitting the so called haters or since as aready mention to me most of the staff has TLOU Part 2 number 1 anyways sooo.... But i hope you got your hate comments ready

@Nepp67
Lol peaceful manner the last guy who tried to bring down the game against me got banned. For swaring and name calling that was against site rule. Plus the dude didn't even play the game according to his PsnProfile he linked on here.

@Texan_Survivor
"players voice" more like whiners voice and TLOU Part 2 was winning till the folks over at Redit spamed votes.

If I was to rate the game on if only completing the main storyline and a few side sections, then I'd rate it higher than as the complete thing. Looks fantastic but if you go all over the map do the side quests it's quite shallow, they copied the open world formulae to the letter, but did nothing to make it stand out (graphics aside) from the pack when coming out towards the end of the PS4s life. So yes do I think it's a very good game, but the missions are incredibly repetitive and more style over substance.

@Gaming365247 I'm already surprised FF7R is higher than GoT, now first place is undisputed.

Haha hate because I don't see TLOU 2 as the best game of all time ? I see its qualities but I see its flaws too, sorry mate. Everything is not all black or all white, and it seems the game tried to tell you that too.

@RPE83 absolutely! The sub quests are the bread and butter of this game and when I take everything as a whole, the sheer amount of themes and grounded, real life issues this game tackles successfully is truly impressive.

I can’t believe it’s not even number 2 in their list, Push Square really hate the real Game of this Year

I loved Ghost of Tsushima. It was such a fun game.

I love Tsushima; it's quite possibly the best open world game going and I'm surprised it's not #2.

If #2 is Final Fantasy VII Remake then I picked the a great trio to end the year after starting it today, following on from Tsushima and TLOU2!

@Bazooka
I thought the side quests were often Witcher style musings on the dark hearts of men rather than "chase 5 chickens". I enjoyed them, even the random ones.

I really can't put my finger on why I can't get into this game but I'm hoping I will be able to eventually

By far my favorite game of 2020. Really looking forward to what comes next from this team.