780°

Ghost of Tsushima review: You’ve played this before - Polygon

A great setting let down by rote design

mrsolidsteel201379d ago

Interesting, so it might be safe to say that Polygon will say the same thing about Cyberpunk when that game is release.

jukins1379d ago

Because it's a fps where do things that you've done in other games. Nothing in cyberpunk is new or innovative but the complete package seems to be well done. Seems they're nitpicking here.

Think the op is just saying if they do t say rhe same thing then theres obvious bias or clickbaiting

GaboonViper1379d ago Show
Kribwalker1379d ago Show
DarXyde1379d ago

This review was bound to be posted regardless, but I'm very unsuprised to see it was shared by you.
Never stop being your predictable self, Kribwalker.

To mrsolidsteel20's point, I would guess they mean that Cyberpunk 2077 isn't doing anything remarkably new. I don't agree or disagree (haven't play it obviously, and don't know much about it because I'm doing a media blackout).

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-Foxtrot1379d ago (Edited 1379d ago )

These kind of reviews should be tread on carefully by the reviewer or site because it marks them both by gamers towards any future reviews they'll do if they end up giving new IPs or even sequels praise despite the fact they also end up doing roughly the same thing. If they don't complain about those games and hold it up to the same standard they called out games like Ghost of Tsushima then it's going to be "why rules for one and not the other?"

I mean don't see them complaining this much with Call of Duty, Assassins Creed, Sims, Animal Crossing, Zelda etc even with some instalments of these games removing features found in past games. I could go on.

This review is an opinion and we should let them have it but like I said they need to watch what they say by making those statements if they end up reviewing another game but give it a free pass despite doing the same things. It's just going to make them look like hypocrites at the end of the day.

People did the same thing for Days Gone despite the fact other games similar got a free pass

mrsolidsteel201379d ago

@Foxtrot

Couldn't agree more Fox.

throne1379d ago

I feel days gone got crapped on coz most reviewers didn't go to far or finish it and assumed the story was just a cliche

solideagle1379d ago

Add pokemon and smash bros on the list as well...

-Foxtrot1379d ago

@solideagle

Oh Pokemon is a good one

Especially after shitty Sword and Steel, people ignoring the flaws when it came to reviews.

ShadowWolf7121379d ago

@throne

Oh, that's already been proven. One review rather specifically hinted they thought Jessie was the game's final boss. lol

TheKingKratos1379d ago

hehe, finally i agree with you on something

Zodiac1379d ago (Edited 1379d ago )

You’re listing series, though. You expect them them to be similar. This is different - completely different IP that feels like you’re in playing another IP. I haven’t played it, so I can’t say, but I see people saying “what about______” and they are all series over a decade old and It’s not a good comparison.

This review is exactly that joke about PS exclusives - what is it? 3rd person, over the shoulder camera and dark, low lighting? It’s not COMPLETELY off the mark and a few reviews have noted this. The game still has a great average score, so it’s not too damaging.

Also the average score for games like COD and Pokemon has dropped, notably, over the last few installments, so people aren’t ignoring it.

-Foxtrot1379d ago

@Zodiac

That's completely backward

Sequels should EXPAND on what came before with gameplay features that are relevant to the series and respects the franchise enough to make it feel like a natural progression that belongs in whatever franchise it is.

New IPs should get the benefit of the doubt, you can't expect every new franchise to reinvent the wheel, it would be totally different if that new IP had a sequel and it was almost EXACTLY the same without hardly any improvement.

RgR1379d ago

I don't recall playing a samurai open world before either so it's quite honestly a lie to say we've played this before. Unless I'm mistaken.

rainslacker1379d ago (Edited 1379d ago )

This review is a click bait, just like all of other Polygon's reviews.

Reviewers shouldn't worry about what the community says about them. If they are, they're playing politics, and have already given up their credibility to save face.

Review the game the way you see fit, and people will agree or disagree either way. Doesn't matter if the community lashes out, or if I, or you, feel they're wrong.

Trying to remain consistent isn't the same as being unbiased, because while many games have similar traits, it doesn't mean they all share the same experience.

Chard1379d ago

All reviews are opinions. You're supposed to read/watch then make a judgement about whether it's for you. There's no need to treat them as anything more than that.

WelkinCole1379d ago

Not just Days Gone. HZD as well.

+ Show (9) more repliesLast reply 1379d ago
chiefJohn1171379d ago

Cyberpunk is definitely doing something unique.

franwex1379d ago Show
starchild1379d ago

Yes, it is. So is Ghost of Tsushima. It's such a generic complaint to say "this game is derivative", because it's a complaint that is used so selectively and disingenuously.

All games are built on the backs of games that came before it. Every new game is partially derivative and partially a new fresh synthesis. But when you want to hate on something you can always fall back on the ol' "it's derivative" talking point.

Zhipp1379d ago

What other games are there like cyberpunk? I'm genuinely curious as I've been hyped for that game for ages. If I could've been playing the same thing all these years then I've been missing out.

P_Bomb1379d ago

From the demo I watched you just drive around a basic city doing basic missions for underworld types that swear a lot. The car chase shootout looked like it could be on-rails. Dunno.

UltraNova1379d ago (Edited 1379d ago )

Try GTA in a futuristic - cyberpunk setting with Deus Ex-esq augmentations.

Zhipp1379d ago

@P_Bomb
There have been many demos and previews over the past two years. The biggest appeal to this game is the idea of a
branching narrative driven by the players choices. That's why a lot of the customizations (your backstory, etc) are not necessarily primarily for "gameplay" perks, but more like the charisma stat in Fallout. They change the way your character fits in the world, which is a big deal for a Western RPG.

On top of that, there are tons of different playstyles afforded by the plethora of augmentations you can get. I highly suggest you look at some of the other demos. There are hours of gameplay, but if you don't have time there are some nice breakdowns by a few fan channels. We still haven't seen all there is to see it the game either, as these demos are only from early on in a 100hr+ rpg.

@Ultranova
This game is not gta. Gta is an action adventuee sandbox. Cyberpunk is more along the lines of The Witcher 3, but with fps mechanics, a car instead of a horse, and (hopefully) even more freedom of choice due to not being constricted to a predefined character. It's a WRPG, through and through.

I haven't gotten around to playing Deus ex yet, but as far as I can tell, it's not to the scale of what they're promising in Cyberpunk. Though I'm still looking forward to playing through the series.

savedsynner1379d ago

Polygon's credibility is in the toilet. They have an overarching social justice agenda and their reviews are a joke.

starchild1379d ago

Agreed. They're a joke.

WelkinCole1379d ago (Edited 1379d ago )

Its the same shit that happened with Days Gone and HZD. PS exclusives really are held to higher reviewing standards

SyntheticForm1379d ago

As long as it's a fun game overall, I don't mind. It absolutely looks like a good time to me.

To be honest, I expected a lot of people to talk about repetition and the game loop after seeing the narrated video with Nate Fox. I liked what I was seeing, but I knew it wasn't terribly fresh either, and I knew it definitely wasn't breaking new ground in anything. I thought that Nate Fox was trying to make things sound more impressive than they are, like Jin's armor customization. When he told us something to the effect of 'We can go in loud or quiet' I thought to myself "Big deal, you have this option in every game. This isn't special."

That being said, I also know that I very much enjoy games like this. I enjoy open worlds and map clearing as long as most of it's quality; if the combat and traversal are fun, and there's enough variation in activity, and the environments are nice, and the characters are cool, I'll totally get into it.

Game's don't have to be groundbreaking and amazing. By the looks of it, this game is neither, but it does look like some good ol' escapism and fun, which is what I expect out of a video game. It also looks visually impressive. So, overall, I think I'm looking at a great game here and I'm looking forward to the 17th.

dumahim1379d ago

Polygon really seems to be the kings of bad takes, aren't they?

+ Show (5) more repliesLast reply 1379d ago
solideagle1379d ago

It does seem like a joke. I wonder Polygon writes this about COD, Assasins creed, smash bros and Pokemon. It is ok to differ but you have to be neutral and do it with all other games as well.

FinalSpero1379d ago

That's idealistic though. For several reasons.

1. More than one person handles reviews. Multiple reviewers have different experiences, personalities, and biases. And despite the fight to stay objective those things will still come through because we're only human.

2. Game preferences. If Reviewer A hates RPG's, and knows little about them. Chances are they would give a lower score to something like The Witcher 3 as opposed to Reviewer B who is a lifelong RPG fan and understands advanced RPG systems and mechanics.

UltraNova1379d ago

Final,

And every single one of them will "adapt" their reviews based on Management's "guidelines".

starchild1379d ago

If reviews are purely subjective why should we care about them? We're all different, right? If people can't begin to put their own particular biases aside and be as objective and fair as possible in their analysis in order to help a broad range of gamers make a more informed decision then what's their purpose?

BISHOP-BRASIL1379d ago (Edited 1379d ago )

@starchild

Originally the purpose was to sell you magazines, right now is to keep you clicking and generating that sweet ad money...

Look, we all want to know whether or not a game is good before we go investing time and money in it (and if we are willing to spend time finding out, someone some where will be willing to make money out of our interest), but reality is the very nature of games being interactive media make them even more subjective in value than other media.

A review is second hand opinion, someone else's description of how they felt while interacting with this program. It's not how the interaction itself went. It's not even necessarily how they actually felt while playing. It's their description of it. That can be colored by anything, from pre-existing bias to buyer's remorse, all the way down to sneaky advertisement purposes and even bad memory retention. There really isn't much to do about it which could make reviews fair and objective because the nature of reviewing itself is not so much about the product, it's about the writer and how they view the product (true of critics in any industry).

At best you can find those reviewers you usually agree with and those you don't, doesn't mean you'll agree on future exchanges, but at least you have a track record... Also having a single standard that we could all attain to and actually help everyone making informed decisions kind of ruins the whole marketing appeal of this thing as well as the idea of keeping you clicking around, so that's a no no for the gaming "journalism" biz.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 1379d ago
FinalSpero1379d ago

Polygon has never been a joke? One review you don't agree with for a game you've yet to play and all of a sudden one of the better large media websites has "always been a joke"?

Reviews are opinions. You're welcome to disagree with them. Don't take them to heart. They aren't facts. 👍

RememberThe3571379d ago

This opinion of Polygon is far from sudden. Their reviews have always been pretty trash and their articles are almost always defined by some sort of whining. I agree with a lot of their perspectives but their writers tones are just condescending, annoying, and often narrowly framed. Polygon being trash is not a new sentiment and they've done their best to cultivate this perception.

King_Noctis1379d ago

"One review you don't agree with for a game you've yet to play and all of a sudden one of the better large media websites has "always been a joke"

If only people think the same way toward reviewers/publications that give this game lower score.

rainslacker1379d ago

Polygon review. You've read this drivel before - Me.

1379d ago Replies(2)
RazzerRedux1379d ago (Edited 1379d ago )

A game doesn't have to be entirely original as long as it executes the game play and story effectively. HZD is a good example.

"With its quasi-historical setting and its open world filled with activities and upgrades, comparisons to the Assassin’s Creed games are inevitable, so let’s not beat around the bush: Ghost of Tsushima is extremely reminiscent of many entries in the Ubisoft action franchise and other, similar open-world games, both in terms of its combat and its structure. If you like maps with a lot of icons on them offering up things to do, you’re going to be very happy with this game."

Yes! Music to my ears. I was hoping AC would head out east and give us Assassin's like this. Seems Sucker Punch beat them to it. Love games like this where I can get lost for 80 hours or more.

throne1379d ago

comparing it with assassins creed considering it does a whole lot of things better especially in the stealth department

LucasRuinedChildhood1379d ago

Easy Allies said that the stealth in GOS is very basic compared to the rest of the gameplay.

MetalGearsofWar1379d ago

A game doesn't have to be entirely original as long as it executes sales.

aconnellan1379d ago

Completely agreed - one review I read was saying that Ubisoft could learn a lot from GoT. There’s nothing wrong with doing things that have already been done, it’s all in the execution, and it seems like Sucker Punch took a tested formula and improved on it

Petebloodyonion1379d ago (Edited 1379d ago )

And this is why how we review games needs to change.
because the media seem to forget that the basic goal of a review is to guide the consumer in the purchase of a product.
Not about a game should evolve or what the reviewer would want to see in a game.

Per example bring back Gamepro, style of review (score for graphics, sound, gameplay, fun, replay and reviewer tilt)
This way reviews get normalize and we don't get things like Gears 5 score 7 just because the story is predictable and Zelda 10 because who care about a story in a Zelda game.

And somehow I feel that a lot of negative reviews for this game are more like answers from the media regarding the perfect 10 they all gave to Tlou2 and how ppl react to it.

LucasRuinedChildhood1379d ago

What are you talking about? It has an average of 84 on Metacritic so most of the media that you're trying to vilify really liked the game. Why are you even complaining?

As a consumer, I'm personally really tired of open world games where you complete repetitive tasks to turn a map from red to green. It's not as engaging to me as the high quality side-content in open world games like The Witcher 3, God Of War and RDR2. I'm not saying that that is what GOS is (I've heard that the "Tales of Tsushima" side missions are great), but this is a very common sentiment so there would naturally be many critics who express the same opinion. Are you saying that critics should only address consumers like yourself and no one else?

Your examples are also just silly. Gears 5 put a lot of focus on the story so if you didn't enjoy the story, that should be part of your review. Context is important. You don't need to robotically score a video-game like an algorithm.

"And somehow I feel that a lot of negative reviews for this game are more like answers from the media regarding the perfect 10 they all gave to Tlou2 and how ppl react to it." I've heard this narrative before but it obviously didn't pan out. The game has an average of 84 on Metacritic. Even though it didn't happen you guys are still pushing that story anyway. Sigh.

Petebloodyonion1379d ago

1) I'm talking about written reviews like this one so why are you bringing Metacritic score?

2) I failed to understand your personal opinion when related to my post or the article but here: I prefer arcade racer to simulation racer: Should it be ok if I score all game like Wipeout a 9 and all game like Dirt rally a 6?

3) Sure I agree that if the guy don't like the story he should point it out, but the guy actually enjoyed the story he only felt it was predictable and gave it a 7/10 because of that single thing. Does this mean that for this reviewer story count for 60% of his score (he still liked it so I guess it must get some points yes?)
https://www.gamespot.com/ga...
And yet the same media gave Zelda a 10 despite numerous flaws.

rainslacker1379d ago

The main point of a review title when used more than just the title of the game with review as the next word, is framed in such a way to give the reviewers overall impression of the game.

To me, saying we've done this all before, is not a review of a game, but a observation that this game is not unlike some other games out there.

I don't really care so much about if the game is like some other games out there. What I would care about is how that all comes together to forum the experience. Polygon rarely ever makes that kind of title.

starchild1379d ago

How does the fact it received an overall 84 metacritic score somehow prove the mainstream journos didn't have the kind of bias he pointed out?

It seems like some sites gave TLOU2 an extra half or full point for being stunning and brave, while subtracting the same amount from Ghost of Tsushima for lacking that ignoble trait.

Show all comments (102)
150°

Ghost of Tsushima 2: The Samurai Game Sequel We All Want

Rumours and murmurings suggest that Ghost of Tsushima 2 will be announced soon. Here is what we'd love to see in the sequel.

Read Full Story >>
fortressofsolitude.co.za
S2Killinit26d ago (Edited 26d ago )

I would be on it. Especially if they change up the gameplay to differentiate from first game. Loved the first.

Currently enjoying Rise of Ronin.

blackblades25d ago

Both have different gameplay but it amazes me how people kept comparing just because they both are samurai. Seems kinda ...... that im not gonna mention.

Cacabunga25d ago

Bend studios making a gaas game and getting lot of negative comments abt that direction.
I hope these stay faithful to making amazing SP games..

Demetrius25d ago

Definitely getting ronin soon, I'm on my 2nd playthrough of GOT on ps5 this time🔥

-Foxtrot26d ago

Probably my most anticipated to be announced

I hope Jinns story continues and we get way more stealth tactics like dragging bodies away and the like.

Lightning7726d ago

I fully expect this game to be announced. Late 2025 release perhaps.

Either way I can't wait for its announcement at Sony's showcase.

Friendlygamer25d ago (Edited 25d ago )

I'm hoping for more complex interior level design for stealth gameplay and also a more complex stance system that's more than rock paper and scissor for each enemy type

RhinoGamer8825d ago

I have stopped pre-ordering games since Cyberpunk 2077 fiasco...this is a game I will make an exception for...

Show all comments (16)
70°

5 Ways Ghost of Tsushima is Better Than Rise of the Ronin

Sucker Punch's open world epic stands head and shoulders above the most recent game that takes inspiration from it.

Read Full Story >>
gamingbolt.com
jznrpg26d ago (Edited 26d ago )

Ghost of Tsushima is one of my favorite games all time. Hard to live up to that. Not all games are going to be equivalent to some of the best games ever and that’s ok. It is a natural comparison though

Killer2020UK26d ago

Totally agree, as a jaded gamer well into his 30s I didn't think games could hit like Ghost it Tsushima did. I actively avoided story missions in order to pursue every single side quest purely because I didn't want it to end. I wanted to be immersed in that world for as long as it lasted.

JangoMan24d ago

I hate open world games. Its clutter and fatigue. Except GoT.. I completed every thing before going into next main mission. The feeling of playing the game was.... I cant explain. It was perfect

raWfodog26d ago

My favorite jaw-dropping moment was obtaining the Ghost stance. Epic.

JangoMan24d ago

Agreed. Its the dream come true for fans of Samurai and Japan feudal age.

Andrew33626d ago

Got was good but super repetitive.

Juiceid26d ago

Arguably every game is repetitive.

50°
8.0

Rise Of The Rōnin review - Ghost of Nioh - Metro

An enjoyable counterpart to Ghost Of Tsushima, with some truly excellent combat, but the bloated open world elements can often suffocate your enjoyment.