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[od-chan]

I agree in many ways. I ignored side quests pretty much completely (something I would NEVER do in sth like a RPG) and checked out of the story early on. I remember hating Jin (the MC) very much because he sounded and acted more braindead than I ever saw a character act and his female companion, the one constantly crying about her brother, is one of the most obnoxious characters I've ever seen. It's not that the overarching plot is bad (even though it's bland), the characters along the way just all annoy the shit out of me.

I didn't even bother with the DLC because there they introduce some supernatural shit or something, I dunno. I was done after the first cutscene because I just couldn't stomach this actually getting even more ridiculous for any longer.

Still, overall a decent game, if you ignore large chunks of it. I know this sounds kinda negative, but I actually had a good time with it overall.

I guess you kinda need to see where the praise is coming from to put it into perspetive. It's coming from people who mostly play Last of Us, Uncharted, GoW or Spiderman or some shit and think this is what a "strong narrative" or "rewarding gameplay" looks like, so when they finally see a decent 8/10 game they praise it like the second coming of A Link to the Past.

 

[vaibhavpisal]

Combat system, if good, should carry the game easily. Otherwise it shouldn’t be called good.

I haven’t played the game, but its kinda puzzling OP likes so much about it, yet is unable to stomach it due to quest design.

There is hardly any quests in something like Team Ninja or From Soft games. I have no issue in continuing to finish them.

 

[Skifi28]

I didn't mind the quest repetition. If anything, I liked most side quests which felt more serious and important than the silly ones you usually see at Unisoft games. What I didn't like was the open world that felt completely dead other than the occasional bear or Mongol Patrol.

 

[DirtyBast8rd]

Wasn't for me either.

 

[Chuck Berry]

Combat system, if good, should carry the game easily. Otherwise it shouldn’t be called good.

I haven’t played the game

This is surprising coming from you. Are you going to get to it eventually or nah?

 

[LordNerevar76]

I adored it, but I tend to have more patience for large open worlds. They did make some meaningful improvements on the ubi formula with the lack of map markers, utilizing the wind guidance instead. The combat and art style are so good that it's worth pushing through some repetition IMO.

 

[Woopah]

Your criticisms are valid but I still really enjoyed the game and 100%ed it and the DLC.

The free multiplayer update was a lot of fun, so I'd also recommend that if you enjoy the overall combat.

 

[adamsapple]

It's an Ubisoft game with great art direction, similar to Horizon.

That's a pretty accurate summary.

 

[Terenty]

Typical Sony slop made not with passion and artistic merit, but with the goal of cashing in on current trends. Nothing to see here

 

[BennyBlanco]

I liked it well enough but I never finished it both times I tried. I like AC Odyssey more.

 

[supersale88]

Good, I thought I was the only one botherd by its flaws. I liked it but it wasn't close to game of the genaration.

 

[Sushi_Combo]

As a fan of Assassins creed, Loved GOT. Gameplay loop was fun and satisfying. Story was pretty mid but I kinda was able to overlook it and some of the other shortcomings & really enjoy my time with it.

 

[PanzerCute]

The game started off very brightly (I thoroughly enjoyed Act 1) but I have developed severe burnout and fatigue from this game. I am currently nearing the end of Act 2 in GoT and but it is difficult to finish the game

As I've spent so much time in the game already, I will force myself to to completion but if there is one thing I know, I will safely skip Ghost of Yotei. Whether Act 3 or the finale wins me over remains to be seen.

Pros:
- Combat is satisfying and fun. You have different stances which are effective against different types of enemies. It's also nice the game is not a carbon copy of Souls like combat (which has been done to death in the genre).
- Duels/1v1 fights are fantastic.
- Good visuals and superb art direction. Despite having weak textures, GoT looks like a painting come to life.
- Excellent sound design and soundtrack; this is one of the few games which makes use of a good surround system and has an excellent implementation of LFE effects.
- For an open world game, environments and locales are extremely varied, and the dynamic time of day and weather system is very impressive.

Negatives
- Repetitive missions. Lots of fetch quests, walking segments, and 'tracking' enemies. Once you've done 2-3, you've done them all. As a result, side missions are mostly awful. Individual character quests should have been condensed. Who needs 9 missions of running around like a headless chicken before you get to the meat of the issue?
- Bland characters and story. It is difficult to care about many of the characters.
- Ubisoft style open world. Playing GoT reminds me why I hate open world games so much. Far too bloated for it's own good.

I heard Iki island is a considerable improvement over the base game, but my only objective at present is to speedrun the main story and be done with the game.

Agree 100%. It was a huge disappointment for me: its basically a 2013 open world with boring side content.
I loved the archer side story and the game is beautiful to look at, but it was a snoozefest through and through.

 

[CompleteGlobalSaturation]

It's an Ubisoft game with great art direction, similar to Horizon.

I have never understood why Horizon is such a popular franchise. An utterly dull franchise with the same derivative open world structure that we've seen played out. I gave up on both Horizon games 1-2 hours after attempting them.

 

[PurePlatinum]

It’s a very mixed bag.

They definitely ripped an infamous morality system out of the game at some point (samurai vs ninja), and just let you do both. As a result the primary crux of the story story suffers, and the game isn’t clear on whether or not your actions are affecting the plot (they aren’t)…UNTIL THE VERY END where they let you make a big choice for zero reason because now the sequel is abandoning Jin. WHAT?!

But this choice also affects the gameplay negatively. Jin having access to every power makes him way too strong. Climbing on zip lines in full samurai armor is completely retarded.

The side quests suck. The primary quests mostly suck. The characters all suck. It’s just a huge mess.

But man technically it’s great.

 

[vaibhavpisal]

This is surprising coming from you. Are you going to get to it eventually or nah?

Will get to it at some point. Currently on Xbox and switch.

Looking at one of pc handhelds, so maybe then.

 

[PurePlatinum]

I have never understood why Horizon is such a popular franchise. An utterly dull franchise with the same derivative open world structure that we've seen played out. I gave up on both Horizon games 1-2 hours after attempting them.

The difference is that Horizons core Dino combat is really good. Ghost doesn’t have that going for it.

Ghost is like a 6, horizon is a 7

 

[adamsapple]

I liked it well enough but I never finished it both times I tried. I like AC Odyssey more.

My man.

It gets severely under-rated here because 'lol ubisoft' but Odyssey was an addictive as fuck game. Beautiful visuals / locations, easy to pick up game play and a great sense of exploration. The two story expansions it got were also massive, bigger than most released games, and added substantial story.

 

[Punished Miku]

I have developed severe burnout and fatigue from this game. I am currently nearing the end of Act 2 in GoT and but it is difficult to finish the game

I bailed at the end of Act 2. I still enjoyed the game but I was done at that point. Exactly the same as Days Gone for me.

3 act structure works if the acts are different enough. I'm playing Indiana Jones now and its 3 main acts but they are all pretty different locations and level design styles. And a few other short acts mixed in as well helps pacing. Better map usage, better puzzles etc.

 

[ReBurn]

My man.

It gets severely under-rated here because 'lol ubisoft' but Odyssey was an addictive as fuck game. Beautiful visuals / locations, easy to pick up game play and a great sense of exploration. The two story expansions it got were also massive, bigger than most released games, and added substantial story.

I know this isn't an AC Odyssey thread, but I really love that game. Valhalla was such a disappointment in comparison.

I also really like Tsushima. It isn't the best game of its genre, but it starts and ends on high notes for me. It's also beautiful to see.

 

[MiguelItUp]

That's a fine opinion. I thoroughly enjoyed it. There was enough that kept me engaged enough to explore everything and unlock everything. So, it was a win in my book. Can't really explain what grabbed me, but it did.

 

[xenosys]

Interesting premise, decent story. It suffers from the all the trappings of a Ubisoft open-world title, but gets none of the blowback or criticism that other titles do for doing it.

Critics got a huge amount of criticism for it's review score back in 2020 when it released, but it's one of the very few I actually agree with.

 

[kindaGoth]

This game was like an embarrassing drunk hook up for me. I played it all the way through. Can’t deny that. I was compelled to.

But it’s the least memorable gaming experience I’ve had since Outer Worlds. It’s hard for me to even remember how it looks.

 

[Topher]

But don't worry people pretend it's a 10/10 now and they're making an anime to cement the notion

Pretend? You mean people simply can't have a different opinion on a game?

 

[ungalo]

Combat system, if good, should carry the game easily. Otherwise it shouldn’t be called good.

I haven’t played the game, but its kinda puzzling OP likes so much about it, yet is unable to stomach it due to quest design.

There is hardly any quests in something like Team Ninja or From Soft games. I have no issue in continuing to finish them.

It's open world slop no matter what people are going to say, so basically game-design and gameplay are going to be mid (it can have a good feeling to it but ultimately it will be pretty shallow compared to games entirely focused on core gameplay).

This kind of game is very dependant on quest design, variety etc. and it's a bit lacking on that front because of the short budget as i said in my previous post.

Obviously it's still a classy game with great atmosphere, hence why it has a reputation.

 

[Topher]

Always knock 3 points off of a Sony game to get its true score. 4 points if it's competing in a genre with MS or Nintendo that year.

That's just a console warrior mindset. Nothing more.

 

[Hudo]

It's the best AC: Japan Edition that you'll ever get.

 

[Sentenza]

On one hand I can completely agree with the accusations that the game is basically a 1:1 port of the "Ubisoft formula" into a Sony first party production.
On the other hand, I have to concede that if nothing else is one of the better examples of it, nailing MOST of what's there to at least a decent degree.

Still, while I did play the main story and the DLC to completion (at the time of the PC release) it's hard to deny that by the second half of the process I was bored out of my mind and I couldn't wait to be done with it, often questioning why I was even bothering.
And keep in mind we are talking about just completing the main campaign. It became quickly apparent to me that going for some sort of "100% completion" was absolutely out of the question.

 

[Ribi]

Pretend? You mean people simply can't have a different opinion on a game?

Pretend it's a 10/10. Game is mid

 

[Spukc]

The game started off very brightly (I thoroughly enjoyed Act 1) but I have developed severe burnout and fatigue from this game. I am currently nearing the end of Act 2 in GoT and but it is difficult to finish the game

As I've spent so much time in the game already, I will force myself to to completion but if there is one thing I know, I will safely skip Ghost of Yotei. Whether Act 3 or the finale wins me over remains to be seen.

Pros:
- Combat is satisfying and fun. You have different stances which are effective against different types of enemies. It's also nice the game is not a carbon copy of Souls like combat (which has been done to death in the genre).
- Duels/1v1 fights are fantastic.
- Good visuals and superb art direction. Despite having weak textures, GoT looks like a painting come to life.
- Excellent sound design and soundtrack; this is one of the few games which makes use of a good surround system and has an excellent implementation of LFE effects.
- For an open world game, environments and locales are extremely varied, and the dynamic time of day and weather system is very impressive.

Negatives
- Repetitive missions. Lots of fetch quests, walking segments, and 'tracking' enemies. Once you've done 2-3, you've done them all. As a result, side missions are mostly awful. Individual character quests should have been condensed. Who needs 9 missions of running around like a headless chicken before you get to the meat of the issue?
- Bland characters and story. It is difficult to care about many of the characters.
- Ubisoft style open world. Playing GoT reminds me why I hate open world games so much. Far too bloated for it's own good.

I heard Iki island is a considerable improvement over the base game, but my only objective at present is to speedrun the main story and be done with the game.

wait until you try ubisoft open world the gameTM

 

[Trilobit]

The game started off very brightly (I thoroughly enjoyed Act 1) but I have developed severe burnout and fatigue from this game. I am currently nearing the end of Act 2 in GoT and but it is difficult to finish the game

As I've spent so much time in the game already, I will force myself to to completion but if there is one thing I know, I will safely skip Ghost of Yotei. Whether Act 3 or the finale wins me over remains to be seen.

Pros:
- Combat is satisfying and fun. You have different stances which are effective against different types of enemies. It's also nice the game is not a carbon copy of Souls like combat (which has been done to death in the genre).
- Duels/1v1 fights are fantastic.
- Good visuals and superb art direction. Despite having weak textures, GoT looks like a painting come to life.
- Excellent sound design and soundtrack; this is one of the few games which makes use of a good surround system and has an excellent implementation of LFE effects.
- For an open world game, environments and locales are extremely varied, and the dynamic time of day and weather system is very impressive.

Negatives
- Repetitive missions. Lots of fetch quests, walking segments, and 'tracking' enemies. Once you've done 2-3, you've done them all. As a result, side missions are mostly awful. Individual character quests should have been condensed. Who needs 9 missions of running around like a headless chicken before you get to the meat of the issue?
- Bland characters and story. It is difficult to care about many of the characters.
- Ubisoft style open world. Playing GoT reminds me why I hate open world games so much. Far too bloated for it's own good.

I heard Iki island is a considerable improvement over the base game, but my only objective at present is to speedrun the main story and be done with the game.

I basically agree with everything you said and I liked the game overall. But the world feels so static and lifeless and almost every sidecharacter is incredibly boring, from the monk to the crazy angry grandma. Only Jin and his uncle feel like real characters. The DLC is very much an improvement on the sidemissions and stuff and the whole game should have been on that level so hopefully Yotei nails it. But if you just want to be done then you can skip it with good conscience.

 

[RavageX]

I know this isn't an AC Odyssey thread, but I really love that game. Valhalla was such a disappointment in comparison.

I also really like Tsushima. It isn't the best game of its genre, but it starts and ends on high notes for me. It's also beautiful to see.

I agree with all your points here.

 

[Topher]

Pretend it's a 10/10. Game is mid

Eh....stating an opinion as if it is fact doesn't make it one

 

[mrqs]

The latter half of the game really doesn’t hold up. The story gets too dumb, and the gameplay is just too repetitive.

 

[Kacho]

It’s a very 7/10 game. Very passable but also very unspectacular. If Ubisoft games are equivalent to McDonald’s, GoT and Horizon are equivalent to Chik-fil-A. Good but extremely overrated.

 

[Hydroxy]

Ghost of Tsushima and GoW Ragnarok were two of my biggest gaming disappointments last year. Both extremely boring and dull. Couldn't play beyond the first few hours. Days Gone was more fun than both.

 

[MALpractice311]

Yeah... no

Where did I critique Elden Ring's art direction? My critique is the repetitive side content. The legacy dungeons are good to great. The caves and forges are total wastes.

 

[Fbh]

Yup. Played it when I got my Ps5 and I thought it was very mid, pretty disappointing after all the praise it was getting. The only truly great thing about it are the nice visuals and art direction.
It's just a generic Ubisoft style open world and IMO not even a particularly good one. Them making the wind and wildlife act as GPS was a nice visual touch but it doesn't change the fact you mostly just follow a GPS from one uninteresting activity to the other. Almost every sidequest is talking to someone, then you either follow them or follow some tracks, then you fight the same 4-5 mongol enemy types you've constantly been fighting the entire game and that's it. The more generic "activities" spread around the world are equally as boring, with almost none of them requiring any skill or major player involvement, the only one that is remotely fun are the bamboo strikes and that's basically a glorified Simon says.

The combat was fun and satisfying at first but it eventually grows repetitive because it suffers from the same issue as Ubisoft games: A lack of enemy variety, gameplay variety and interesting encounter design. Same with the 1VS1 duels, the first couple are fun and then you realize it's mostly just more of the same every time. When I think back to the game I can't remember a single specific boss fights because they are so samey they all just blend together.

As I've said in other threads, my interest in Ghost of Yoitei is very low if it just turns out to be a "more of the same" type of sequel.
Hot take (Maybe?, not really): Sucker Punch is a very mid dev that makes very mid games. I admittedly haven't played the Sly games, but everything they've done in the almost 16 years since they launched Infamous 1 has been in the 6-7/10 range for me.

 

[Giallo Corsa]

@Tacitus_killgore17 just emoji bombing without explaining anything

He's the Sony fanboy equivalent of guys like Darkmage are for the Xbox, absolutely zero discussion to be had, just emoji laugh bombing/spamming, absolutely zero contribution to the forum besides that.

Anyway, I too share the same sentiment as the OP, it's an Ubisoft title in all but name, frankly, after the praising it received it was expecting much more.

Pros :
- simple and yet fun combat system.
- the standoff mechanic will never get boring, it's just cool as fuck and works well.
- some nice locales
- Nice use of particle effects.
- very nice production values

Cons :
- The open world is the usual, Ubisoft-like Open world boredom with 163748292 OCD inducing points of interest on the map, it's just copy paste shit after copy paste shit.
- world can be pretty empty
- cliche' characters and story (I'm not talking about it being based on a historical fact).
- after the first five to six hours, there isn't anything new introduced and you'll be doing the same stuff over and over again.

I basically forced myself to finish it and I just couldn't go through the iki island DLC, I just dropped it.

All in all, a well made and pretty looking game that - unfortunately - doesn't do any new compared to the myriad of Assassin's Creed slops, its only saving grace is the fun combat system and the period setting, If you like the usual Ubisoft tripe you'll enjoy this, if not, well...

It's a 7/10 at most for me, it's not sleep inducing nor as padded as the God awful God of war Ragnarok but, it's not that much better either.

 

[Wolves hunt in packs]

The thing is that the topic title make it seem you didn't enjoy the game at all, and then you read the post itself and there's a lot of pros there, the question is what open-world game doesn't have to some degree unrepetitive gameplay? I can't think of a this kind of game, because it's open-world it seems that it's hard to avoid, there's some games like Maifa 3 (which i love) that take that overboard, but i didn't get that feeling from GoT tbh, the map isn't that huge and while yes you do the same thing over and over it didn't overstay it welcome to me.

On the other hand i did had a blast with AC Valhalla, so much so i replayed it after first playthrough of 250 hours, so i'm not the best example.

 

[Wolves hunt in packs]

Sorry made a double post, please delete it, thanks.

 

[Punished Miku]

Yup. Played it when I got my Ps5 and I thought it was very mid, pretty disappointing after all the praise it was getting. The only truly great thing about it are the nice visuals and art direction.
It's just a generic Ubisoft style open world and IMO not even a particularly good one. Them making the wind and wildlife act as GPS was a nice visual touch but it doesn't change the fact you mostly just follow a GPS from one uninteresting activity to the other. Almost every sidequest is talking to someone, then you either follow them or follow some tracks, then you fight the same 4-5 mongol enemy types you've constantly been fighting the entire game and that's it. The more generic "activities" spread around the world are equally as boring, with almost none of them requiring any skill or major player involvement, the only one that is remotely fun are the bamboo strikes and that's basically a glorified Simon says.

The combat was fun and satisfying at first but it eventually grows repetitive because it suffers from the same issue as Ubisoft games: A lack of enemy variety, gameplay variety and interesting encounter design. Same with the 1VS1 duels, the first couple are fun and then you realize it's mostly just more of the same every time. When I think back to the game I can't remember a single specific boss fights because they are so samey they all just blend together.

As I've said in other threads, my interest in Ghost of Yoitei is very low if it just turns out to be a "more of the same" type of sequel.
Hot take (Maybe?, not really): Sucker Punch is a very mid dev that makes very mid games. I admittedly haven't played the Sly games, but everything they've done in the almost 16 years since they launched Infamous 1 has been in the 6-7/10 range for me.

Accurate, but I think inFamous SS is their best game. One of the best OST of that whole gen. Top tier art design like the neon and smoke powers and video. Environments had a bit more destruction so I was into it for longer than GoT. Story is carried by Troy Baker who is basically just playing himself so it works. It still suffers from almost the same act structure and shallow side activities but the art carried it further for me.

 

[Giallo Corsa]

Accurate, but I think inFamous SS is their best game. One of the best OST of that whole gen. Top tier art design like the neon and smoke powers and video. Environments had a bit more destruction so I was into it for longer than GoT. Story is carried by Troy Baker who is basically just playing himself so it works. It still suffers from almost the same act structure and shallow side activities but the art carried it further for me.

Man... infamous second son was amazing with that post rock OST, not to mention, the powers were really fun as was the city and its general atmosphere but most importantly, the game didn't outstay its welcome, it was a nice and fun 20-30 hours romp - a stark contrast to the padded GoT.

SS is easily a 8.5/10 game

 

[Team Andromeda]

The game started off very brightly (I thoroughly enjoyed Act 1) but I have developed severe burnout and fatigue from this game. I am currently nearing the end of Act 2 in GoT and but it is difficult to finish the game

As I've spent so much time in the game already, I will force myself to to completion but if there is one thing I know, I will safely skip Ghost of Yotei. Whether Act 3 or the finale wins me over remains to be seen.

Pros:
- Combat is satisfying and fun. You have different stances which are effective against different types of enemies. It's also nice the game is not a carbon copy of Souls like combat (which has been done to death in the genre).
- Duels/1v1 fights are fantastic.
- Good visuals and superb art direction. Despite having weak textures, GoT looks like a painting come to life.
- Excellent sound design and soundtrack; this is one of the few games which makes use of a good surround system and has an excellent implementation of LFE effects.
- For an open world game, environments and locales are extremely varied, and the dynamic time of day and weather system is very impressive.

Negatives
- Repetitive missions. Lots of fetch quests, walking segments, and 'tracking' enemies. Once you've done 2-3, you've done them all. As a result, side missions are mostly awful. Individual character quests should have been condensed. Who needs 9 missions of running around like a headless chicken before you get to the meat of the issue?
- Bland characters and story. It is difficult to care about many of the characters.
- Ubisoft style open world. Playing GoT reminds me why I hate open world games so much. Far too bloated for it's own good.

I heard Iki island is a considerable improvement over the base game, but my only objective at present is to speedrun the main story and be done with the game.

Spot on. It also doesn't look as good as some love to make out either

 

[TrebleShot]

Yeah it's get whT your saying. One of the main issues is the melancholic delivery from Jin.

He almost sounds like he's been dragged out of bed to avenge his family.

 

[Saber]

I agree mostly, but the reason I like this game is the art direction and the differents approachs you can take to fight. I was pretty fan of using bows.

 

[Shaki12345]

This game is a hot chick with a horrible personality.

- repetitive side missions with absolutely terrible voice acting, cutscenes and animations.
- why is this open world?
- game feels like work

 

[coachmcguirk91]

GOT has incredible art design and very visceral combat. Those two things carry the other mediocre aspects of the game

And Sucker Punch can improve upon so much for Yotei. They already added a bunch of gameplay mechanics in the DLC multi-player that are not in the base game. They doubled in size as a studio since GOT released too

 

[ShadyAcshuns]

Yes, by the time you get to the second area you're already suffering from open world repetitive syndrome, just like most other Ubi games. Having said that, it's still a great adventure with an amazing setting and awesome world full of beauty and death.

I sure hope SP and Sony don't fuck up Yotei.

 

[Krappadizzle]

I liked it well enough, bought on PS4 and then the more recent PC rerelease and played through it to completion on both platforms. I never got around to the expansion content, I was just ready to put it down by then, having put a lot of time in a relatively small window with it. I think it's a great game, when I'm in the mood for the genre/type, it perfectly scratches the itch.

I think the complaint about repetitiveness is partially true, but it didn't really detract too much from my enjoyment. I just did the things I liked, and ignored the ones I didn't.

In lieu of getting a real Tenchu game, I'll take these approximate alternatives.