You’ll come away from the Island with a roster of new armor and charms, and better horse combat to boot. Iki unlocks once you’ve started the game’s second act (after you free Lord Shimura) and, if it’s your first time, I recommend playing it as soon as you can. Iki Island, both the name of this expansion’s new map and story, shows that Sucker Punch is still learning in the best ways possible. Tsushima stood out in the studio’s catalog, featuring a more compelling story while still nailing everything it takes to make a thrilling and fun open-world adventure. Those franchises all featured fun combat and engaging world navigation but weren’t exactly narrative tentpoles. What was most refreshing about Tsushima when it came out was how it showed how its studio, Sucker Punch, had matured since its Infamous and Sly Cooper games. While it is nice to finally have Sony commit to some form of upgrade path for its games, this is a far cry from the more consumer-friendly approach Microsoft has taken, outright refusing to allow publishers to sell upgrades to players: either give it to them through smart delivery for free, or go home. Get used to that $9.99 upgrade fee, by the way, as Sony has committed to that being available for all of its cross-gen exclusives going forward. As of now, there is no way to buy the PS5 upgrade without the Iki Island expansion. Lastly, if you’re on PS4 and buy the Director’s Cut upgrade for $19.99 now, you can upgrade to the PS5 version for $9.99 whenever you manage to get your hands on the new console. If you already own the game, you can get the Iki Island expansion by purchasing the “ Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut Upgrade” from the Playstation Store for $19.99 on PS4 or $29.99 if you want those PS5 enhancements. That gets you the full game and the Iki Island expansion - along with cosmetic items previously reserved for the game’s “Deluxe Edition”. If you’re new to Ghost of Tsushima, the Director’s Cut will cost you $59.99 or $69.99 depending on what platform you buy it for (and remember the PS4 version of the game will run just fine on PS5 if you’re looking to save some money). Speaking of pricing, here’s my best effort to explain the confusing ways Sony is charging for this expansion. This is not a remaster and I am glad it’s not being sold as one. Is Sony’s decision to charge $10 extra to get the PS5 upgrade a bunch of bullshit? Yes and no, but if you want a deep dive on the PS5 enhancements, you’ll find that in the second half of this review. Is it going to blow your mind if you've only played on PS4? Probably not. Is it the definitive way to experience Ghost of Tsushima? Absolutely. Tsushima’s PS5 release does look sharper all around - but this is not a remaster and I am glad it’s not being sold as one. The best explanations I can think are either “Director’s Cut” sounds more classy than “Complete Edition” or “Game of the Year," or it’s the term Sony thinks fits best with games that never received a traditional DLC release to begin with. The “Director’s Cut” branding here is a tad confusing and even some of Sony’s own collaborators take issue with it. Even though it was late, TLOU2 did get its 60 fps patch, and now Tsushima is receiving a native upgrade for PS5. I was, of course, wrong about all of this. This led me to think that, if the studio was going to just issue a free performance patch, a native Tsushima upgrade was out of the question - and that Naughty Dog wouldn’t follow suit with its own game, as to not cannibalize sales of a potential remaster of The Last of Us Part II. Notably, a similar announcement was not made by Naughty Dog at the time. Then, Sucker Punch announced that on day one, Tsushima’s PS4 version would take advantage of the PS5’s added horsepower to run at 60 fps. Surely, I told myself, Sony had updated versions of the PS4’s final two exclusives waiting in the wings to bolster the PS5’s launch year. I opted not to buy Ghost of Tsushima when it launched on PS4 in July of 2020 for the same reason I didn’t buy The Last of Us Part 2 the prior month: The launch of PS4 in 2013, and the subsequent remastering of the PS3’s swan song game The Last of Us only a year after the game launched, had taught me to be cautious.
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