Sucker Punch’s Ghost of Tsushima has brought the standard of open-world RPGs to a brand new tier when it released on July 17, 2020; a far cry from other genre-visits with Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed franchise or Far Cry.
It brings weight to every action that Jin completes throughout the island of Tsushima, whether reflecting with haiku’s or competing in brutally fast combat with the best the Huns have to offer; a stark contrast to what has become the standard check-listing of other open-world RPG titles.
Yesterday, Ghost of Tsushima received its first patch that brings in new content (for free) with 1.05 which brings about a new combat difficulty level called ‘lethal’: enemies become drastically more deadly, which may be more fitting for the era and region. This isn’t a standard bullet-sponge difficulty, however, where you’ll be hacking infinitely at a mob while your weapon is made of plastic.
Jin’s katana becomes far more deadly as well, turning battles into a fever-pitch of violence and precision that escalates instantly into death for either the player of the foe.
Hack and slash combat has finally gotten some love without anyone needing to use the words ‘Souls-like‘ and it feels good.
Later today, Patch 1.05 for #GhostOfTsushima will be released, adding a new Lethal difficulty level, a new option for Lower Intensity combat, and new text settings.
You can read full details here: https://t.co/TxGF6n6y43 pic.twitter.com/Z8w6C8PQNy
— Sucker Punch Productions (@SuckerPunchProd) July 27, 2020
Conversely, if the combat already feels a bit too punishing (a fair statement from those that are more interesting in the jaw-dropping world-building that Ghost of Tsushima has to offer) the update also brought along ‘Lower Intensity Combat’.
The lower intensity does precisely what is on the label; everyone is giving along just a little more to give Jin a bit of extra wiggle room; stealth is more forgiving, players have ample time to react to attacks and QTE’s, and the vast majority of attacks can simply be defended by holding L1.
The update hit late last night and clocked in at 2.781 GB as an additional download on the PlayStation console; if Ghost of Tsushima has been playing on your console non-stop since you purchased it, save and close it, and reopen to queue the download.
Once downloaded, you can freely shift your difficulty level to give the new ‘Lethal’ mode a try; if you’re interested in the ‘Lower Intensity’ module, you’ll need to scope out the Accessibility settings within options; note that enabling Lower Intensity will force Easy difficulty.
Shifting around the various difficulties does not change the story, nor offer new and unique endings; find what satisfies your hunger for a Samurai with a sharp katana, and swing for the proverbial fences as you fight to halt the Mongol invasion.
