This Ghost of Tsushima (opens in new tab) exploration overview video gives you a tantalizingly brief look at how you’ll roam the eponymous island.
Tsushima is a real-life place, sitting between the Japanese main islands and the Korean peninsula, that I’m sure is quite beautiful. That said, developer Sucker Punch Productions took some creative liberties to jam as many diverse biomes and jaw-dropping sights into its version as possible.
It’s a big chunk of land to roam with many points of interest to find, and fortunately you’ll have the help of the wind itself to find your way; Jin can always count on the Guiding Wind to blow in the direction of his next objective, along with other surprisingly helpful bits of the natural world. GR+ reviewer Rachel Weber counted Tsushima itself as the main highlight of the game (click the link in the first paragraph of this article to read her full thoughts).
“The real star of Ghost of Tsushima isn’t its hero Jin Sakai, it’s the island that unfurls around you. Sucker Punch has delivered on its promise of using the natural world as a guide, with the wind’s direction leading you to waypoints, golden birds showing the way to hidden secrets like bamboo strikes and hot springs, and foxes shepherding you to Inari shrines. With fields of pampas grass, bamboo forests, lakes, and mountains, it’s like running through a painting – and with a few exceptions – everything is so colorful, so vivid, that running between quests is like a pharmaceutical strength ASMR video. You can fast travel, but you’ll find you don’t want to.”
Check out this Ghost of Tsushima combat overview (opens in new tab) to see a less tranquil side of the game.