![]() ![]() Spoiled for Choice (No, but Really This Time) The game also makes sure that, even if the player isn’t fully invested in the philosophical or ethical implications of either choice, it’ll still hit like a punch to the gut because of how much it means to Jin. It’s a really difficult choice, and there’s no good option to go with. And then once they win, Jin (and the player) are presented with a final choice: Jin can retain his honor and give his uncle an honorable death, which will mean killing his last remaining family member, or fully forsake this honor and allow his uncle to live, knowing they’ll never really be family again. In the final moments of Ghost of Tsushima, the two come to blows in Clan Sakai’s family cemetery, with the player having to give everything they’ve got to win against Jin’s equally skilled uncle. It was necessary, but his actions have had unforeseen consequences that put him at ideological odds with his uncle, who adheres to the code and to the rigid Japanese caste system to a fault. Jin has succeeded in warding off the Mongol invaders, but he did so by violating the samurai code of honor that his family has drilled into his head all his life. The ending of the game sees titular character Jin having to face off against his uncle, Lord Shimura, in a final boss battle. ![]() And yet Ghost of Tsushima managed to pull that ending off just the same, and I think that’s worth applauding. It was a final choice in a game where choice wasn’t a factor, it hinged on the emotional investment of the player, and it had to ride a fine line to not make one choice better than the other. ![]() The final choice of Ghost of Tsushima is one that could very easily not have worked. To celebrate the release of Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut, I’d like to take a look back at the game’s ending and what it did right that other games haven’t. ![]()
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