Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut game mode works with lens lock camera

When it launched in 2020, Tsushima ghost made repeated comparisons to Assassin’s Creed, such as compliments and criticisms. It sounded mostly like a compliment to me: I’m a fan of period pieces, even if I don’t know anything about the time or the setting. And an adventure in an open world always sounds like great value to me. But by the time I rejoined the conversation about games after a summer sabbatical, I was already into the sports programming that usually catches my eye. Tsushima ghost remained my FOMO highlight for 2020.

However, a comparison made me pause, as I prepared to dive into that world for the first time this week with Ghost of Tsushima – Director’s Cut. Reddit threads shortly after launch he called it “Assassin’s Creed, with a worse camera”, more or less. Lack of a blocking target threw many who used Ubisoft’s blocking camera to handle fights against multiple enemies.

Sucker Punch Productions later explained that the lack of a fixed target, and the awareness that accompanies it, was more suited to the Mongol presence as a constant and deadly threat. Players would have to make affirmative entries and precise choices rather than spamming the buttons. But the absence of a lock was unpleasant enough for Sucker Punch to create one for Director’s Edition – as well as a patch for the original game – highlighting it as a fulfilled fan request.

The good news: the target lock works great. I don’t recommend the “activate kill” option, as it was disorienting unless the enemy I was switching to was already in my peripheral vision. But for those used to melee combat in white, this fits the bill perfectly.

Does that also mean bad news? Not bad, exactly, but having been exposed to both settings, I think I prefer the vanilla camera. I have been a regular camera setter on third person adventures dating back to Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. I am always repositioning the camera with my right thumb. With Tsushima ghostHowever, in the new target lock, that instinct made me switch targets instead of keeping my awareness of the crowd around me. Now I understand the sense of danger that Sucker Punch was looking for with the original camera, and why it is more appropriate for this type of game, where enemies block attacks more effectively and where encounters can end more quickly thanks to cuts and deadliest stabs.

I also agree with Sucker Punch on another point: Tsushima ghost Fast and brutal combat really does flow better – at least it’s a lot more cinematic – when the camera isn’t continually jumping from one enemy to another. While fighting on a hillside or other steep terrain, the flash between sprawling enemies sent my horizon spinning out of control, adding unwanted pacing between attacks as I visually readjusted.

That Tsushima ghost still need, unfortunately, is a means of fast re-centered the camera. In Assassin’s Creed Odyssey or originsI rarely used targeting lock, I only did it when there was a bad guy I had to prioritize (usually a plague with a ranged attack). And in those two games, which took a total of 300 hours of my free time, I would frequently finish combos and dodges by rolling off the screen. I do the same in Tsushima ghost. The difference is that I could always click the right stick to orient myself in Assassin’s Creed.

Image: Sucker Punch Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment

What a Reddit thread from last year said, the only true way to re-center the camera is to enter and exit the game’s photo mode; this echoes me when pausing the game on San Andreas every time they turned me around and I ended up facing CJ. It’s not something I want to do in combat, or at all in 2021.

All that said, lens lock isn’t really the all-around cure I’d prefer, but neither is the original camera an obstacle to my combat tendencies or my desire to explore this game. I’m nowhere near new content on Director’s Edition. (Iki Island is accessible in the second act of the game, and I’ve only just started the first.)

But at the end of this summer, I’ll finally tear off Tsushima ghost from my mound of FOMO shame. And I’m delighted that, with the changes in Director’s EditionI have a feeling of “playing the right way the first time” while doing it. I’m impressed with Jin Sakai as a character, and the initial moral conflict of whether his principles, or the people those principles protect, are the most important thing. Tsushima itself is beautiful and richly illustrated, enough to give you a sense of place despite never having visited anything like that island in real life.

Ghost of Tsushima – Director’s Cut It will be released on August 20 for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5. The game was played on PlayStation 5 using a download code provided by Sony. Vox Media has affiliate associations. These do not influence editorial content, although Vox Media may earn commissions for products purchased through affiliate links. You can find Additional information on Polygon’s ethics policy here.