Ghost of Tsushima has received a surprising amount of hype and praise for a new IP and it is absolutely deserved. After spending most of the game's beginning unconscious, Jin Sakai decides to abandon the samurai code by using a combination of stealth and combat to become the mostrous Ghost, striking fear into the invading Mongols led by the grandson of Ghngis Khan himself. And I haven't seen a game work so hard to innovate where it can in a long time. If Miles Morales is a fantastic refinement of the systems established by its predecessor, Ghost of Tsushima is a reimagining of two fundamental gameplay elements- combat and exploration. The swordplay in this game is unlike anything I've ever played. A sort of combination of the Arkham and Souls-like games with a robust move set and counter system enhanced by a wide variety of tools and options along with fantastic style and game feel that manages to perfectly balance the line between feeling vulnerable and powerful. Going from getting killed by simple swordsmen and bears in the beginning to taking out large groups of mongol brutes with ease feels so natural that you hardly notice the improvement until going back to finish early side missions… Even if there is a lot of cheesing by running in circles to avoid being surrounded by large groups. 

On top of that, the world itself is easily the most beautiful I've ever seen in a game. The vibrant colors make each new location memorable, with the use of wind as a guide to the next destination being a genius way of avoiding a cluttered UI. And while I do feel bad for whoever has to rake up all these leaves, the foliage and particle effects top everything off with a style that's both unique and beautiful. In fact  it makes the black-and-white Kurosawa mode paying homage to the game's inspiration a lesser experience, even if the option is undeniably cool. On top of that while most missions do tend to follow the same formula of going to a place and talking to a random NPC before finding a group to fight, the various tools available between stealth and combat allow players to keep things interesting by changing their approach, with no clear dominant strategy becoming the default. It's absolutely fantastic. The story is also great, if a bit generic and same goes for the characters. While they are engaging enough to make the story enjoyable, surprises were few and far between. And though there are a few bugs to be fixed in traversal and combat, the camera can get blocked while fighting, and the game could use a little more variety in its mission structures (especially for the collectibles), no other game this year made me want to jump back in to 100% it more. This was clearly a labor of love, with Sucker Punch even pushing numerous free patches since release including additional difficulty modes, New Game plus, and even a surprisingly fun co-op horde mode. I can't wait to see what they have in store for us next because Ghost of Tsushima knocks it out of the park.