Ghost of Tsushima’s upgraded camera helps, but is it really necessary?
Ghost of Tsushima was launched in 2020. It received repeated comparisons to Assassin’s Creed as compliments and criticisms. It was a compliment to my taste. I love period pieces, even though I don’t know much about the setting or time. An open-world adventure is something that I find very valuable. After a summer sabbatical, I returned to gaming but was already immersed in the sports programming that normally commands my attention. Ghost from Tsushima was my FOMO highlight of 2020.
A single comparison gave me pause as I was about to enter that world with the Ghost Of Tsushima. Director’s Cut. Reddit threads from shortly after launch called it “Assassin’s Creed, with a worse camera,” more or less. The lack of a target lock threw off many who used Ubisoft’s lock-on camera for managing fights against multiple enemies.
Sucker Punch Productions later explained that the lack of a target lock and the awareness that goes along with it more suited the Mongols’ presence as a swarming, constantly deadly threat. Players would need to give affirmative inputs and make precise choices, rather than just clicking the buttons. The absence of a lock-on was so annoying that Sucker Punch made one for Director’s Cut. It also appeared in a patch to the original game. This is a way to show fans that it was a fulfilled fan request.
Good news! Target lock works well. The “switch-on-kill” option is not recommended. It would disorient me unless the enemy it swapped with were in my peripheral vision. This is a good option for people who are used to targeting-locked melee combat.
That also means bad news. It’s not bad, but I have been exposed to both cameras, and I prefer the vanilla one. Since Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, I have been a regular camera adjuster in third-person adventures. __S.17__ However, Ghost from Tsushima‘s target lock made it so that I could swap targets with my instincts and keep an eye on the people around me. Now I understand what Sucker Punch meant by the original camera and why it is more appropriate for this type of game. Enemies block attacks more effectively, and encounters can be ended more quickly due to more deadly slashes or stabs.
