One month after the launch of Ghost of Tsushima, Sucker Punch Productions shocked fans of the historically themed open-world adventure with the announcement that new content was already in the pipeline for the game. Not only was the news completely out of left field, it also marked a radical break from tradition for the studio. Dubbed Ghost of Tsushima: Legends, the co-operative multiplayer expansion offers players the chance to explore the unique folklore of Tsushima at no additional cost.

Since launching on PS4 in October 2020, Legends has been embraced with open arms by fans. With Ghost of Tsushima: Director's Cut set to simultaneously bring the entire package to the PS5 in August, there's a growing opportunity for more people than ever to jump in.

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Ghost of Tsushima: Legends' Basics

At the core of Ghost of Tsushima: Legends lies a co-operative centric experience that allows up to four players to work together to overcome a variety of story and objective based scenarios, across a handful of different game types. While Legends is free for anyone who owns the original singleplayer Ghost of Tsushima, it's worth keeping in mind that to play online with others, an active PlayStation Plus subscription is required. Playing through the bulk of the content on offer is also theoretically feasible solo, and a welcome accessibility option for those who prefer their own company.

Anyone who decides to tackle Legends in this way does admittedly risk missing out on the synergy and strategizing that the experience has been designed around. Upon loading into the mode, players are greeted with four distinct classes: Ghost, Samurai, Hunter, Ronin, and Assassin. Each of these options takes a certain aspects of Jin's singleplayer arsenal, such as stealth or archery, and turns it into a unique playstyle. Mixing and matching these with friends and strangers subsequently becomes a big part of the fun that's on offer within the expansion, with replayability possibilities being greatly enhanced by RPG style leveling, skills, and equipment systems as well.

Ghost of Tsushima: Legends' gameplay focus doesn't mean there isn't an intriguing narrative behind the experience. Throughout the different game types, players will not only find themselves repelling the invading Mongol Empire, but also the darkest aspects of Japanese folklore too. Sucker Punch cleverly justifies this pivot from the main game by setting up the events unfolding in front of the player, as dramatic retellings of the invasion through the eyes of Gyozen. Being familiar with the narrator's backstory within the main game isn't necessary to enjoy Legends, but it provides a neat narrative bridge between the two if players stumbled across the old mine playing as Jin.

Ghost of Tsushima: Legends' Modes

Ghost of tsushima legends hunter ability is one of 4 that are great

Anyone who dives into Ghost of Tsushima: Legends will find themselves with the option to play three distinct game types. The first and most prominent of these is the Story, which sees up to two teammates take on a series of 10 supernatural-themed arcs. Repelling the forces that haunt the island of Tsushima can be tackled in four different difficulties, each adding a variety of unique challenges to overcome. Finishing the story on the Nightmare Mode setting in particular is a serious challenge that's not for the faint hearted, and takes effective communication between co-op partners in combination with a mastery of Ghost of Tsushima's gameplay mechanics.

For those wanting a more arcade-y experience, the Survival Mode offers a tense alternative test of endurance. Here up to four players are tasked with defending a set of three bases for a predetermined number of rounds, on a host of maps inspired by the singleplayer campaign. Naturally as the rounds advance so too does the difficulty and damage enemies can dish out, with every 5th round featuring a boss battle for good measure. Being an effective teammate within this wave-clearing setting requires the player to balance their Ghost loadouts, and can take a decent amount of grinding to level up and unlock better gear.

Ghost of Tsushima: Legends' Endgame

Jin Sakai on coast cliff

One final climactic test is also available to those who have invested a considerable amount of time grinding out their loadouts within the previously mentioned game types. Launched two weeks after Ghost of Tsushima: Legends, a bonus Raid Mode option was added in for free by Sucker Punch. Split into three equally grueling chapters, this conclusion to the expansion features the most challenging difficulty from both a gameplay and puzzle perspective. Like the raids that can be found within other games such as Destiny, there's very little direction offered up to the player on how to proceed at all, and that's before they even make it to the final terrifying boss fight.

Leveling up and earning new items, gear, and cosmetics, remains fun in the endgame even after all of the modes that are currently available have been beaten. Throughout the experience players have the option to shift between the 4 classes of Ghosts, which means there's a level of replayability to be capitalized on from trying the same modes from different perspectives. Alongside the recent announcement of the Ghost of Tsushima: Director's Cut, Sucker Punch Productions also announced that it isn't finished with Legends either. With more free content on the horizon, there's plenty of time now for new and returning players to get back on board in anticipation.

Ghost of Tsushima: Director's Cut releases August 20 on PS4 and PS5.

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