This week, developer Sucker Punch Studios released the Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut for PlayStation 5, which boosts the game’s performance on the new hardware and includes a story expansion to the main game. Set exclusively on the new Iki Island, the add-on for Ghost of Tsushima features a decent-sized locale for players to explore and some secrets to uncover as well.
One of the secrets tucked within the Iki Island expansion for Ghost of Tsushima is an armor set themed after the God of War franchise. In order to unlock the God of War armor in Ghost of Tsushima, players will need to find the Shrine of Ash on Iki Island and complete its riddle.
Ghost of Tsushima players will find the Shrine of Ash in the Eastern portion of Iki Island, a little off the coast and slightly South of the top of the map. Players can use the below map to go straight to the Shrine of Ash or they can venture around the general area and then follow the yellow bird that appears to guide them.
How to Complete the Shrine of Ash Puzzle
Players will know that they have arrived at the Shrine of Ash almost immediately. Each of the unique Shrines on Ghost of Tsushima’s Iki Island is themed after a different Sony title and has some items that reference said game. In the Shrine of Ash’s case, there is a Marked Tree (the white one with the yellow hand on it) from the 2018 reboot and a chain sprawled across the base of it.
Where the chain ends is a scroll that the player can pick up and read. It says: “In fall, a tree fruits which grow from seed to sapling, a stranger and son. Boy, honor your father’s fight. Show him the strength of your blade.”
These riddles for the Shrines are somewhat obtuse, but they include two directions. One hints at what to have Jin Sakai wear and the other tells him what to do. The reference to the stranger and son tells players to wear the Sakai Clan Armor, which is the armor set that Jin’s father originally wore. The strength of the blade portion tells the player to unsheathe their sword, which is done by swiping to the right on the PS5 DualSense controller’s touchpad.
To recap:
- Equip the Sakai Clan Armor
- Unsheathe Jin's sword by swiping right on touchpad
Once Ghost of Tsushima players have unsheathed the sword, a brief cutscene should trigger that transforms Jin’s armor dye and gives him a new helmet and mask. It also features the iconic music from God of War (2018) played in the style of Ghost of Tsushima’s soundtrack.
In total, the Shrine of Ash completion will unlock:
- Helm of War
- Spartan Mask
- Ghost of Sparta dye for Sakai Clan Armor
Although Ghost of Tsushima tries to deliver a realistic story set in historical context, the developers at Sucker Punch Studios were not above making some references to other Sony properties. In addition to the Shrine of Ash and the God of War armor, there are also nods to some other popular Sony titles like Shadow of Colossus and Bloodborne. Each of the Shrines requires completing a specific puzzle, which usually involves wearing a certain armor set and performing an action. That being said, if one were to pick a favorite out of the Ghost of Tsushima Easter Egg armor sets, the God of War armor is arguably the best looking.
Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut is available now on PS5.