Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut, developed by Sucker Punch Productions and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment, offers a lot to PlayStation 5 owners. The release features the same Iki Island DLC that players on PlayStation 4 will receive, but also includes a number of other enhancements to the base game, most notably use of the DualSense controller and some other graphical and loading upgrades.
Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut doesn't make any alterations to the main interlude of protagonist Jin Sakai's journey to regain control of his home from invaders. The story is no less compelling the second time around, however, and some subtle foreshadowing and other small details really stand out for those going back for another adventure with Jin. For anyone who hasn't experienced the excellent narrative that buoys Sucker Punch's hard-hitting samurai tale, it remains something that should be experienced by everyone once.
The biggest addition that Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut makes to the story of Jin Sakai is the accessed after Act 1 of the main story, though it feels like it's best experienced following the base game's entire narrative. That's because so much of Iki Island hinges on being intimately familiar with Jin Sakai's struggles, and deeper knowledge of the character results in a more emotionally impactful DLC.
Iki Island also adds a few new features beyond another look at Ghost of Tsushima's engrossing hero. Animal sanctuaries allow Jin to show his softer side by interacting with various wildlife, and is a natural extension of the "pet the fox" feature that endeared itself well to so many players. Horse charges are the most noticeable change to combat, allowing for Jin to do some more ridiculous types of combat engagements that previously didn't exist within the game. It's good in small doses, which is exactly how it slots into the existing combat system, so it's a welcome addition to the game's variety of mechanical options during fighting.
On haptic during horse riding especially feels like a good use of the technology. It's nothing groundbreaking - certainly not on the level of something explicitly developed for PlayStation 5 could probably achieve - but it's the type of extra that makes the prospect of buying Ghost of Tsushima again a bit more appealing.
Graphically, Ghost of Tsushima is, of course, at its best on PlayStation 5. New Japanese audio lip-syncing makes each cutscene feel much more well done using that audio track, and given the crisp rendering of everything occurring on screen, it comes at a crucial time, too. Everything that drew players to experiment for hours in Ghost of Tsushima photo mode looks even better now, and should result in even more lost time for the more aesthetically-inclined player looking to produce their own memories of Jin's journey.
Finally, PlayStation 5 takes what were already good loading times in Ghost of Tsushima and makes them essentially non-existent. Fast travel happens instantaneously, and that's not an exaggeration - from selecting an option on the map to having Jin arrive there happens immediately after pressing a button, and in a game with a fairly sizeable open world to explore and plenty of reasons to double-back to areas, it makes the experience smoother than ever.
Ultimately, Iki Island is a solid eight-to-ten hour campaign completing most of its extras, and the upgrades on PlayStation 5 are tangible enough that it feels like the release of Director's Cut was more than justified. Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut is the best iteration of an already amazing title, and should be a must-own for any PS5 who hasn't played through the game once before. For anyone who has already done so, it's a bit of a tougher sell, though the upgrades and expanded narrative of the DLC do offer enough to make it a strong consideration for another go on PlayStation 5.
Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut is available now on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5. Screen Rant was provided with a PS5 code for the purpose of this review.
