Ghost of Tsushima's Iki Island for Jin to discover.
While doing the side activities, it’s worth mentioning that players will receive visions periodically due to being poisoned by The Eagle. These visions include memories of fighting the Kotun Kahn, talking with Lord Shimura, and various callbacks to Jin’s time in Tsushima. Jin will also talk about the guilt he holds onto about his father’s death as The Eagle whispers in his ear. While these don’t impact how these side activities play out, they expand the lore nicely and let players into Jin’s inner thoughts during Ghost of Tsushima's new activities.
The returning activities include Bamboo Strikes, Haiku’s, Hot Springs, Pillars of Honor, Lighthouses, and a Shinto Shrine. For players who already completed the Bamboo Strikes on Tsushima, doing the ones on Iki Island will allow Jin to recover Resolve while out of combat. Hot Spring will provide the same effect by giving a slight increase to Jin’s maximum health. Pillars of Honor will reward Jin with new Sword Kits. The Yahata Lighthouse and Nakajima Shrine will provide new charms for Jin to use. The Yahata Lighthouse’s charm grants twice as many ammo pickups, and the Nakajima Shrine’s charm lets players press L2 to focus on an enemy who has begun to detect them, making it easier to lock on and snipe them with a bow before alerting other enemies. As a bonus, players will also find a Pillar of Honor when completing the Nakajima Shrine.
Iki Island's New Various Animal Sanctuaries In Ghost of Tsushima
A few side activities include various Animal Sanctuaries for Cats, Deer, and Monkeys. Each Sanctuary will provide a unique Major Charm upon the first completion. Each of these charms can be upgraded by completing more Sanctuaries corresponding with the correct animal. To complete these challenges, players will move their controller to stay in between the green lines as Jin plays a melody on his flute to attract the animals. It should also be noted that with each Sanctuary unlocked, the movements to keep the controller in line will also speed up and get harder. As a bonus for completing the Sanctuary, Jin will also be able to pet the Cats, Deer, or Monkeys just like how he can pet the Foxes after they lead him to shrines.
- The Cat Sanctuary will give the Nekoma’s Hunt Charm that allows Jin to extend his chain assassination by throwing a Kunai at a fourth enemy. This is a great charm for those who want to use Ghost of Tsushima’s stealth mechanics to its finest.
- The Deer Sanctuary will provide the Charm of Sugaru’s Sight which will let players shoot three arrows at once; players can also target three different enemies at once. To use this charm, players will see two new arrow types when selecting the Short Bow or Long Bow. Jin can fire multiple fire arrows and explosive arrows if he wants to. Players who use the charm can still fire a single arrow if they so choose so that they aren’t wasting all their ammo.
- The Monkey Sanctuary will give the Charm of Mashira’s Protection that will extend Perfect Parry and Perfect Dodge Windows for a short time whenever Jin heals, but healing now costs two Resolve instead of one. This charm pairs perfectly with the new Sarugami Armor, which gets rid of the Regular Parry and only allows players to Perfect Parry, but the armor adds some unique bonuses for those skilled enough to Perfect Parry or Perfect Dodge. The armor also grants a massive boost to Resolve gains, making the two Resolve usage of the charm not so bad in the long run.
Archery Contests Throughout Iki Island in Ghost of Tsushima
The next set of new Ghost of Tsushima side activities are the Archery Challenges. These challenges will test how much Jin learned from Sensei Ishikawa. The Archery test will not only test the player’s accuracy, but their speed as well. Upon completing the first Archery Challenge, Jin will be rewarded with the minor Charm of Concentration. This charm extends the Concentration time for Jin by .1 seconds depending on how well Jin scores.
Each Archery Challenge has a bronze, silver, and gold medal to be earned. By completing each medal, players will increase their Concentration time. This means that even if Ghost of Tsushima players don’t score a gold medal, their Charm of Concentration will still increase by two for completing the bronze and silver medals. To complete these challenges, players should dawn the Tadayori armor set which increases the arrow notching speed by 15% and improves Concentration time by five seconds when fully upgraded.
Relive Jin's Past With His Father On Their Journey To Iki Island
Another new side activity on Ghost of Tsushima's Iki Island is the memories of the past after Jin gets captured by The Eagle. These activities see Jin relive his past. Players will get to play as a young Jin as he journeys alongside his father as they tried to bring law and order to Iki Island. Some missions show the hard and gritty side of Jin’s father, who can be very strict. Other missions have Jin’s father show his comionate side - something Jin states he saw very little of. These missions are a nice break to play through after all the chaotic combat.
Iki Island Brings A New Style Of Dueling To Ghost Of Tsushima
The final new side activity in Ghost of Tsushima is a tournament that takes place in Fune’s Refuge encampment. Players will need to complete “Jin of Yarikawa” for the quest to unlock. Upon unlocking the quest, players will have to duel four opponents each with their own unique fighting style. However, these aren’t the average duels Ghost of Tsushima players know. In these duels, the objective is not to kill. Jin will be using a wooden sword, and to win he must land five hits on his opponent. Once all four enemies have been defeated, Jin will unlock a wooden sheathe for his Katana and Tanto, as well as unlock the Crimson Armor Dye vendor. The vendor sells a unique alternate armor set for the Samurai Clan Armor, a new Sword Kit, a few masks, and alternate colors for other armors.
The main storyline on Iki Island is not too long for those looking to just run through it. The Ghost of Tsushima DLC is the same size as Act 1. However, there are plenty of tasks to keep players busy as they accept the urge to follow the guiding yellow birds to the various unique activities around the map in Ghost of Tsushima’s Director’s Cut.
