Ghost of Tsushima

Sucker Punch's 2020 game is set during the first Mongol invasion of Japan, and its central tension is mechanical as well as narrative: Jin Sakai is a samurai whose code is losing the war, so the game gives him a duelling system built on stances and parries and a separate assassination toolkit built on smoke bombs and throat-cutting, and lets you feel the difference between them. Standoffs, where you face a group and win or lose the opening exchange on a single well-timed input, are the best expression of that. The open world is unusually restrained for its era - no icon-covered map, just wind that points you at things, foxes that lead you to shrines, and haiku composition as a genuine collectible. It is one of the most beautiful games of its generation, particularly the Kurosawa black-and-white mode. Legends, the free co-op mode, is substantial. The 2024 PC release added ultrawide and DLSS, and Iki Island is included in the Director's Cut.