Decker

Didn't you have PS Plus? If so your game save should still be on the cloud (assuming you didn't let it lapse for more than 6 months).

Dan

So I (finally!) joined PS+ shortly before the PS5 came out... but I didn't load up the original game in that span of time (I had already finished it before getting PS+), so it seems like it never got a chance to sync the saved game to the cloud. I loaded up the original game on my PS5, before downloading the PS5 DC version, and it found no save files.

Good thing is, I now have PS+ for the next 8 years, so it shouldn't be a problem anymore!

Michael Corvin

So much fun being back in this world.

I did find it funny that despite putting nearly 100 hours into the game originally I hop into the DLC and can't remember how to freaking fight. At least there's no penalty for getting your ass kicked.

I do find it annoying that some of the new upgrades require resources you can't get on Iki Island and you're prevented from travelling back to Tsushima. I'd like to get the final upgrades for some of the armor sets but none of the Iki missions reward you with silk. I went to upgrade something else (forget what) but also needed some resource that I can't get until I'm allowed to travel back to Tsushima.

davidh777

Same. I tried to use Assassin’s Creed moves and got quickly killed so I’ll have to re-learn the combat.

Michael Corvin

I dropped it to Easy just to have fun and relearn. I've got nothing to prove. Plus I'm still in New Game + so there is still a little bump in difficulty.

uteotw

Agree on all counts. Also, oddly, it seems there are no places to purchase ammo on Iki Island. I'm regularly on arrows, etc. Still, definitely worth the purchase. I'm doing ever aspect of the island and loving it overall (def. tougher too, esp. on NG+).

slop101

I should start over.
I only got a couple hours in (maybe even only 90 minutes) before I stopped. I didn't "give up", it just never grabbed me enough to go back to. But now I'm hearing that the initial hump is almost 4 or 5 hours, then it's magical... I'll try to get over that hump soon.

uteotw

I would say this is basically true. You really power up a TON, which makes the game a lot of fun.

davidh777

Yeah, I got killed constantly when I first started the game. I remember an early battle where the damn archers kept shooting me.

Michael Corvin

I don't know about the 4-5 hour estimate (which seems like a decent chunk of time if you aren't enjoying it) but from what I recall the game did start off slow. Once the fog on the initial map starts opening up with the story, and strongholds, then you have a dozen side missions popping up plus another dozen different types of "collectibles" to find you can really zero in on which parts of the game you like and just do those for bit while you level up. On top of all that you have different skill trees to tackle depending on your style and another dozen weapons to unlock and learn. The game is overflowing with content.

Are you a fan of Far Cry? That's basically all this is, Far Cry with swords.

Barth

Yep, it's true. I'm on my first playthrough. At the beginning I thought it was overhyped. I almost quit and was forcing myself to play. Now that I'm about 8 hours in I hate when I have to quit playing for the night and can't wait to get back to it. So glad I gave it a chance.

K&AJones

The first area and starting out sets the tone and the main story along with your "Friends" you come across during the game which their stories are actually very good. It all meshes together very well and the pace...you set it by playing the main or exploring and looking for all which I did. Once you get skills, gain and upgrade armor and weapons, the game really starts to feel good and take shape...early on you're like I can't take on four Mongols....later on it's like so what it's 10-15 Mongols...I've got this...from the Ghost Weapons to Stances to the Assassinations which never ever gets old.....The Story is as good as the action....

I platinum the game and now doing to new DLC Island and it's just as good as the main story....have you tried Legends Mode yet...that's pretty fun but suggest get use to the comabt and moves and then get in the four player coop. I haven't played it in a long time and frankly don't know if it has a lot players playing it; shame if not because with Four Samurai it's a blast and challenging...

K&AJones

The Stand Alone Legends Mode is out today.....$20.00....

Michael Corvin

There's a few things you can do here.

1. Upgrade your storage on the items you like using. This is the most obvious but it's easy to overlook the trapper as he's usually not around the same areas as the armor, bow and sword guys.

2. Find the Charm of Abundant Reserves - Gain twice as much ammo from pickups.

3. New in the DLC - get the saddlebag for your horse. You get to effectively double your storage. Jin still has the same max, but anything you pick up above that goes to your horse. So when you summon your horse you can refill your ammo from the reserves.

Michael Corvin

Finished the DLC earlier. Very good but felt pretty short for $20(+$10). I did suck me back in so now I'm going back to Tsushima island and working on NG+ missions and collectables.

Dan

I've put about ten or so hours into my replay of this, but now playing the Director's Cut on PS5.
The game is still great, naturally, but it's reminded me of some of the things I didn't like so much, like the dialogue that you can't skip through, haikus, and the fact that the wind only comes up about half the times I swipe up on the touchpad.
Honestly, the DualSense features add nothing of value to me for this one either, over the PS4 controller; implementation is sufficient.
Still, this game is fantastic. The loading and fast travel is downright phenomenal, and puts every other open world game to shame. I'm looking forward to collecting everything this time around, and although I won't be diving into the brand new stuff for quite awhile, I'm definitely excited for it. I know this game came out in 2020, but this iteration of it is Best of 2021 for me.

Michael Corvin

I can't argue with those complaints. The wind not working half the time is super aggravating.

Most dialog/cut scenes seem skippable, but I'm in NG+ so maybe that's why. Just hit any button and it brings up a prompt at the top of the screen to hold X to skip. That's not for everything though. Saving people on the road and they insist you "take this gift of thanks" is unskippable as well as any interactive story beat (following around NPCs and whatnot).

I liked the haikus on the first playthrough but they're annoying the second time through.

Dan

Makes sense. Since I started a brand new game (didn't bring my PS4 save over), skipping is disabled. It's a minor annoyance only because I keep subtitles on and read the lines faster than they're spoken, and I know other games let you at least skip line-by-line through dialog-heavy scenes.

Yeah, there should be a slightly better balance of them. Less actual haikus, but increased reward for doing each one.
Funny enough, the Fox Dens never get old for me. I could do twice as many and still want more.

Like I said, those are minor issues, at best.

uteotw

I finished the new island as well. Loved it. Thought it added a lot of depth to the main story and enough new content to make it well worth it for me.

The Questyen

My least favorite thing about playing a DLC especially one that comes like a year after the actual game is that I completely forget how to play the game. Also weird that it duplicated in all my trophies (I had the platinum) except for one (which was a photo mode trophy) so I had to go into photo mode and unlock the last trophy and it then unlocked the platinum.

Michael Corvin

Yeah, that's a side effect/bonus of the PS5 upgrade. It thinks it's a new game.

So I've managed to max my sword, bows, a few armor sets, and I'm working on maxing all the Ghost weapons...again. Now I'm farming for predator hides(to upgrade Ghost weapons) which is a bitch. I googled and there are supposedly two spots you can fast travel to for a guaranteed bear (at one location) and three wild boars (at the other) but it wasn't working for me so maybe they patched it out. That being said the Charm that increases (doubles?) your hides haul is super helpful.

redbill

I love this game. but did they really have to pull out the drugged/hallucinating trope for this DLC? probably my least favorite gaming gimmick...

Decker

I mean they stole so much of the gameplay from Far Cry, it just made sense to include that as well.

Michael Corvin

^

Exactly. My first thought when it happened was "really? this trope?"

In the end it wasn't that intrusive and a minor slight on otherwise solid DLC.

redbill

as soon as she made a bowl of some stew or whatever, I had a bad feeling about where it was headed...