Finally beat the Ghost of Tsushima

So, it's time for the Review. Let me remind y'all that videogame reviews here go on a scale of 1 to 10 unlike the 1-5 toy scale. So, let me begin!

Graphics:
The graphics in Ghost of Tsushima are pretty good. The backgrounds are for the most part breathtaking. I did notice some awkward clipping issues in some instances. I was walking on a mission following a character and as we walked up some stairs, Jin's feet sank into the stairs as he kept walking up a "ramp".
There is very little variation on the generic NPCs and can be off-putting when you keep saving the same 3 people again and again.
8.5

Sounds and Music:
I mentioned in my first thoughts, that it was neat having a mostly Asian voice cast for the game. The music for the most part blends into the background giving this Japanese movie ambience to it. I still need to check out the game in Japanese... I've been told it makes for a much better experience.
9.0

Gameplay:
I mentioned the game is a love child of Tenchu and Witcher 3. As an Open World game, the tropes, cliches, and issues that plague these games are also here. Traveling the land can be a bit dull, since it's 13th Century Japan during the Mongol invasion. Like RDR2, and The Witcher 3, this game relies on the beautiful backgrounds to make  the traveling experience special. You will stumble into some random events, like Mongol Patrols, or saving Peasants from the Mongols, as sidequests such as chasing foxes to Inari altars, Nathan Draking your way to Shinto Shrines, or breaking down Mongol Camps. The latter is the most limited, BUT, the most fun.

You can go all Samurai and face your enemies head on for the sake of Honor, or disregard honor and go Ninja on them. Heck in some camps there are caged bears that you can release on the Mongols.

Fighting is rather easy once you get used to the controls and intentional lack of Lock-on function.
9.0

Controls: 
This is one of the weaker aspects of the game. They are SLIGHTLY awkward and buttons serve multiple purposes,  which can make battles a bit too much of a hassle.
R2 is the action button, but it also pops up the stance and quick throw weapon menu. If an enemy drops an item, switching stances can be overridden by picking up items. With the rather large arsenal at your disposal, switching ranged weapons and quick throwables CAN be slightly confusing.
7.5

Fun factor:
Once you pass the control learning curve, the game is incredibly fun. Raiding the Mongol camps is incredibly fun, whether you go as a Samurai or as the Ghost. Most of the missions are decent, there are a couple of missions that are tedious, but for the most part, you get close to your worth of Samurai/Ninja action.
8.5

Story:
13th Century Japan during the Mongol invasion: You are Lord Sakai, the young leader of Clan Sakai, and nephew of Tsushima's Jito, Lord Shimura. Left for dead at the battle on Komoda beach, you were nursed back to health by a thief and you decide to liberate Tsushima from the Mongols.
7.5

Overall:
Ghost of Tsushima gets 8.33 as its final score. While the game is not perfect and it has a couple of issues, I believe this is the best Japanese game ever made by a western company. It's not 100% historically accurate to the era, but it was made with such care and research, that the discrepancies were made for stylistic reasons, but were fully thought out and attempted to stay as faithful as possible to the ideas they tried to convey. One thing against the game that I cannot tabulate in the rating system is that the game is a bit too short. And once you beat the game and Frio fifty-something settlements there's pretty much nothing to do other than locate hidden power ups. Also there is no new game plus feature. Don't get me wrong it's a great game but it just needed a little bit extra to go beyond greatness.