I’m watching the new Shogun and wondering which games from that period (or a bit earlier) are really good. Thoughts?
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If you’re looking for a samurai game, rather than a samurai themed game. Then there’s really no question, it’s Ghosts of Tsushima. It’s the closest thing we’ll likely ever have to a Akira Kurosawa game.
And its coming to PC in may. Its on steam to wishlist for those who dont know
Thanks for the heads up! Super excited to get back into this one!
It’s also got a Kurosawa mode for that extra mid century Japanese movie feel
I’m not saying it’s the best and definitely isn’t some obscure title, but I really liked Ghosts of Tsushima. The combat is fun, the story is decent, and the graphics are beautiful. Good replayability with the Legends Mode, too.
I’m not saying the combat is straight up bad, but throughout my 6-7hrs with the game (so far), it was definitely its most underwhelming aspect IMO.
I have to give it another go, but Sekiro’s was definitely more fun (or at least rewarding), while Ghost of Tsushima’s felt tedious. Maybe it just didn’t “click” for me though.they had all the right ingredients but pigeonholed the combat stance mechanics too much. I wish they did the stances more like Nioh 1 & 2, it could have been amazing. Like fuck man I just want to use the wind stance kick on people without being interrupted with a tutorial message that never stops showing up trying to cajole me into using the “right stance”, fucking inane.
It’s definitely not made to be Dark Souls/Nioh/Sekiro in terms of combat, it’s closer to being Assassins Creed or Far Cry, though much more grounded and a little more thoughtful than those two. For me, the combat was not the thing keeping me interested, and that’s fine. I was more than happy to just travel from POI to POI since the world was so beautiful, and the little samurai challenges were neat (bamboo cutting for example) and the duels were super cool and cinematic, even if the combat wasn’t particularly deep.
Mount & Blade Warband’s Gekukoju mod.
Still waiting for a similar mod to come out for Bannerlord.
Sekiro is also good, but with Japanese myth and fantasy and not, like, based in reality other than the cultural similarities and aesthetics of the world.
Ghosts of Tsushima.
For an older maybe somewhat unheard of game, Way of the Samurai on PS2 was really fun.
Loved Way of the Samurai growing up. Game felt huge as a kid!
Total War Shogun 2.
Seconded. And then for seconds you can play Fall of the Samurai while watching The Last Samurai.
Too vague of a question but I am personally a fan of shadow tactics series. Great puzzle style game where you plan and commit murder :D
Nioh. It might not be what you’re looking for since it’s fantasy but it does mix in some real elements from that period and even has some historical characters. It’s a pretty good game.
Also in the same genre and also fantasy/samurai themed, Sekiro. Not sure about historical accuracy, but you will enjoy the gameplay or die trying. Or both, those aren’t mutually exclusive
Nioh can be best described as “dark souls gameplay with Borderlands itemization” which I personally love. It’s not for everyone. But the folks it is for will love it. You know who you are.
Different style of game. Samurai Showdown.
Ghost of Tsushima. PS5 only for now, but it’s coming to Steam (finally!) in May. It’s an amazing game. Great story, extremely good combat, and it looks beautiful. Plus it has a separate coop multiplayer mode that is better than some dedicated multiplayer games. Don’t skip it.
Shogun on the Rag
I’m late because I just started watching Shogun, but Shadow Tactics - Blades of the Shogun is really good in the real time tactics genre, it was the first title released by Mimimi who went on to make the acclaimed Desperados 3 and Shadow Gambit - The Cursed Crew
Onimusha!
Hell yeah, Onimusha was (still is?) badass! I haven’t played since the ps2 days
Yea, it’s a real banger. For the uninitiated, it’s set in Feudal Japan that plays like Resident Evil but with Demons instead of zombies. And they have one of the 3 titles on steam for a relatively fair price if you don’t have access to a ps2 and a physical copy.
Way of the Samurai.
Not sure about the recent releases but the old games emulate well. Gameplay is super fun even if the writing is very anime influenced.
Genji: Dawn of the Samurai
