Assassin’s Creed vs. Ghost of Tsushima: Which Is Better?

It may seem obvious to compare Assassin’s Creed Shadows and Ghost of Tsushima for the simple fact that they’re both triple-A, open-world games set in feudal Japan. But that’s not the real story here. The truth is if Assassin’s Creed Shadows wasn’t as good as it is, there would be no comparison. Ghost of Tsushima is one of the most immaculate games of the last generation, and it’s only rising in fans’ estimation as time goes on. It’s a testament to how great Shadows—the latest entry in Ubisoft’s long-running (and sometimes uneven) Assassin’s Creed franchise—that it can legitimately go head-to-head with Ghost of Tsushima in a face-off. 

Shadows is a viable contender, but let’s see how it stacks up to Ghost of Tsushima category by category to see which game reigns supreme.

Game World

Despite the surface-level similarities between the two games’ settings, there are several fundamental differences in the games’ respective game worlds, the most notable one being size. Tsushima takes place exclusively on the titular island and boasts a little over 11 square miles of explorable terrain on its map. By contrast Shadows’ map looks to be somewhere around 31 square miles at the very least, making it quite a bit larger than Tsushima’s, though not as large as some recent AC titles like Odyssey (80 square miles) and Valhalla (59 square miles).

A bigger game map doesn’t necessarily mean a better game map, of course. Shadows does have a staggeringly big game world, but what’s wonderful about it is the environments’ sheer level of detail. No matter where you look, there are tiny touches—wild animals skittering about, strung up fish at the monger blowing in the wind, intricately engraved pieces of furniture—that make the game world feel like stepping through a time portal to 16th-century Japan more so than Tsushima’s highly fictionalized conception of 13th century Japan. It’s palpably transportive, and exploring the world aimlessly with no HUD and no objectives to trek toward feels more compelling than some of the game’s quests.

Tsushima’s game world isn’t nearly as dense, detailed, or geographically diverse. It’s sparser… but not in a bad way. The greatly romanticized vision of the island of Tsushima in that game is the definition of picturesque. Watching samurai hero Jin Sakai ride his horse through the wheat fields will never get old. 

Whereas Shadows at times feels overwhelming in its scope and variety, Tsushima feels more distilled, considered, and pure. The smaller, narrower map actually works in the game’s favor when it comes to the campaign, because working your way North and reclaiming sections of the island from the Mongols is easier to visualize and digest than Shadows’ larger, two-pronged story. Both game worlds are extraordinary for their own reasons. Shadows is staggering in its fidelity and scope, and Tsushima is ravishing and evocative. In this instance, Ghost of Tsushima ekes out the win.

Edge: Ghost of Tsushima

Visuals

This is another tough category. The appeal of a game’s visuals is often a matter of personal preference, particularly when the games you’re looking at are both so flabbergastingly pretty.

Something important to note here is that, though Ghost of Tsushima released not too long ago in 2020, it’s still very much a last-gen title. That being said, no handicaps are needed here: Even now, Tsushima is jaw-dropping. Developer Sucker Punch used particle effects in arguably the most effective way they’ve ever been used. The blowing leaves, pouring rain, and rising embers add to the game’s atmosphere in every moment. In a general sense, Tsushima is more painterly and expressionistic than Shadows. Even when certain graphical elements are technically subpar (textures can get muddy at times), the artistic intent prevails and greatly outweighs any technical shortcomings.

Shadows is less lyrical and poetic, but there’s something touristic about how vivid its environments are. The countless landmarks and vistas across the game world aren’t just pretty; they feel real. What’s easy to take for granted with a game like this is how organic and lived-in the environments feel compared to other open-world games, most of which look and feel considerably less believable than Shadows’ Japan. 

While both games look tremendous by almost every measure, the character models in Shadows do look more stilted, especially when they move their mouths in cutscenes. Naoe and Yasuke look great (that hair tech hits differently), but the characters in Tsushima come across as slightly more expressive in their design and animation. It’s another close call, but Tsushima takes this one.

Edge: Ghost of Tsushima

Combat

There’s a pattern emerging here. Shadows’ combat is more robust and expansive in its customization options across its two protagonists, and Tsushima’s keeps things more pure, though its combat is anything but simple. Both games have a focus on melee with a bit of ranged combat mixed in for flavor, but the core of it is this: which game’s combat is more fun?

Assassin’s Creed has been developing and refining its melee combat for years, and Shadows’ melee is the best yet. All of the weapon types feel weighty and enjoyable to wield (even Naoe’s kusarigama is slick once you master it), and more importantly, both Yasuke and Naoe are fun to fight with. Most players will naturally gravitate to one or the other, but whether you’re smashing your way up the floors of Osaka Castle as Yasuke or cutting down larger enemies with Naoe’s speed and finesse, the combat is one of the game’s main strengths, which hasn’t always been the case for the series.

The combat in Tsushima isn’t slow by any means, but it’s more methodical than Shadows. The emphasis on one-on-one fights and the cinematic camerawork makes the battles feel more intimate and dramatic, with some of the one-on-one showdowns later in the game resembling fighting games like Soulcalibur and Bushido Blade. Both games feature parrying, but Tsushima’s is more satisfying, likely due to the more deliberate rhythm of most battles. Tsushima does feature a multiplayer mode that is way better than it has any right to be, but the combat mechanics aren’t as flowy when taking on massive waves of enemies.

As balanced and fine-tuned as both games’ combat systems are, Tsushima’s enemy encounters just feel more consequential. Thanks to a showdown feature deliberately evocative of Akira Kurosawa movies—where players enter into essentially a quickdraw contest with an opposing sword master—even the most minor of battles can become incredibly intense, and even the lowliest of enemies can pose a serious threat. For that reason, it’s another one for Tsushima.

Edge: Ghost of Tsushima

Stealth

Here’s where things get really interesting. Before we get into Shadows’ stealth mechanics, let’s consider Tsushima’s. The titular “Ghost” style of combat is central to both gameplay and story, and it is indeed a lot of fun using Jin’s blowgun, smoke bombs, and elusive maneuvers to wipe out entire camps of enemies without losing so much as a health point. Stealth is a completely valid and enjoyable approach throughout the game, but is it as fun as combat? Not really. If anything, it plays a supporting role to combat in that it offers an added layer of variety.

It should come as no surprise that Shadows’ stealth is phenomenal. The most notable difference from AC games before is that enemy AI is far more formidable now, detecting disturbances in sound, light, and shadow. They now suggest a general awareness (they can definitely see you up on that roof!) We’re all familiar with how stealthing and assassinations feel in Assassin’s Creed, but what gives Shadows a leg up over its predecessors is its level design. The castles are phenomenally fun to work through, with the environments arranged so that you always have myriad ways to use your surroundings to your advantage.

The thing Shadows does far better than Tsushima is the seamless transitioning between stealth and combat. It’s a valiant effort by Tsushima, but Shadows sneakily snatches the dub.

Edge: Assassin’s Creed Shadows

Traversal

One of the keys to success for open-world and stealth games is for the movement and traversal to be effortless, responsive, and satisfying, and both games achieve this through different means.

Parkour is the foundation of old school Assassin’s Creed gameplay, and Shadows again benefits from being the latest entry in a long line of iterative refinement. Predictably, parkour is terrific in Shadows, specifically with Naoe, though Yasuke’s struggles with slinking around are amusing in their own way. Whether you’re scaling buildings or climbing up trees in the forest, getting around in Shadows is always as smooth as butter, save for some weirdness climbing some of the more angular buildings and castles in the game.

Running around in Tsushima feels pretty great all around, but it’s simply less complex and aesthetically pleasing than that classic AC movement. The one advantage Tsushima has over Shadows is the horse riding, which improbably is one of the very best things about the game. That being said, getting around in Shadows is better all around.

Edge: Assassin’s Creed Shadows

Characters

There’s a level of sophistication to the character work in both games. Jin, Naoe, and Yasuke all have compelling character arcs with different messaging behind them.

Yasuke and Naoe’s stories become deeply entangled with the eternal Assassins vs. Templar war, and the canon plot is solid AC fare. But it’s their personal, internal journeys that make them compelling characters, with both of them consumed by revenge, confronted with the tough decision to redefine who they want to be as people moving forward. 

Yasuke reclaiming his identity and Naoe grappling with forgiveness and finding meaning in the remnants of her parents’ memories makes for a powerful story, and their characters do come across as multi-dimensional and believable, largely thanks to terrific performances by the lead actors. Their interactions with the allies they amass throughout the game reveal a lot about who they are, and they each find their own way to process grief and purpose, discovering more about themselves as they spill more and more blood.

Similarly, Jin grows as a person as he grapples with grief and fights for his people and what they stand for. His internal strife is driven by the dichotomy of fighting with honor as a samurai and without honor as the Ghost.

All three characters are memorable and well written, but what it comes down to here is that Naoe and Yasuke feel more fully fleshed out as people. 

Edge: Assassin’s Creed Shadows

Story

The power of Ghost of Tsushima’s storytelling lies in its philosophical dilemmas, with Jin cracking the bedrock of who he is by deciding whether the way of the Ghost is a necessary evil. Unlike most games, his final showdown is a genuinely meaningful culmination of everything that’s happened in the story leading up to that moment. Sucker Punch’s epic stays consistent in tone and quality throughout, and despite its length and scale, Tsushima’s story feels ever personal and thematically rich.

Shadows deals with similar themes but on a grander scale with more content, characters, and plot developments. There are some riveting story moments throughout the game’s campaign, but the sheer amount of side stories and minor interactions can bog the game down at times, especially during some of the many drawn-out, somewhat uninspired peripheral quests.

The deciding factor is that Tsushima’s story is stickier. Shadows is perhaps more cinematically potent and better directed in its cutscenes, but the purity and resonance of Jin’s tale makes it just a bit more memorable. To be fair to Shadows, it looks as though Naoe and Yasuke’s journeys are far from over considering the game’s canon endings, but for now, Tsushima comes out on top.

Edge: Ghost of Tsushima

Overall

After comparing Shadows and Tsushima side by side, what becomes apparent is that they’re both great games that cater to different kinds of gamers. 

Tsushima, like a lot of first-party PlayStation titles, is heavily narrative driven and stylized in its presentation. Shadows has a poignant story at its core as well, but it’s a more rounded, content-packed experience that offers everything from interactive Japanese history lessons to an endlessly customizable hideout builder.

Shadows is by quite a large margin a more fully featured game, even if you include Tsushima’s multiplayer mode. But all things considered, the latter leaves a more indelible impression with its brilliantly conceptualized story and painterly imagery. Jin’s saga is a more potent parable, making it the victor in this battle. With Ghost of Yōtei on the horizon, we’ll see if Sucker Punch can recapture the magic.

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