Highlights

  • Ghost of Tsushima's Legends mode was a great addition, offering players a mythological and narrative-focused multiplayer experience with various game modes and a progression system.
  • PlayStation's multiplayer offerings, like The Last of Us Factions, have faced setbacks, so it's important for Ghost of Tsushima Legends to avoid falling into the same trap and focus on being a unique and enjoyable multiplayer experience.
  • Ghost of Tsushima already felt like a complete AAA experience, but the addition of Legends mode kept fans invested in the game months after its initial release, highlighting its value as an expansion to the already impressive game.

When Ghost of Tsushima launched back in 2020, it already felt like the full package in so many ways. Taking the best parts of Batman: Arkham's Freeflow combat and giving it a distinct Samurai twist, Ghost of Tsushima's intense action gameplay felt great, as did its more methodical, stealthier sequences. And with a great story, cast of characters, and some stunning visuals, Ghost of Tsushima felt like a complete AAA experience. So, when a multiplayer mode was announced, fans got pretty excited.

It's pretty rare these days to see a multiplayer mode get added to a single-player experience. While it used to be all the rage in the late 2000s and early 2010s to tack on a multiplayer mode for the sake of it, that doesn't tend to happen anymore. Either a game is single-player-focused or multiplayer-focused, and it's rare to see a game that does both nowadays. But Ghost of Tsushima's Legends mode broke that trend in style, and when a sequel inevitably arrives, it needs to have the mode. PlayStation can't afford Ghost of Tsushima Legends to become another Last of Us Factions.

A Ghost of Tsushima sequel hasn't officially been confirmed yet, so anything mentioned here is pure speculation.

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Ghost of Tsushima's Legends Mode Was a Great Addition

As mentioned up top, Ghost of Tsushima already felt like the complete package upon its initial launch back in July 2020, but that didn't stop Sucker Punch from releasing a pretty substantial multiplayer mode later in the year. Launched in October 2020, Ghost of Tsushima Legends allowed players to team up and battle their way through a more mythological set of enemies. As the name suggests, Ghost of Tsushima's Legends mode sees players embark on some fantastical missions, featuring enemies and environments that are a little more heightened than those of the base game.

Ghost of Tsushima Legends is split into three distinct game modes. The first, "Story," sees two players embark on a set of narrative-focused quests, eventually culminating in a challenging three-part, four-player raid. The second mode, "Survival," is a classic horde mode that sees up to four players try to take down 15 waves of increasingly difficult enemies. The final mode, "Rivals," is a twist on the game's survival mode, seeing two teams of two try to defeat the most enemies in the shortest amount of time. With a pretty extensive progression system as well, Legends was a great addition to Ghost of Tsushima, and went a long way in keeping fans invested months after they'd first finished the game.

Ghost of Tsushima's Legends Mode Can't Follow The Last of Us Factions

PlayStation isn't having the best luck with its multiplayer offerings right now. Back when The Last of Us first released in 2013, it came shipped with a multiplayer mode named Factions. While it was the standard at the time to just tack on a multiplayer mode to any single-player-focused experience, Factions was actually a pretty great addition that kept fans playing long after The Last of Us' initial release, just like Ghost of Tsushima Legends.

Before The Last of Us Part 2 was set to release, Naughty Dog stated that a Factions mode would be present in the sequel as well, but just before launch the developer confirmed that it would be coming as a separate release later down the line. Fans are still waiting for a Factions mode in The Last of Us Part 2, though now that mode seems to have become a whole different beast entirely, seemingly becoming the first entry in PlayStation's new push into the live-service market.

But things aren't looking great for The Last of Us multiplayer, with the spin-off reportedly facing a number of setbacks that could end up being detrimental. This is made worse by The Last of Us Part 1 not remaking the original Factions, as fans of the series' multiplayer are stuck playing a nine-year-old version of the mode. Ghost of Tsushima Legends simply cannot fall into the same trap as The Last of Us Factions. While it's tempting to try and make every multiplayer component the next Fortnite or Apex Legends, that's just not necessary, especially not for a game like Ghost of Tsushima.