Does Iki Island worth it in Ghost of Tsushima? The Definitive Verdict

Absolutely – Iki Island takes an already phenomenal game and makes it even better. For Ghost of Tsushima fans invested in Jin Sakai’s tale, the expansion is a must-play adding 10+ hours of impactful storytelling, tense duels, creative puzzles, and beautiful vistas to get lost in.

While it does not reinvent Tsushima’s formula, Iki Island doubles down on what makes the base game so special. It expanded my emotional connection to Jin’s character, challenged my combat abilities, and left me even more impressed by Sucker Punch’s masterful game design.

Below I break down in detail everything Iki Island adds, why it enriches the Ghost of Tsushima experience for most players, limitations to set expectations accurately, and finally an FAQ covering key questions around the DLC. Strap in for the definitive guide on whether Ghost of Tsushima’s Iki Island expansion is worth playing or not!

What Does Iki Island Add to Ghost of Tsushima?

Landing a year after Ghost of Tsushima first wowed us, here is a comprehensive feature list of everything the paid Iki Island expansion includes:

A Deeply Personal Main Storyline

• 8+ hour tale centered on Jin revisiting Iki where his father died when he was young
• High drama, tragedy, and action on par with the base game’s narratives
• Emotional character development and interactions with figures like Jin’s caretaker
• Gorgeously cinematic cutscenes around the island’s unique culture

Engaging Side Content Rooted in Mythology

• 7 multifaceted tales drawing from local folklore and mysticism
• Intriguing figures like a spirit-hunting doctor and cursed ritual mask
• Thoughtful writing tackling poignant themes like grief and regret

Difficult, Strategic Enemies That Keep You On Your Toes

• Faster, deadlier foes compared to base Tsushima like brute warriors
• New threat types like ranged shamans who revive comrades
• Savage wolf packs hunting in coordinated formations
• Sparking new motivation to master parrying, dodging and combo efficiency

Legendary warriors offer the expansion‘s biggest challenges (Sucker Punch Productions)

Clever Mythic Tales Puzzles

• Two new environmental riddles unlocked by offering flowers
• Following spiritual foxes to uncover cryptic shrines
• Awards useful new charms expanding build options

Upgraded Exploration and Platforming

• Grapple hook allows more dynamic traversal like latching onto cliffs
• Fun mobility tool lending unique flair to combat and puzzles
• Variable weather like thunderstorms make landscapes more atmospheric

More Wildlife Populating the Island

• Additional fauna species like monkeys, deer and cats
• New resolve-boosting sanctuaries to unlock by feeding animals
• Fleshes out Iki’s vibrant, lived-in spirit

Cosmetic Extras Bring Out Your Playful Side

• More armor dyes, sword kits, hats, masks and vanity gear
• Story unlocks unique straw hat and golden mask outfit
• Plentiful collectibles reward completionists

Vibrant locales like golden fields and tranquil beaches showcase Iki Island’s beauty (Sucker Punch Productions)

So in summary, a generous helping of polished content expanding the key pillars of gameplay, narrative and exploration! It leverages the same game mechanics but remixes them into creative new challenges. But most importantly, I evaluate an expansion on whether it enriches the base experience. So does Iki Island integrate meaningfully into Ghost of Tsushima and your journey as Jin Sakai?

Why Iki Island is an Essential Experience for Most Fans

Iki Island could have felt like an optional side vacation – pleasant but skippable. Instead, it delivers tremendous thematic value and non-stop action celebrating what makes Ghost of Tsushima so engrossing. Here are the biggest reasons it’s a must-play for the majority of fans:

It Offers Cathartic Storytelling Around Jin’s Childhood Trauma

Jin revisiting his father’s death site seems ripe for manipulation – trauma porn meant solely to wring tears without substance. But his homecoming links organically into the existing lore as a transformative step in processing grief. I felt this tale revealed depths to Jin’s character not fully explored on Tsushima island.

Through interactions spanning old friends to new revelations, the writing compellingly shows how Iki shaped the stalwart, purposeful man Jin grew into. And framing the Eagle Tribe incursion almost as an elaborate trap to lure the Ghost back lends credibility explaining why he returns now after years avoiding it.

With top-notch acting and some genuine shocks, Iki Island adds resonance to the relationships we know while introducing interesting new ones like childhood protector Kenji. The expansion’s relaxed pacing between scalding combat allows moments of levity and tenderness too – like Jin reuniting with his father’s horse or reflecting on keepsakes from better times.

Reuniting with lost friends makes for emotional, cathartic moments (Sucker Punch Productions)

Ultimately, Iki Island brings gratifying closure as Jin solemnly lays his father’s armor to rest while recommitting to upholding his legacy – not being consumed by hatred but protecting the helpless. It left me choked up as effectively as any core tale while feeling essential to witnessing his full redemption arc.

It Plants Dark Seeds That Could Shape Potential Sequels

Ghost of Tsushima rarely shows outright supernatural phenomena beyond some mystical foxes or golden birds. But eerie mysteries lurk below Iki Island’s surface…what really happened in the Shrieking Caves that broke Jin as a child? How does a baby survive exposure there for days? Why do the Eagle Tribe claim Iki as sacred ground – what secrets does it hide?

I loved how side tales toy with the true extent of otherworldly forces on Iki – from ritual masks cursing users to the hauntingly feral Eagle Tribe warriors themselves who embody aspects of the island’s revered animals. While Jin faces the realities of his past, darker energies seem to stir in reaction to his presence.

These spiritual hints blown open fully by a cryptic post-game scene set the stage for expanding mysticism and magic in potential sequels. The team could steer towards outright horror elements or fantastical enemies. As Jin struggles to defend his home, will threats emerge that test the limits of his skill and courage? Iki Island draws open that curtain a sliver for the team to explore deeper lore around Tsushima’s ghosts in future titles.

Mythic elements like the Azamo Falls shrines suggest greater mysteries below Iki‘s surface… (Sucker Punch Productions)

It Refreshes Combat With Chaotic Showdowns

Ghost of Tsushima features some of my favorite swordplay in modern gaming thanks to elegant mechanics, kinetic dynamism and gratifying feedback. Still, even fans might feel they’ve carved through enough bandits and Mongols after 60+ hours with diminishing returns.

Enter Iki Island’s merciless opponents led by towering warriors Adachi and Ankhsar Khatun. These aggressive hunters immediately put your reflexes to the test countering their dual naginata polearms. Supporting them are the elusive shamans blending ranged assaults withrevival abilities that prevent easy divide-and-conquer approaches. Wolf packs even coordinate to distract you mid-duel!

And the new Eagle Tribe movesets incorporating animal motifs force you to recognize brand new combo patterns. I loved how the DLC incentivized using my full repertoire of stances and special attacks instead of defaulting to standbys – it feels like the ultimate skills test.

By the epic climax defending a seaside fortress, Iki Island had put my mastery to the razor’s edge against relentless attackers from all sides – exactly the high note to end my Ghost of Tsushima combat journey on!

Towering brutes like Ankhsar Khatun and her warriors push your combat skills to breaking point (Sucker Punch Productions)

It Embraces Creative Side Content Tapping Local Lore

Whle the climatic tale delivers, I often remember side quests long after the big story wraps. Iki Island brings immersive escapades drawing from old island myths and religious rituals around ancestral worship.

For example, ‘The Fate of Shrine Keeper Komatsu’ sees you investigating ghost sightings across candle-lit forest shrines seemingly caused by a stolen ritual mask. Solving the mystery reveals commentary on clinging to past traditions.

Or in the touching ‘The Dead Find No Peace’, you lay war victims refused funeral rites properly to rest so their spirits don’t wander in agony. Its messages questioning the cycle of violence resonated strongly after horrors witnessed on both islands.

I also thought Mythic Tales ‘The Hidden Sanctuary’ and ‘The Undying Flame’ played brilliantly with spectacle – like dodging a colossal flaming dragon crashing across mountains! Silly but unforgettable.

These engrossing side stories represent some of Ghost of Tsushima’s most creative, artful quest design. Iki Island lets the team experiment with fresh supernatural themes or emotive concepts suiting the region’s unique identity, now crucible blow by Mongols. They lend richness to the setting and people you strive to protect.

It’s a Stunning Locale That Feels Distinct from Tsushima

As much as I grew to love Tsushima island as this living open world filled with fast-traveling allies, Iki Island feels like the exotic getaway I didn’t know was missing.

Trading golden fields, tranquil beaches and vibrant rural townships for Tsushima’s brooding forests and panoramic grasslands kept exploration exciting all over again. Dense outposts and labyrinthine cave systems also drive home the feeling of infiltrating hostile territory. The grappling hook’s expanded traversal – soaring over canyons or scaling temple ruins – cements Iki’s thrilling verticality with new paths abound.

And seeing isolated strongholds scarred by siege equipment or entire hillsides burning contrasts sharply with the picture-perfect landscapes leading up to them. It visually sells the foreign invasion and Eagle Tribe’s guerrilla warfare campaign.

So Iki Island packs plenty of sights, big and small, waiting to be uncovered for that next perfect screenshot. Its darker history counterbalances the liberating escapism.

Limitations of Iki Island to Set Expectations

For all it gets right, the Iki Island expansion isn’t without some flaws keeping it from being utterly perfect:

• Doesn’t Experiment Enough with Core Mechanics: While new enemy movesets force new combat tactics, Iki Island doesn’t introduce many radical additions tochange moment-to-moment gameplay flow dramatically. The grappling hook empowers exploration but combat and stealth play out similarly. Players demanding revolutionary new systems may be disappointed.

• Story Can Feel Slightly Disconnected from Main Narrative: Despite emotional ties to characters we know, playing through Iki tale doesn’t lineup or reference the Tsushima storyline much. Especially if you visit post-ending, the lack of continuity feels jarring. Roping in existing allies somehow could have better integrated it to not feel so isolated.

• Rough Learning Curve for Newcomers: With amped up enemy lethality expecting mastery of parries, dodges and perfect attacks, Iki Island plays vastly more punitive on lower difficulties for players inexperienced with Ghost of Tsushima still. Stick to Easy mode or complete the base game first.

• Elements of Padding: For completionists especially, tasks like liberating whole camps to unlock tales or commune spots to earn cosmetics involve familiar world quest padding. They extend playtime but aren’t necessarily fun. Stories and combat is the sweet spot.

Iki Island definitely reuses some ideas rather than introducing radical reinventions. But between honed mechanics, charismatic characters returning, and a fascinating new setting unlocking fresh stories, I found it endlessly playable. Still, your mileage may vary depending on expectations!

Iki Island DLC Review – The Bottom Line

Like a dangerous but therapeutic pilgrimage, Iki Island catalyzes profound growth in Jin Sakai that elevates the meaning of his whole struggle. Through tensely-realized drama, white-knuckle skirmishes and rich worldbuilding, the expansion continues Ghost of Tsushima’s mature themes on legacy, purpose and community.

For an encore showing off Sucker Punch’s impeccable artistry and vision, Iki Island is legendary additional content warranting every player’s time. Just don’t forget some resolve-restoring hot spring soak sessions between all the fiery carnage!

Ghost of Tsushima: Iki Island DLC Review
Pros
Cathartic storytelling for Jin
Strategic new enemy design
Creative side content and puzzles
Gorgeous, distinct locale
Verdict: Phenomenal expansion improving an outstanding base game. Essential playing for Ghost of Tsushima fans.

Iki Island DLC Guide: FAQ and Common Questions

Hopefully the lengthy breakdown above gives you a comprehensive no-stone-unturned evaluation on what Iki Island adds to Ghost of Tsushima and why it’s an exciting must-play expansion! For quick reference, I’ve compiled the most common questions around the DLC:

Should you play Iki Island before or after finishing Ghost of Tsushima?

• I suggest completing the base game so you fully recognize recurring characters and have combat abilities unlocked. The increased difficulty expects late-game upgrades. You can access Iki after finishing Act 1 though.

How much content does the Iki Island expansion add?

• With a 8 hour+ main campaign, robust side tales promising 10+ hours total playtime, new enemy types and cosmetics, Iki Island practically doubles Ghost of Tsushima content.

Is Ghost of Tsushima worth buying just for Iki Island?

• No – the expanded narrative and content is meant to enrich the main Tsushima experience. But for those invested already, it‘s a sterling addition.

Does Iki Island impact Ghost of Tsushima’s main story?

• Emotionally, yes. Jin revisiting his father’s death site brings closure while cementing his life’s purpose. But narratively Iki tale is quite disconnected and self-contained.

What is the recommended level for playing Iki Island content?

• The DLC expects proficiency with late game skills and top-tier armor to counter relentless aggressors. Come prepared with maxed Katanas and moderate Resolve for survival!

I hope this exhaustive guide helps assess if the Iki Island expansion seems appealing for you personally! Let me know if any other lingering questions around the DLC’s features and value. For me, it’s some of Ghost of Tsushima’s most memorable additional content expanding the adventure. Happy gaming!