One of the negative points that we highlighted in our Ghost of Tsushima review is the irregular difficulty curve. Even in Hard Mode, the fights quickly become trivial apart from a few specific duels.
This can be a source of frustration for those looking for a real challenge. Sucker Punch obviously took those feedbacks into consideration, since the studio has just introduced a new difficulty mode, "Lethal".
Patch 1.05
Later today, patch 1.05 for Ghost of Tsushima will be released, bringing new combat and text options.
This patch includes the following new updates:
New difficulty level: Lethal
- Enemy weapons are more deadly, but Jin’s katana is also more deadly
- Enemies are more aggressive in combat
- Enemies detect you faster
- Tighter Parry and Dodge windows
Patch 1.05 will also include the following new options in the accessibility menu:
Lower Intensity Combat
Lower intensity mode is meant to maintain the heart and feel of Ghost of Tsushima combat while relaxing several timing-specific elements. Combat is less intense, giving you more time to react. Stealth settings are more forgiving, and enemies take longer to detect you.
- Most enemy attacks which are normally unblockable become blockable when Lower Intensity is enabled. Blocking with L1 will keep you safe from more attacks than standard combat, though some attacks must still be dodged.
- Enemies break off their attack combos after damaging you, giving you a chance to recover before the next wave of attacks. In addition, your heavy attacks will interrupt attacks from Brutes, giving you another way to stop their combos.
- Enemies will not attack you while you’re using Resolve to heal
- Enemy awareness builds more slowly, giving you more time to recover after being spotted
We're not totally convinced by all of these changes yet. You'll be dealing more damage and the boss fights might be even shorter (one way or another).
The same goes for the parry and dodge windows, which we felt were already quite reduced from the base. Once again, we tend to think that forcing the player to parry / dodge more — rather than asking for superhuman performance in the matter —would have been more appropriate.
The patch also introduces a new option in the accessibility menu, which will reduce the intensity of the fights for players who want to enjoy the story and the atmosphere above all.
Original content by Robin "Raiden" Bouquet.
