Ghost of Tsushima's Director's Cut upgrades are nice, but the new content is what matters

The Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut is almost here, adding new content, PS5 upgrades, a co-op mode and a few bells and whistles to last year's pretty open-world adventure styled after classic samurai movies. I've been tinkering with it for a while and have a ton of impressions and footage to share.

The Director's Cut includes the full Ghost of Tsushima game, a new Hero of Tsushima skin set, a Hachiman's Favor charm, one Technique Point to spend on whatever you like, a digital mini art book, and a director's Commentary - as well as a new co-operative multiplayer Legends mode, though this is disabled until launch, so we haven't been able to try it out yet.

The PS5 version specifically also adds faster loading times, haptic feedback for the DualSense controller, a full Japanese lip-sync option, and 3D audio support. (Check out Digital Foundry's coverage for more on that.) The real draw of the Director's cut for fans who have already scoured every inch of Tsushima Island as Lord Jin Sakai, however, is the new content - all set on the brand new location of Iki Island.

Iki offers a pretty big chunk of new gameplay, with a bunch of minigames both familiar and new to discover and with the main story path following a campaign that fits nicely into the established legend of the Sakai Clan. There are a few mysteries and secrets hidden in Iki's wisteria-strewn cliffsides and savage, ragged coastlines too. We've had a thorough tour of Iki ourselves and sampled pretty much everything it has to offer, so if you're thinking of picking the new edition up but that decision still rests on a knife edge - or katana edge, more appropriately - I've put together a video review, above, that includes only a minimal amount of lavish panning shots and fawning over Iki's endemic fauna. Enjoy!