Ghost of Tsushima Iki Island has shrines dedicated to God of War, Bloodborne, and Shadow of the Colossus
Major Sony franchises get lovely nods in the new Ghost of Tsushima expansion
The Ghost of Tsushima: Director's Cut drops tomorrow, and its new DLC Iki Island features a trio of shrines dedicated to classic PlayStation IPs.
One of the new discoveries to be made on Iki Island includes a trio of Wind Shrines. Although the game names themselves don't feature, each of these shrines is clearly dedicated to a different iconic PlayStation title.
First up, we've got the Shrine of Ash, which is surrounded by silver birch trees. If you've played the PS4 God of War, it's all very reminiscent of that opening scene. It goes further though, as on the silver birch right by the shrine, there's a glowing handprint next to an axe embedded in the bark. There are even chains strewn around the area too.
Each of the shrines has a riddle to solve, and for this one, it's very clearly adding to that God of War reference:
"In fall, a tree fruits
which grows from seed to sapling,
A stranger and son.
Boy, honour your father's fight
Show him the strength of your blade."
The second - The Blood-Stained Shrine - is focused all around Bloodborne, with raven feathers littering the area around the shrine. There are Bloodborne items and elements at the foot of the shrine itself, with the associated riddle being as follows:
"The first green of spring
sickens to black, decaying,
plagued by blood and beast.
Hunter, reject death's allure.
Prepare to duel man's frailty."
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Hunter here being a reference to the player character of course, and plenty of allusions to the game name throughout.
The third though, is quite obviously Shadow of the Colossus, with its iconic emblem, and a riddle that reads:
"Stone knows no season,
nor the colossus that was
felled to save one soul.
Wanderer, come like through mist,
a ghost casting no shadow."
Wanderer being the name given to the protagonist in the game, and the literal mention of the word colossus in this one both being total giveaways.
All three are shrines that are to be solved, and we're still working on that one, but we'll report back when we figure out what the heck is going on with these.
For now though, here are our thoughts on the latest expansion and the fact that Ghost of Tsushima: Iki Island just solidified Jin as one of PlayStation's greatest heroes
Sam Loveridge is the Global Editor-in-Chief of GamesRadar, and joined the team in August 2017. Sam came to GamesRadar after working at TrustedReviews, Digital Spy, and Fandom, following the completion of an MA in Journalism. In her time, she's also had appearances on The Guardian, BBC, and more. Her experience has seen her cover console and PC games, along with gaming hardware, for a decade, and for GamesRadar, she's in charge of the site's overall direction, managing the team, and making sure it's the best it can be. Her gaming passions lie with weird simulation games, big open-world RPGs, and beautifully crafted indies. She plays across all platforms, and specializes in titles like Pokemon, Assassin's Creed, The Sims, and more. Basically, she loves all games that aren't sports or fighting titles! In her spare time, Sam likes to live like Stardew Valley by cooking and baking, growing vegetables, and enjoying life in the countryside.