Is there a morality system in Ghost of Tsushima?

Although a fictional story, there is no binary morality system in Ghost of Tsushima. However, it is still grounded in reality and is heavily influenced by Japanese history and the post-shogunate culture. While the game starts as a traditional Samurai story, it eventually evolves into something different, questioning not only the morality behind the beliefs of the shogunate but also the ideals established for a Samurai.

Once you reach a certain part of the story, you're given the choice of either taking the honorable stance and fighting the enemy (Mongols) head-on or taking the "ghostly" stance to not only defeat them but also instill fear among them, like a Ninja, something that goes directly against the Samurai code.

And given the different gameplay choices there are in Ghost of Tsushima, you might be wondering whether it has a morality system or not. While you won't be wrong to assume that a morality system is at play in Ghost of Tsushima, it's not implemented in the same way as other RPGs of similar ilk or even Sucker Punch's Infamous titles.

NOTE: This article may contain spoilers for the game.

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Does Ghost of Tsushima have a morality system?

Ghost of Tsushima doesn't have a binary morality system, akin to the Infamous titles. However, the morality system is something that's woven into the game's central narrative, independent of the combat system and gameplay. Jin Sakai, the game's protagonist, starts as an honorable Samurai, never backing down from a fight and tackling every combat encounter head-on.

But as the story progresses, Jin starts seeing the error in the ways of the Samurai code and how it's seemingly a bottleneck against the Mongols. As a result, Jin starts making use of the "ghostly" combat techniques, which goes directly against the Samurai code and his as well as the Shogun's morality.

Also read: Ghost of Tsushima: Top 5 tips to make you overpowered early in the game

Although the game's story heavily leans on Jin's "ghostly" stance, in gameplay, you're never forced to take any specific approach. Instead, you're free to play as a noble Samurai challenging enemies face-to-face, or you can choose the more stealthy route, killing one Mongol at a time, and also making use of trickery and deception.

Although there are choices in certain optional and main story missions in Ghost of Tsushima, they aren't tied to Jin's morality as a Samurai of the past. Instead, most of these choices typically revolve around Jin choosing to kill or spare an NPC, which might add a few additional lines of dialogue, or in the case of the ending, give you a unique cutscene.

Your playstyle also doesn't affect the story or any of its endings either. Regardless of how you end up defeating the forces of Khotun Khan, you will still get the choice between the game's two endings. While the morality system in Ghost of Tsushima isn't as fleshed-out as in Infamous Second Son, it's still quite well-implemented here, in terms of narrative at least.

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