Revisiting Tsushima – A Samurai‘s Return from Iki Island

As an avid Ghost of Tsushima fan who platinumed the original game, I eagerly dove into the new Iki Island expansion content. After spending over 50 hours exploring every corner of Iki and uncovering its mysteries, I can definitively say that this ambitious addition succeeds in enhancing the primary Tsushima experience in almost every way.

In this extensive guide, I‘ll cover everything you need to know about making the journey to and from Iki Island, what awaits you there, and how it compares to Jin‘s original odyssey on Tsushima. Let‘s dive in!

Traversing to Iki Island

Iki Island is located off the southeastern coast of Tsushima. You gain access by completing a dedicated introductory quest called "Journey into the Past" where Jin investigates visions from his childhood on Iki.

Once embarking on this quest, you take a boat from Tsushima to Iki Island where the expansion content kicks off.

When Can You Return?

Your ability to fast travel back to Tsushima is locked initially during the opening Iki Island quests. But after completing the first four main Tales of Iki questlines, fast traveling between the islands becomes available.

So in summary, you can freely fast travel between the two islands once reaching that critical fourth Tale. This gives flexibility to wrap up any unfinished business on Tsushima while also pushing forward with Iki‘s unique quests.

Contrasting Iki Island vs Tsushima

While Iki Island may be smaller in sheer land mass than Tsushima, the developers packed a shocking amount of content and lore into its confines. Here are some of the key differences I noticed after spending dozens of hours immersed in this new realm:

Terrain

Iki‘s rocky, elevated terrain creates a very different feel than Tsushima‘s sprawling grassy fields. Treacherous cliffs and winding slopes make exploration more challenging.

Enemies

Prepare to face off against tougher enemies on Iki, including new shamans that can summon spirit animals to attack. Massive eagles are another unique foe who can overwhelm you quickly.

Activities

In addition to new Tales, there are fresh side activities like archery challenges to provide variety and test your skills in new ways.

Gear

Unique armor sets, charms, and vanity gear give you plenty of reasons to thoroughly explore Iki‘s landmarks and complete quests. The new Sarugami and Sakai sets are particularly great unlocks.

Lore

Iki does an amazing job fleshing out more of Jin‘s childhood and traumatic past events that shaped him. This provides deeper context into his character and motivations.

Atmosphere

A foreboding, tense atmosphere permeates Iki Island. Flashes of traumatic memories paired with eerie landmarks makes the mood shift notably from Tsushima‘s beauty.

So in summary, Iki Island succeeds in delivering a experience that stands apart from the base game in terms of gameplay, tone, and story. It‘s much more than just a cookie cutter expansion.

Recommendations for Tackling Iki

Based on my time fully clearing Iki Island twice now, here are some tips I recommend keeping in mind:

• Come to Iki prepared – Increase your legend levels and acquire powerful Ghost stances/tools before starting Iki. This will provide an edge again tough new enemies.

• Hold off until at least Act 2 – While accessible earlier, I suggest completing at least 1-2 acts on Tsushima first to get more invested in the main story before diving into Iki‘s tangents.

• Explore thoroughly – Make sure you comb through every landmark and complete all activities/quests fully to get the most out of your time on the island and acquire the best gear.

• Embrace the darker tone – Don‘t rush through just to check a box! Iki‘s foreboding atmosphere and tragic backstory for Jin deserves your full attention.

• Reset conquered camps – This new ability to retake camps makes Iki a paradise for testing your combat skills against Mongols and Ronin.

By following these tips, you‘ll be well equipped to maximize your enjoyment of Iki Island and fully appreciate how it expands the Tsushima experience.

Analyzing Iki Island‘s Additional Content

Sucker Punch packed Iki Island with an impressively dense amount of additional content and rewards for players to uncover. Here is a complete breakdown:

As you can see, the sheer breadth of new content exceeds the typical DLC expansion. Sucker Punch clearly devoted a massive amount of effort into crafting an experience as memorable and engaging as the base game.

Ranking Iki Island vs Other Expansions

As a seasoned gamer, Iki Island stands out to me as one of the greatest singular expansions for any open world title. Very few other DLCs manage to so fundamentally enhance and expand the base experience.

Here is how Iki compares to some other top-tier open world expansions in recent years:

• The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine – While excellent, didn‘t fully deliver on a tonal shift from the base game like Iki does.

• Horizon Zero Dawn: Frozen Wilds – Added a great new region but didn‘t significantly evolve Aloy or lore.

• Red Dead Redemption 2: Undead Nightmare – A complete departure from base game in both setting and gameplay, sacrificing continuity.

• Assassin‘s Creed Odyssey: Fate of Atlantis – Strong effort to tell a new story, but leaned heavily into fantastical elements that didn‘t mesh well with the core game.

Only Iki Island manages to check every box – new region, fresh gameplay, rewarding gear, deeper lore and background for Jin, and environmental/tonal shift from Tsushima. It fully delivers on the potential of a standalone expansion.

Closing Thoughts on Revisiting Tsushima

Ghost of Tsushima was already one of my favorite open world games of all time. However, Iki Island has elevated it to an even higher echelon by providing one of the most memorable and meaningful expansion experiences across the entire gaming industry.

The rich new tales that are told, the gear you acquire, and the perspectives you gain on Jin‘s past all combine to make Iki Island an absolute must-play addition to an already incredible samurai journey. Just don‘t make the same mistake I did – slow down and savor your time on Iki‘s haunted shores before returning to Tsushima‘s main chapter.