Forgot password
Enter the email address you used when you joined and we'll send you instructions to reset your password.
If you used Apple or Google to create your account, this process will create a password for your existing account.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Reset password instructions sent. If you have an account with us, you will receive an email within a few minutes.
Something went wrong. Try again or contact support if the problem persists.
Jin on the ground after getting shot by two arrows with his Katana between his head and hand
Screenshot by Dot Esports

All Ghost of Tsushima endings and how to unlock them

Are you still a samurai or did you become a Ghost?

A tale about family, honor, knowing right from wrong, and protecting something worth fighting for—freedom, the Ghost of Tsushima endings have a different meaning depending on your own moral compass and convictions.

Recommended Videos

Here are all Ghost of Tsushima endings, how to unlock them, and what they mean.

How to unlock all Ghost of Tsushima endings

Jin trying to crawl to his Katana surrounded by the corpses of his fallen samurai
A tale about right and wrong. Screenshot by Dot Esports

Ghost of Tsushima has two endings. While there isn’t a morality system in Ghost of Tsushima, your actions leading up to this point somewhat affect your final decision on whether you kill or spare Jin’s uncle and leader of the Shimura Clan—Lord Shimura.

Being Jin’s mentor throughout the story and the one who taught him the samurai way of honor, the final fight between the two lead characters was inevitable with Jin’s dishonorable switch to the way of the Ghost.

Neither ending is particularly good or bad when compared to the other. Instead, it’s based on your own interpretation to determine the ending you get. While the canon ending is unconfirmed, killing Shimura for honor is what was presumably meant to happen.

Ghost of Tsushima endings: Differences and their meanings

Jin on his horse next to Shimura in the battle against the Mongol army
Family, friend, and mentor turned villain. Screenshot by Dot Esports

The endings change based on whether you kill Shimura or spare his life. Due to the samurai’s honor (something that is clearly missing from the Mongols throughout the story), Shimura asks that Jin seal his fate and kill him as Khotun Khan should have done at the start of Ghost of Tsushima. Unlike Jin, Khotun brutally kills his opponents, but their tactics aren’t much different from one another when comparing Shimura to Jin and Khotun.

It is difficult to debate whether killing Shimura is right or wrong. While it seems like the obvious choice is to spare Shimura based on our own moral compass, the truth is that Shimura wishes to have a samurai death. In the same breath, samurai would also perform harakiri or seppuku if they thought they brought shame to their family (the act of self-disemboweling or stabbing themselves in the abdomen, so to each their own). Whatever decision Jin made at that moment (killing or sparing Shimura) would change his life forever.

Shimura wanted Jin to finish the battle. Sparing him would disgrace the family name and seal Jin’s fate as a Ghost, stripping his samurai title.

Close up shot of Jin's Katana with Jin out of focus in the background
Clan Shimura’s honor or Ghost’s mercy? Screenshot by Dot Esports

Lord Shimura is the embodiment of honor and courage. He was willing to give their life for Japan alongside the 78 samurai who tried to stop the Mongol invasion. With the last samurai being Jin (Lord Shimura is presumed dead), the samurai code should live on with him. But the way of the Ghost completely changed Jin’s view on life and death, twisting his fighting style into something antagonist. Khotun Khan would use against his opponents (stealth killing, kunai throwing, and smoke bombs).

The story of Ghost of Tsushima shows the somewhat devastating outcomes of having honor. Lord Shimura led his soldiers into battle, only for Jin to be the last one standing, with Shimura taken prisoner. On the other hand, honor demonstrates the respect samurais have for their opponents, knowing that once they go into battle, only one will come out alive. This respectable code cannot be twisted to match the Ghost’s combat tactics. But could the way of the Ghost be deemed just as merciful as the samurai’s code?

Ghost of Tsushima follows two opposing world views, and it’s up to you to decide which you agree with—honor or mercy.


Dot Esports is supported by our audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn a small affiliate commission. Learn more about our Affiliate Policy
Author
Image of Hadley Vincent
Hadley Vincent
Writer for Dot since Oct. 2023. Just a Psychology graduate trying to find the meaning of life through gaming. An enthusiast of indie horror and anime, where you'll often find them obsessing over a great narrative and even better twists that'd make M. Night jealous. Their shocking twist? They think The Last of Us II is a masterpiece.