Ghost of Tsushima: Iki Island Wind Shrines - How to solve them and earn the themed armor sets

Ghost of Tsushima: Iki Island wind shrine dedicated to God of War
(Image credit: Sucker Punch)

Solving the Ghost of Tsushima: Iki Island Wind Shrines will earn you God of War, Bloodborne and Shadow of the Colossus armor. However, it's one of the trickiest things to work out without help as, like the Ghost of Tsushima Sly Cooper Easter egg, requires Jin to do some very specific cosplaying.

The Iki Island Wind Shrines are each dedicated to PlayStation titles - with one each for Bloodborne, God of War, and Shadow of the Colossus. These Shrines come with unique riddles that you'll need to solve in order to trigger a special cutscene and unlock awesome armor options themed to each game. 

Here's how to solve all three Ghost of Tsushima: Iki Island Wind Shrines - the Shrine of Ash, Blood-Stained Shrine, and Shrine in Shadow. 

Tsushima God of War armor

How to complete the Iki Island Shrine of Ash and get the God of War armor

Ghost of Tsushima: Iki Island Shrine of Ash

(Image credit: Sony PlayStation)

The Iki Island Shrine of Ash is themed around the PS4 God of War game, and in order to solve its riddle you'll need to do a little cosplay. Thankfully, you'll already have the armor required for this Shrine as you can't even access the Ghost of Tsushima: Iki Island DLC until you've completed Act 2 of the base game, which is where you'll be given the armor.

The Shrine of Ash riddle reads:

"In fall, a tree fruits
which grows from seed to sapling,
A stranger and son.
Boy, honor your father's fight
Show him the strength of your blade."

Ghost of Tsushima: Iki Island features shrines that refer to classic PS games

(Image credit: Sucker Punch)

In order to solve it, you'll need to pay particular attention to the final two lines, and do the following:

  • Wear the Sakai Clan armor (unlocked in Act 2 of the base game), which belonged to Jin's father - thus ticking off the "honor your father's fight" part of the riddle
  • Swipe left on the touchpad to draw your sword while standing in front of the shrine, which completes the "show him the strength of your blade" part.

Ghost of Tsushima: Iki Island God of War armor

(Image credit: Sony PlayStation)

This will trigger a short cutscene and earn you some God of War themed goodies: the Helm of War, Spartan face mask, and Ghost of Sparta color option for the Sakai Clan armor, which will get you looking as close to Kratos as Jin will ever get. 

Tsushima Bloodborne armor

How to complete the Iki Island Blood-Stained Shrine and get the Bloodborne armor

Ghost of Tsushima: Iki Island Blood-Stained Shrine

(Image credit: Sony PlayStation)

The second Iki Island Wind Shrine is the Blood-Stained Shrine, which is a lovely nod to Bloodborne. This one is a little more complicated than the Shrine of Ash, as you'll need to have completed the Six Blades of Kojiro Mythic Tale in the base game first. 

The Blood-Stained Shrine riddle reads:

"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."

Ghost of Tsushima: Iki Island features shrines that refer to classic PS games

(Image credit: Sucker Punch)

In order to solve it, you'll want to follow the line that reads "Hunter, reject death's allure", which is asking you to roleplay as the playable character in Bloodborne (Hunter). So, here's what you need to do:

  • Wear the Kensei armor (unlocked by completing The Six Blades of Kojiro Mythic Tale in the base game)
  • Heal yourself - aka "rejects death's allure". Just make sure you come to the shrine with less than a full health bar and enough resolve to heal yourself by pressing down on the D-Pad. 

Ghost of Tsushima: Iki Island Bloodborne armor

(Image credit: Sony PlayStation)

Doing this will trigger another cutscene, and earn yourself some Bloodborne-themed attire: the Yarnham Helm and the Yarnham Vestments cosmetic for the Kensei Armor, which will make you look a bit like Eileen the Crow.

Tsushima Shadow of the Colossus armor

How to complete the Iki Island Shrine in Shadow and get the Shadow of the Colossus armor

Ghost of Tsushima: Iki Island Shrine in Shadow

(Image credit: Sony PlayStation)

The third and final shrine is the Iki Island Shrine in Shadow, which is all themed around the Shadow of the Colossus. Thankfully, like the Shrine of Ash, you should already have everything you need for the Shrine in Shadow as the armor required is unlocked during Act 2 of the base game. 

The Shrine in Shadow riddle 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."

Ghost of Tsushima: Iki Island features shrines that refer to classic PS games

(Image credit: Sucker Punch)

In order to complete this Shrine, you'll need to pay particular attention to the commands that come after the word Wanderer - who is the playable character in Shadow of the Colossus. So, you'll need to do the following:

  • Wear the Ghost armor, which will satisfy the "a ghost casting no shadow" part of the riddle
  • Throw a smoke bomb to "come like through mist"

Ghost of Tsushima: Iki Island Shadow of the Colossus armor

(Image credit: Sony PlayStation)

Kudos to anyone else who spent far too long initially bringing in the real mist with their flute song instead of using a smoke bomb. I feel your pain. 

Doing this will trigger another cutscene, and reward you with some Shadow of the Colossus armor items: the Mask of the Colossus and the Armor of the Colossus cosmetic for the Ghost armor. 

And that's it! There's no special bonus - or even a Trophy - for completing all three but it's well worth it for the awesome armor options. 

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Sam Loveridge
Global Editor-in-Chief, GamesRadar+

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.