Ghost of Yotei Review – A Legend Forged in Vengeance

Ghost of Tsushima is one of the most pleasant surprises of the PlayStation 4 era. Developed by Sucker Punch, the studio behind cult classic Sly Cooper and Infamous series, Ghost of Tsushima was a bold new direction for them. 

Set in the backdrop of the 13th-century Mongol invasion of the Japanese island of Tsushima, the game swapped quippy modern tropes for a more introspective story of honour, family, and what it means to be a samurai. It was also a tough act to follow, as it swept award after award when it was released. 

Some expected Sucker Punch to continue its story right where it left off. Others thought the game told a complete story, and the studio would move on from the setting. But few predicted their true plan—to tell origin stories of various ‘ghosts’ throughout Japan’s history. 

Ghost of Yotei is both a direct and spiritual sequel to Tsushima. It doesn’t continue the first game’s story, but it shares its DNA and evolves it in subtle but meaningful ways. Was Sucker Punch successful in continuing its ‘Ghost of’ series beyond the beloved protagonist of the first game?

TL;DR

Ghost of Yotei evolves the original game’s formula but never forgets its roots. It’s a deeply personal story of revenge and finding oneself amidst the beauty and brutality of 17th-century Japan. It features a rich, open world with organic exploration that never feels dull or repetitive, paired with a narrative that will keep you hooked and guessing throughout its 40-hour runtime.

Story – A Ghost Born from Fire

Ghost of Yotei takes place 300 years after Ghost of Tsushima and in an entirely different location. It’s set in Ezo, a small northern island that would become Hokkaido in the late 19th century. What makes Ezo unique is Mount Yotei, a snow-capped mountain overlooking the island and giving it its unique identity. 

As the story begins, you play as Atsu, a swordsmith’s daughter who witnesses her family being destroyed by the Yotei Six. The Yotei Six are a group of bandits, or freedom fighters, depending on who you ask, who are fighting to free Ezo from the Shogun’s control through illegal means. 

Atsu’s life is in ruins at the beginning of Ghost of Yotei, and she flees Ezo only to return 16 years later, seeking revenge on those who wronged her. Without going into further details, Atsu’s journey could be compared to that of the Bride from Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill duology. 

This is a messy and personal story filled with intriguing characters, unexpected twists, and a general atmosphere of loss and betrayal. It’s not a pleasant story to experience, but it’s engaging and delivers its message through beautiful writing and convincing acting.

Thematic Evolution of the Series

Atsu is not a samurai. She is a mercenary without a master, a clan, or a code to follow. This makes her the polar opposite of Jin from the first game. Ghost of Yotei explores very different themes and keeps things fresh and interesting without repeating the same story beats from Tsushima. 

Atsu’s moral compass can easily sway in whatever direction takes her closer to one of the Yotei Six. This means alienating allies, cooperating with villains, and doing whatever it takes to avenge her family. Ghost of Yotei doesn’t shy away from sensitive topics, and you won’t always feel like a hero, even when you accomplish your goals. 

Where Jin had to worry about staying true to his identity as a samurai of the clan Sakai, Atsu scoffs at the idea of ever following a lord or serving someone else’s agenda. This is a rich and layered evolution of Sucker Punch’s series, as it never feels like an unnecessary story made to check a box.

Complementing the Narrative with Side Quests

Unlike most games, Ghost of Yotei delegates a lot of its narrative to its side content. If you only stick to the main objectives, you’ll miss out on key motivations, characters, and entire storylines. You’ll also miss out on a lot of useful equipment and decorations for Atsu’s swords and armour, but that’s a secondary benefit to the intricate stories Sucker Punch is telling here. 

As you travel through  Ezo, you’ll come across villagers looking for help from a mercenary willing to lend them their sword for some coin. These stories often evolve in unexpected ways, as Sucker Punch really did their best to ensure no two side quests feel similar. Bounties, which would typically involve hunting mini bosses in other games, can very easily evolve into something more intriguing and morally grey. 

Ghost of Yotei keeps you on your toes with its side quests, but also rewards you for engaging with it. It’s one of the rare instances in gaming where optional content truly is worth devoting your time to, and it’s one of the studio’s greatest accomplishments with this game.

Gameplay – Wandering through Ezo

Ghost of Yotei is an open-world game with Ezo being split into multiple distinct zones. Each zone is unique, both from a narrative and visual perspective. Some zones feature lush sun-bathed woods and lakes filled with wildlife, while others comprise merciless snowy mountains. 

Every zone is distinct, and you’ll never feel like you’re going through the same place twice. Mirroring the first game, it also never feels like ‘work’ exploring Ezo and uncovering its secrets. Your trusty horse will take you around the island, and you’ll follow the wind instead of a compass marker on your way to the next adventure. 

Ghost of Yotei does everything in its power to immerse you in its world, a far cry from similar games that would crowd your interface with markers, icons, and progress bars. You can explore as much or as little as you’d like, and friendly NPCs will always point you in the right direction. 

You’ll organically discover new shrines to explore, hot springs to visit, and charms to collect by helping those around you. A crafty map merchant will also sell you maps if you’re stuck and want to discover everything in each zone. Atsu will also be accompanied by a wolf from time to time, an ally that you meet throughout the story and build a relationship with as you help them fight hunters and bandits destroying wolf nests.

Ghost of Yotei places the agency in your hands and trusts you to play the game the way you want to— it’ll simply adapt to your playstyle.

Your Arsenal of Vengeance

Unlike Jin, Atsu is not bound by a samurai’s code. This is reflected in her choice of weapons, which is more varied and deadly than anything Jin used in Ghost of Tsushima. You’ll start the game with your trusty katana, but slowly expand your arsenal as you explore Ezo. Ghost of Yotei does a wonderful job in tying new weapons to masters living in Ezo, each specialised in a different fighting style. 

To learn how to use dual katanas, a spear, or a deadly two-handed blade, Atsu will have to travel to his master’s dojo and train. This involves story-based quests that deepen your relationship with the master and allow Atsu to truly make the most of her new gear. And just like in Tsushima, you’ll gain skill points as you travel Ezo and invest them into weapons and other abilities. 

Again, it’s important to emphasise just how organic this all feels despite us playing hundreds of open-world games in the past. Ghost of Yotei makes the journey feel natural, not a checkbox you need to tick to get from A to B.

Organic Use of Haptic Feedback

Built for the PlayStation 5, Ghost of Yotei has immersive haptic feedback features. The moment you gain control of Atsu, you’ll notice your controller reacting to everything happening on the screen. This includes walking, galloping on horseback, clashing weapons with enemies, and even watching cutscenes. 

Many minigames and side activities make great use of haptic feedback, too, including painting, playing Atsu’s shamisen, or cooking food over a campfire. Sucker Punch made sure that playing their latest game feels like you’re actually participating in everything that happens on the screen.

Visuals – 17th Century Rural Japan Comes to Life

Ghost of Yotei runs on Sucker Punch’s in-house engine and truly brings 17th-century Japan to life. Unlike Tsushima, which took place in the 13th century, Yotei feels more modern and developed by comparison. You’ll see a clear evolution of the game’s world compared to Tsushima, whether it’s in architecture, clothing, or environmental design. The team took extra care to ensure everything feels authentic and nothing is out of place. 

The same can be said for professional motion capture used in story sequences, where multiple characters will interact on screen. It all feels very cinematic, and a lot of effort was placed on ensuring that the acting translates into 3D models without it appearing rigid or unnatural.

The game’s story cutscenes are atmospheric, well-acted, and go beyond anything we’ve seen in Ghost of Tsushima. And similar to the first game, various visual modes are available if you’d like to make your adventure through Ezo feel like an old samurai movie with black-and-white colouring or a gritty, muddy look and feel.

Sucker Punch went the extra mile and incorporated the indigenous Ainu people into Ghost of Yotei. As a tribe native to Ezo/Hokkaido, they are an often-forgotten footnote in the history books. The developers gave their legacy a breath of new life, as many fans will discover them for the first time by playing Ghost of Yotei. 

In terms of technical performance, the game features several performance and quality modes targeting different framerates based on whether you’re playing on the base PlayStation 5 or the PlayStation 5 Pro. We tested the game on the base model, and the game ran smoothly without any dips in performance or technical stability. The game is a polished, complete product on day one, and you won’t make a mistake if you play it right now.

Audio – Paying Homage to the Samurai Genre 

Just like its world, the music of Ghost of Yotei has also jumped forward 300 years. The first game relied on the flute as its instrument of choice, with Jin carrying his flute around Tsushima. To parallel this, Atsu carries a shamisen, a traditional stringed Japanese instrument akin to a guitar. 

Its three strings allow Atsu to play music in campsites or compose new music as she meets artists throughout Ezo and helps them out. The game’s overall soundtrack relies on a combination of flute, shamisen, and vocals, with original songs playing at key story moments. The game’s voice acting is equally stellar, with Erika Ishii playing Atsu and truly breathing life into her story.

As a cherry on top, Watanabe mode was introduced to Ghost of Yotei in collaboration with Shinichiro Watanabe, the director of Samurai Champloo. This means you can swap the game’s soundtrack for original lo-fi music as you travel through Ezo, which will then organically transition between songs during battle and exploration. 

It’s a fantastic little addition that pays homage to one of anime’s most influential directors while also understanding the game’s core audience.

Conclusion – Should you Play Ghost of Yotei?

Ghost of Yotei joins Sony’s lineup of must-play exclusives, along with Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, earlier this year. It’s a natural next step for Sucker Punch’s series, and now that we’ve experienced what they have planned for this series, we can’t wait to see where they take it from here. If you loved Ghost of Tsushima, you can’t skip this one. 

It takes everything you loved about the first game and does it even more beautifully with a tragic but inspiring story and an immersive, atmospheric world to explore. And even if you haven’t played Tsushima, you can easily pick up Ghost of Yotei and enjoy Atsu’s story without the burden of ‘starting with the sequel’, as this is a standalone story. 

Ghost of Yotei launches on the PlayStation 5 on October 2nd.

Big thanks to PlayStation Greece for providing us with the review copy.