Ghost of Yotei

In 2020, Sucker Punch Productions released Ghost of Tsushima. You may know them as the long running PlayStation studio behind the classic Sly Cooper series and Infamous trilogy. They have a great track record of games known for offering fun fantasies. Creative work, so it was surprising when their first move after Infamous: Second Son was to create a grounded piece of work. A historical recapture of the Kamakura period for Japan where you follow a former samurai turned shinobi. His quest to save his people from the Mongol forces invading his homeland using whatever tactics he was humanly capable of. It was surprising that this was Sucker Punch’s next big project. Especially when you consider the state of the open world genre at this point. Back in the early 2010s these types of games were groundbreaking. Seeing developers create vast open worlds full of detail and content. Making them feel not just immersive, but alive. That you were actually there living in their worlds. Now the open world genre has become oversaturated. Too many titles mistaking more for better to the point where the open world has become too bloated.

That is not to say all open world games are bad or stale. Outer Wilds, Horizon Zero Dawn, and of course for many The Legend of Zelda: Breath of The Wild. These are a couple of standouts with Breath of The Wild in particular revolutionizing how people see open world game design. Ghost of Tsushima would have to do a lot to stand out , and from what was shown in trailers and gameplay videos leading up until release it sounded like another run of the mill open world . Run around, slash things, liberate encampments, simple quests, the whole shabizz. This game wasn’t aiming to change the structure nor design of general open world sandboxes, but what it did aim for was to be good. Ghost of Tsushima is not an original game. I’ve seen a lot of people say it’s just Assassin’s Creed set in Japan, something gamers have begged a long time for. Its combat is reminiscent of something like Sekiro or Ninja Gaiden. Its story contains themes people have seen already. It’s nothing innovative nor new, but that didn’t stop people from loving it. I myself am one of these individuals. Ghost of Tsushima is nothing new, but managed to do a lot of things really well.

It strikes a balance between traditional open world game design and that of the more free roam titles like Outer Wilds. Both combat and stealth are both versatile with the game giving enough opportunities to make use of your toolkit. The game starts off hard, but doing so encourages the players to seek better equipment and new skills. Master the cruelty of the world so challenges at the start are easy by the end. The game while doing a great job recapturing the time period does not let historical accuracy hold it back too much. Exploring mythology, culture, and giving you a heartfelt narrative. One about philosophy, difference in beliefs, family, sacrifice, and self identity. Then you have stuff like how the game handles character progression, rock paper scissor combat design, and colorful art direction that pops out towards your eyes despite being another Triple A game with photorealistic graphics. Ghost of Tsushima is a game I hold near and dear to my heart. I don’t know how well my original review holds up, but I still have a lot of love and respect for this game. It offered me comfort back in 2020 alongside Hades when my family faced multiple struggles and arguments. It tells a narrative I think can only be told through the means of a video game, and contains one of my top ten endings in gaming. I truly believe Ghost of Tsushima is a masterpiece and humbly say it’s one of my favorite games.

After the big success of Ghost of Tsushima there were a ton of expectations Sucker Punch would make a sequel. Some sort of follow-up to capitalize on this new formula of open world they have uniquely crafted for themselves. Indeed that is what they did as after releasing the director’s cut for Ghost of Tsushima in 2021 they began on the sequel. They then afterwards released a reveal trailer in 2024 showcasing the sequel would follow a new protagonist in a whole new setting and time period. Let us ignore the braindead grifters and losers who harassed the main actress of this game shortly after this trailer came out. I as well many others were heavily excited for the sequel aptly named Ghost of Yotei. I didn’t mind that it wasn’t a direct story follow-up to Tsushima. The story for Ghost of Tsushima ended on a good note and there was nothing else for the writers to say. I thought this was a good direction for the team, and remained thrilled for the end product. Originally I thought Ghost of Yotei would release in 2026 seeing how game development is now, but no that is not what happened. The game came out 2 months ago and I was screaming in joy.

The reason why I didn’t get Ghost of Yotei sooner was because I had examinations, and thought a good way to close off 2025 was by playing my most anticipated Triple A title. So did this game give up to my expectations? Well I clocked in around forty hours, scoured the map for all it had to offer, obtained the platinum trophy, and yes of course it lived up to my expectations! Did it make any good improvements or additions? Also yes and in some ways I would argue Ghost of Yotei is a better game. Do I love this more than Ghost of Tsushima? No, that seems to be the repeating theme for this year. My three most favorite 2025 games (Hades 2, Hollow Knight: Silksong, now Ghost of Yotei) are all great sequels to games I love. They are masterpieces, but in some ways I still prefer the originals. Not just due to nostalgia and fond memories, but because of a few key things. I do not love this game more than the original, but I still love it nonetheless. It’s a fantastic follow-up to Tsushima, and it has now turned Sucker Punch from being a studio I respect into my favorite PS studio. So today we’re gonna be talking about Ghost of Yotei, and why it deserves your attention.

Story

All screenshots taken by me :D

Just like the original, the story for Ghost of Yotei starts upon immediately booting up the game. It takes place in 1600 Japan and sees us placed into the shoes of Atsu. The opening scene sees her strapped to a tree set ablaze. The dead bodies of her parents are seen in front of her alongside six individuals. All of whom are wearing masks aside from their leader, Saito. He came that night to claim revenge on Atsu’s family. Leading an attack on her house, killing her father first, and then followed by the rest of the family. He impales her onto the tree ensuring that her family line will never be seen from again. At least that is what Saito had thought. Atsu, despite being wounded, manages to escape and flee from her burning home. She became an orphan living amongst the wild and scraping anything she could find to survive. She manages to do just that and at some point travels to the south. Away from her homeland Ezo in hope of a more sustainable life. She becomes a mercenary, an individual paid to hunt down criminals or fight wars others are not able to fight. She becomes a stone cold killer and despite growing older each day one thought never leaves her mind. To claim revenge for her family. To kill those who ruined her life and forced her into a life of hurt. To kill the Yotei Six. To watch Saito’s throat bleed.

Years pass and the twelve year old Atsu is now a young woman. Traveling back to Ezo to see all that has changed since she left. Ezo is caught in a restless war between clan Matsumae and Saito, who over the years has appointed himself as a lord. Training his own army of samurai without approval of the Japanese government and transforming into a tyrant. Seizing land, resources, and forcing civilizations to join otherwise they are to be punished. The Matsumae clan are attempting to drive Saito’s forces out, but struggle due to how much land is controlled by Saito and the other members of the Yotei Six. Atsu doesn’t really care about the war despite fighting in some. All she desires is killing the Yotei Six, and she does so upon the first night. Tracking down the Snake to a small sake shack, cutting him down, and rising back up despite her battle scars. She rides to her old family home, repairs it, and kneels beside her parents’ graves. Writing the names of the Yotei Six and promising to hunt them down. She’ll explore the land, make unlikely allies, meet faces she wasn’t expecting, and do everything it takes to achieve her goal. Once she claims her revenge she will finally be free. She will no longer have to hurt. She will be able to live.

Gameplay

Ghost of Yotei much like Ghost of Tsushima follows a lot of traditional open world design tropes and choices seen in what I refer to as “total freedom” open world games to create this nice blend of exploration, character progression, and discovery. Upon finishing the opening you’re plopped right into the middle of the open world. Allowed to go in any direction you want and collect info needed to hunt down the Yotei six. This can be done in a few ways, mainly interrogating outlaws who serve Saito, raiding their camps, saving people taken in by outlaws, or asking people at any local inns or businesses. You have quite a bit of choice on what you want to do first. You’re not allowed to do everything out of order as Ghost of Yotei has a strict narrative it wants to tell, but it is nice they offer you this freedom. The ability to discover things on your own and choose what you want to do. You can see the connection to total freedom open world games like Outer Wilds or Breath of The Wild. However, there are certain activities scattered throughout the world which you can do. Repeated tasks such as liberating camps, finding shrines, hot springs, bamboo strikes and more. It’s much like Assassin’s Creed and how it too has repeated tasks, but what sets this game apart from its influence are two things. Points of interest are found rather than marked on your map instantly, and how character progression is handled.

It’s not like Assassin’s Creed or Breath of The Wild where activating a tower or clearing a major landmark will reveal everything important nearby. You still have to go out of your way to find all of this, and the newest addition to Ghost of Yotei is the telescope. Whip it out to see what’s in the far distance, and if it’s something important it '’’ll be marked on your map. I like this. It’s not the most perfect, but allows you to really take in the world as it is. I love how minimal the UI is, and how instead of using an icon or minimap with a dotted line to guide the player you instead follow the wind. It can tell you what direction to go, but it won’t show you the exact path you have to follow. Meaning you actually have to pay attention to the environment. Look for walls to scale, holes to slip for, or secrets most games would highlight for you to interact with. Your rewards for exploration are usually the aforementioned. Shrines, hot springs, charms, bamboo strikes, etc. Ghost of Yotei has RPG systems like armor, charms with perks, and unlocking new skills but it is not fully an RPG. You don’t level up by doing more things, but by finding specific things. 

The shrines give you skill points to further expand your combat and stealth capabilities. Soothing hot springs increase your health. Bamboo strikes will increase Resolve, which are your healing charges. Collecting enough charms will upgrade your charm slots allowing you to equip more major charms. Doing activities is less of crossing things off a list of tasks, and more of finding what you need to grow stronger. Increasing character stats so future challenges and enemies are more manageable to deal with. Another new addition to Yotei are the bounties. Money is one of the most important currencies in Ghost of Yotei. It’s needed to buy supplies, armor & tool upgrades, and if you really want to find everything you can buy map markers from an NPC who charts the land. However, these things are pricey and in the early game money is hard to come by. Taking on bounties is a quick yet challenging way to rack up cash as you hunt down and duel against tough opponents. Individuals either with strong toolkits, or are accompanied by outlaws or ronins they hired to help them with their actions. Coming prepared is better than rushing in as you never know what tricks these bounty targets will pull out of nowhere. Ready yourself.

When it comes to dismantling enemies you have one of two choices. Either face them head on or if you have the option you can stealthily kill them. Stealth works as you expected. Sneak behind an enemy and assassinate them without getting spotted. If so you’re forced into combat. As you unlock new tools and skills you earn better ways to stealthily kill. Such as chain assassinations, distractions, landing bow headshots to kill them instantly, etc. Combat plays identically to the first game. You parry and dodge attacks, strike them when open, and if pressured enough you can break their guard. Allowing for a few critical hits to be landed. You can also unlock new combos and special abilities that can be performed using resolve. It is both a limited & limitless resource. You gain it from hitting and killing enemies, and it can either be used to heal or perform special skills. There is a set max of charges, and refilling one requires good skill. It is a system that can pushes players to play better. You want to fight diligently and aggressively to earn heals, but you also want to spend those healing charges on special attacks. Creating these risk reward scenarios that either have you playing safely, or if you’re daring you go all out on your enemies.

Combat is still great and you still have the option to walk towards a group, demand a faceoff, and kill a few members instantly with well timed slashes. Filling resolve quickly, but at times stealth is a better option. As it may give you more resolve before you enter a fight. The newest addition to the combat system are weapons. Ghost of Tsushima had stances, which would change how Jin attacked with his sword. Allowing him to break the guard of certain enemy types with more ease creating a rock paper scissor system. Forcing players to switch often to deal with large groups a tad bit more easily. Ghost of Yotei instead has weapons, which are obtained as Atsu finds mentors throughout the land. You start with a katana, but gain access to a second one for dual wielding. You also unlock a spear, kurisgame, and odachi. All have different hitboxes, arches, and timing. The rock paper scissor system is still here, but you have more varied ways than ever to take on your enemy. You fight as you see fit. I haven’t even mentioned all the tools and ranged weapons, but we’ll stop right there. Combat is as fun and varied as open world activity. Acquire all you till you hunt down each member of the Yotei Six. Cut them down. Leave none alive.

Thoughts

Despite not loving it as much as the first game, Ghost of Yotei is a fantastic follow-up. It lived up to my expectations and in some ways I think it exceeded them. I knew the game was going to be great, but I didn’t expect it to do some of the things I thought it would do. Now I have seen the arguments on how it’s not as good as Ghost of Tsushima, or for some people it’s disappointing. It’s hard to follow-up on a game many people consider a masterpiece. More so if it’s utilized as a high example of how to make an entry in its respective genre. Ghost of Yotei did not improve on a lot of what made Ghost of Tsushima amazing. I disagree that it didn’t do enough to improve. I don’t think it revolutionized anything, but neither did Tsushima. Just like the original it takes the ideas done before and refines them. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it, and if not tweak it just a little. In Ghost of Tsushima you unlocked new skills and stances through leveling up. This was done by completing side quests, liberating camps, and killing Mongols. What is to be expected from a lot of open world games now. Some form of leveling up and character progression, and Yotei still has this. You unlock skills from a skill tree, and improve stats with time. You still increase health via hot springs, and healing charges through bamboo strikes. It’s skills that’s been reworked.

Whereas new skills were unlocked in Ghost of Tsushima through increasing your legend you new ones in Ghost of Yotei by finding the Shrines of Reflection. Small structures scattered and hidden throughout the world you can find. In fact, the legend system has been reworked so that it is now an entirely separate thing. It increases as you progress through the main story, and makes it so enemies and their tactics become more deadly. They equip themselves with better weapons, start hiring ronin to attack you, set up tripwires, ride on horses to search for you, bring dogs, etc. It’s an amazing way of handling difficulty. As Atsu does more heroic acts Saito’s forces become deadlier. Now back to how progression is handled. You unlock skills via shrines you find, and it makes exploration ever more thrilling. Wherever I find these yellow painted statues or a little yellow bird flies by I get excited. It means a secret is waiting for me to discover, but the game is not going to show me the secret or give it instantly. I still have to search around and find it, and once it’s done I get a cool reward. A decision on how to make Atsu better, and while you can unlock every skill by the end the skills on the skill tree are genuinely useful. Not things you’ll only ever use one. Stuff like different weapon skills, better guard breaking, aiming concentration, and more. Skill trees are overdone, but it’s offering good skills that make trees good. 

I still love the combat loop of these games. Back in 2019 my mind didn’t comprehend why folks love Sekiro, and it wasn’t until Ghost of Tsushima I understood it. In my opinion I still prefer Ghost of Tsushima and how it handled it. Showing that parrying isn’t everything. You can dodge, use ranged weapons, change your stances, and such. I also don’t know if Sekiro benefitted from having a flask like Dark Souls. Instead, Ghost of Tsushima uses charges and they function like in Hollow Knight. Filling up whenever you strike enemies, and spent on either heals or attacks. Creating moments of consideration, risk-reward, and thoughtful play during high intense moments. It pushes you to fight aggressively yet carefully. Uses stances to break guards more quickly and generate resolve faster. Ghost of Yotei swaps the stance system out for five big old weapons, and I like this new change. I found myself fighting for good stretches on time with each tool. Mastering them, learning their pros and cons. Each weapon feels great to use even beyond just using them to break enemy guards.

Stealth is still very fun. I wouldn’t consider Ghost of Yotei a stealth game. It be titles like Dishonored, Metal Gear Solid, Splinter Cell, etc. A lot of people are gonna hate me for saying this, but these games have some of my favorite stealth in video games. You’re given a good amount of tools to use. Enough room for experimentation, but you can’t use ‘em recklessly as they have limited supplies or may alert enemies. Stealth has genuine punishment as a whole camp of enemies will swarm in on your position. There’s enough coverage to lurk about, kill your enemies one by one, and not too much to make stealth too easy. I am not saying Ghost of Tsushima and Ghost of Yotei are the greatest stealth games ever made. Combat is still a viable option, and these are the games that allow you to walk up to the front gates shouting for a standoff. Most stealth games have terrible combat for good reasons, and this game gives you the ability to do both. Much like most open world games the stealth is there, but for these games it makes sense. It makes sense for the character, and there’s considerations for whether you use stealth or charge ahead.

I love how the game doesn’t mark everything on the map and lets you discover things naturally. I remember how harsh my Red Dead Redemption 2 critique was back in 2022. I said the open map had not much interesting stuff to find, points of interest were separated by too much empty land, and it got boring to traverse. The older I get the more I realize sometimes having a vast map to just ride across is nice. Ghost of Yotei strikes that nice balance of having a nice world to traverse, but making every discovery and spot worth it. There was never a point where I felt like I wasn’t finding something good. I remember during my first few hours I saved some captured civilians. Then I found a puzzle amongst a bamboo thicket as well as a shrine. I camped with some locals over tea, and chased a fox I found nearby. I then spotted a watchtower, climbed up it, and began to survey the land. Spotting a shrine climb, and chilling out at a hot spring I had also seen. Again it is that nice balance between total freedom open world games and traditional ones. There are repeated activities, but you still discover them naturally. Ghost of Yotei wants you to have good fun playing this video game, but it also wants you to be immersed and enjoy this world. Without always having to point out points of interest or shout on where you need to head. 

Now I do want to critique some parts for Ghost of Yotei so it doesn’t sound like I’m glazing. Also to show where Ghost of Tsushima succeeded a bit better. Ghost of Tsushima had a pretty decently big world. It was free to explore, you start off in the south, and work your way to the north. The world was free, but progression wise you cannot deny it was structurally linear. Start off in one region and work your way to the next. Ghost of Yotei has a much smaller world. There are more regions to explore and they are more varied than the first. I love how each region has their own culture or traits. How the Oni’s region uses warm colors to show the decimation created by his soldiers. The villages and landscapes they ravaged during their conquest. Meanwhile the Kitsune hides in the snowy mountains. His followers hiding in the snow or placing hideouts in corners of the map you least expect to check. I think the Kitsune has my favorite area in the game where they hide things behind puzzles. You need a specific sheet to understand what these puzzles are and how to solve them, or you can simply discover it yourself by steaming off the main path and figuring it out yourself. Love how they give you the option to do this. Yotei has a more varied map and in some ways offers more freedom than Tsushima. However, it also kinda worms you into it. The world is much smaller and more tighter than that of the one in Tsushima. 

The way it’s set up is there’s sections, the paths that lead to them, and the quest you usually have to do to open these paths. On one hand I love how Yotei has more variation, tighter focus, and in some ways choice. On the other hand I love Tsushima more and I’d argue there’s more freedom. I don’t know how to fully describe my feelings with these two worlds. They’re both great, but you really have to play both games to understand what I’m saying. My second complaint and it’s the only other complaint I have with the gameplay is that in reality you can’t hunt down the six targets in any order. You kill the Snake during the intro, have a choice on whether to do the Oni or Kitsune next, and then the last three are done afterwards. I like how they frame it and you can collect info out of order, but the story path is the same. Not much of a complaint, but I wish the game listed its story as four chapters rather than three. Act one is the longest because you are on the hunt for the Oni and Kitsune, and then act two and three are incredibly short. Act two takes place in what is probably the smallest region in the game whereas the first act spans across five whole ass regions. The third act then takes you to certain places to commence the ending.

What I’m saying sounds like major criticism and design issues, but remember I really love this game. So much so that I did everything before the final mission and earned the platinum trophy. I loved clearing camps, finding new landmarks, secrets, helping locals, doing side quests, hunting bounties, climbing the shrines, befriending wolves and foxes, all of it! Never did I feel like it got repetitive, annoying, bloated, or that it didn’t contribute something good to my character. I love the writing of some of the side quests and bounties especially. Most side quests are usually to do one thing and get a reward, but Ghost of Yotei is one of few games to use it to tell stories. One saw me hunting down a woman who killed a samurai, but it’s because he was sold to him and she was being heavily abused. Another sees a lord now turned swindler. Having run away from war and carrying guilt of not being able to defend his fallen brethren. My favorites are myths. These fun side stories of legends many find hard to believe. You unravel these myths, witness things beyond human comprehension, and put past souls to rest. My favorite myth is the one that deals with the first game. You know the one. The one that talks about how Jin gave up everything to protect his people, but in doing so he gave up his name and title. Accepting his fate that he’ll be forgotten with time. You get to preserve his legacy by finding where he last lived before death. Carrying on his name as the hero who sacrificed everything to save everyone.

Just like the rest of this game! Ghost of Yotei uses cutting edge graphics and tech to generate real world-esque visuals, but compared to most games with realistic graphics it stands out. Tsushima and Yotei are two of few realistic looking games that have artistic style. I always disliked how the box art for Ghost of Tsushima was bleak and gray when the actual game itself is colorful. Almost as if god touched the land with a magic paintbrush here and there, and Yotei is the same. With a lot of landscapes and locations that stand out in my mind how they utilized color. The plantlife, fields, and at times the day and night added to the mood of these areas. It’s not just immersion, but it is also the vibes this art direction gives the game. Showing there is beauty to be found. The world may be full of death, decay, war, and sorts of crimes and sins but there are reminders of the beauty. The solitude, peace, and prosperity to be found in nature. With the main character even reflecting on the beauty and how harmless it is lying underneath. The style adds to the game. It’s not there to just be pretty. It coincides with the main themes of the story.

I should really start to discuss the story of this game at some point, because it was one of the big highlights for Ghost of Tsushima. I love the story of Ghost of Yotei. I don’t think it’s perfect, but nothing is. On the surface Ghost of Yotei is a revenge story, but deep down it’s about trauma and moving on. Without spoilers, there’s a big twist early on that shows someone Atsu cares about is alive. They became a samurai whereas Atsu became a mercenary, and from here we see different world views. Much like Tsushima this game uses beliefs to explore life and how one can view it. Oneu is willing to do whatever it takes to achieve her goal, and the other thinks about the lives on the line. One has nothing but revenge and spite in her mind, and the other asks if there’s more to it than just that. One cannot forget the trauma, and the other found a way to move on. To find reasons to keep living rather than let the past bog them down. It still does, but he’s not letting it control him. He’s not letting it dictate the actions he does, because he knows if it becomes too recklessly he’ll lose control. Which is what happens to Atsu as the story unfolds.

She puts more people in danger. Everything she walks through destruction and death follows. Those she loves and cares for get thrown on the line. She becomes as deadly as the people she’s hunting. I mentioned near the beginning that Ghost of Tsushima has a story that can only work through the means of a video game. Ghost of Yotei is the same. You’re conditioned to see that by killing all these people you’re doing the right thing. Doing the right thing is fun. The more you do the right thing the less you worry about morales. Then it hits you in the face. You are far from the person you once were. You cannot undo the chaos you’ve created. You cannot go back to the life you once or were offered. This is who you are now and you will be remembered for it. The first game uses this to explore conflict of beliefs, and the second game uses it to explore one’s goal and path in life. Tsushima still has the better ending, but Yotei still ends on a good note. As the protagonist develops, sees more in life, and learns to move on from his past and trauma. Not letting it dictate her as a person. Not letting determine the type of individual she wants to be.

Ghost of Yotei is not a direct sequel to Ghost of Tsushima, and that is a good thing. It has proven how great of a successor it can be without having to tie itself to the original aside from a couple connections outside of gameplay. It has shown it’s willing to make small improvements on the great formula the first game has. It managed to tell a captivating story well and stick the landing whereas most games about revenge plots fail. All while avoiding problems an open world sequel runs into like bloat and less focused direction. If you have a PlayStation 5, love the first game, or want a good open world game to play I strongly recommend it. If you don’t have a PS5 then just wait a year until Sony ports it to PC. They always do. Ghost of Yotei is a masterpiece and easily one of my favorite games of 2025. In the end I am going to give Ghost of Yotei a 10/10 for being incredible.

10/10, Incredible