Ghost of Tsushima was a massive hit for Sucker Punch Productions, selling over 13 million copies and taking home a few year-end awards. The dizzying success of Tsushima meant a sequel was inevitable, but instead of doing a direct follow-up with Jin Sakai, Sucker Punch decided to go in a bold new direction with Ghost of Yotei. Ghost of Yotei is set hundreds of years after the events of the previous game and features a brand-new protagonist in the form of Atsu. Abandoning the narrative and characters established in the first game was a risky choice on the part of Sucker Punch, but the gamble has paid off big time, as Ghost of Yotei is even better than Tsushima.
Atsu's bloodthirsty journey for revenge sees her hunting down the members of the Yotei Six across a massive, drop-dead gorgeous open world. The Yotei Six slaughtered Atsu's family and left her for dead 16 years ago, and so, after spending time fighting in wars and honing her craft, Atsu has returned to the Mount Yotei region of Ezo with a singular goal in mind: kill every member of the Yotei Six by any means necessary. Atsu isn't bound by honor or any kind of code, and isn't above playing dirty to get an advantage over her opponents – a fact made evident by the very first Yotei Six member she fights, who she doesn't confront until he's drunk.
The Ghost of Yotei Story is a Dark Tale of Revenge
The heart-pumping opening battle sets the tone for the rest of the Ghost of Yotei experience. Atsu is an interesting, layered character with a range of emotions and is well-acted by Erika Ishii. Atsu's journey is equal parts exciting and heartbreaking, with the present-day action complemented by shocking flashbacks that slowly give players the full picture of exactly what happened on the night when the vicious Lord Saito and his companions killed her family and destroyed her home.
For the most part, Ghost of Yotei's story is an action-packed blockbuster with shocking twists and turns, big-time emotional payoffs, and an endearing cast of supporting characters. The only downside is that there are occasional lulls in the story.
Ghost of Yotei doesn't take a totally linear approach to its storytelling, and instead lets players hunt down certain Yotei Six members in any order they want. As players roam the Ezo countryside, they will come across Saito's soldiers and will have the option of fleeing or taking them on in a fight. Oftentimes, fighting leads to an interrogation that gives Atsu more information on the Yotei Six and where to find them. This triggers the set of missions tied to the specific Yotei Six member Atsu is hunting, which serve as almost standalone tales of revenge on their own. The missions build to an epic climax against that Yotei Six member, but then the pacing slows way down as Atsu works towards the next one. This becomes less of an issue later in the game when everything becomes more intertwined, but it is a little jarring in the first half.
It doesn't help that the story for one of the Yotei Six hunts isn't as interesting as the others. The storyline tied to Yotei Six member Oni was exhilarating and full of great moments, but I wasn't nearly as entertained by the Kitsune story. Part of that was likely due to pacing whiplash, but it is also home to unearned narrative choices that didn't feel true to Atsu's character.
Ghost of Yotei's structure can feel repetitive. Generally, the hunt for a new Yotei Six member means traveling to a new region, pointing out things on the spyglass, and finding a local master to learn how to use a new weapon. It's a funny coincidence that almost every time Atsu masters a new weapon in the game that her teacher's home is attacked at the end of the quest so she can put her skills to the test.
Ghost of Yotei Makes Doing Everything in the Open World Worthwhile
Ghost of Yotei's story isn't perfect, but it's still mostly great, and it's interesting how the side content is expertly woven into the overarching narrative. While exploring Ghost of Yotei's open world, I happened to come across an optional enemy camp. Players can take the stealthy approach and kill each enemy one by one to take camps over, but they can also run in swords blazing if they'd rather. Regardless, taking the camp triggered a scene with Saito where the big bad commented on Atsu's efforts and the impact they were having. As more members of the Yotei Six are knocked off the board, Saito's men become more dangerous and take Atsu more seriously, which means traps and more heavily-armed enemies in the open world. This helps make almost everything feel tied to the fight against the Yotei Six, and makes the side content more compelling than it would be otherwise.
Ghost of Yotei side content in general is head and shoulders above Tsushima, with all kinds of intriguing side quests and epic battles for those that seek them out. The repetitive, checklist-style open world structure is still a factor in Yotei, but there's more variety to the tasks. Yes, Atsu will need to go visit a bunch of shrines to unlock new techniques and abilities, but the path to each one is unique. One might require climbing and platforming up a mountain, while another may involve light puzzle-solving or stealthily clearing out a group of enemies.
Since Ghost of Yotei upgrades are tied to things like shrines, seeking out and engaging in the side content is definitely worthwhile. Doing so gives Atsu more options in combat, in turn making fights more fun. While upgrades aren't necessary to complete the game, they give Atsu a significant advantage, like the one that allows for chain assassinations or another that unlocks a special charge attack that can one-shot certain enemies if timed correctly.
Ghost of Yotei Combat is Perfect
Combat in Ghost of Yotei is perfect. Atsu takes a lot of damage with each hit, so it's important that players perfect the game's dodging and parrying, especially in boss fights or when fighting multiple enemies at once. Different weapons are effective against each other and certain enemy types, which encourages players to use more than their katana and ensures that each combat encounter has plenty of variety. Atsu has other tools to help her in fights as well, like smoke bombs that allow for a quick escape and bows that are good for taking enemies out from afar or getting quick, close-range kills if players are fast enough. Ghost of Yotei boss fights, meanwhile, provide a great deal of challenge without ever becoming frustrating.
Ghost of Yotei combat is cinematic, intense, and satisfying. Stealth is also fun, with certain sections of the game encouraging it without outright forcing it on the player. Wiping out enemy encampments without getting spotted is a thrill, but if enemies do happen to find Atsu, the ensuing swordfights are just as exciting. On the whole, Ghost of Yotei combat plays like a smoother, more impressively-animated take on Tsushima's visceral combat.
Combat is the core of the Ghost of Yotei experience, but it shakes things up with occasional platforming and mini-games that utilize the PS5 DualSense controller's touchpad. Motion controls are used for cooking sections and blacksmithing, but all the gimmicky DualSense features can be ignored if that's not your thing.
When it comes to gameplay, I have no complaints about Ghost of Yotei. It's the perfect realization of the open world samurai concept established by the first game, with Yotei exceeding its predecessor in other areas as well, like the graphics. Ghost of Yotei players will be blown away by the sheer majesty of the game's graphics. Ghost of Yotei's open world is a sight to behold, with incredible weather effects and an astonishing level of detail. For example, it happened to be raining while I was talking to an NPC, and I saw a single rain drop land on their head and roll down their face. Ghost of Yotei is potentially the best-looking PS5 game yet and what Sucker Punch accomplished here is nothing short of spectacular.
Ghost of Tsushima walked so Ghost of Yotei could run. Yotei beats Tsushima in every category, with better graphics, better music, better gameplay, and a better story, despite the occasional narrative lull. Ghost of Yotei is the kind of game that you can't stop playing, and when you're not playing it, you'll be thinking about when you can play it again. It's a masterful open world game and one of the best exclusives on the PS5.
Ghost of Yotei launches October 2, exclusively for PS5. Game Rant was provided with a PS5 code for this review.
