Review: Ghost of Yotei - The Beauty of Playing Safe

Few titles have offered such a visually stunning open-world experience as Ghost of Tsushima, released in 2020 for PlayStation 4 and later re-released in the Director's Cut version for PlayStation 5, expanding the game's experience.

Combined with top-notch graphics, Tsushima Island felt alive. Small villages to explore, villagers to rescue, fortresses to capture, and enemies to defeat, not to mention the dozens of secrets hidden throughout the map: hot springs, armor, blade upgrades, charms to collect, and other activities that made Jin Sakai's journey much more than just rescuing his people but also exploring his land beyond the eyes of a samurai.

Jin, in fact, was one of Ghost of Tsushima's weakest points. The plot revolved around a stereotype of the Samurai code of honor and how Jin was forced to break it, time and again, if he wanted to stand any chance against the invading army, led by Khotun Khan.

[quote](While you sharpened your sword, do you wanna know how I was prepared for today? I learned. I know your language... your traditions... your beliefs... which villages to tame and... which to burn.) (Khotun Khan)

His adversary was a formidable foe, a peerless strategist who challenged Jin's former beliefs, leading him down a path considered dishonorable by his peers—if it meant saving his people, he would become the feared "Ghost."

Jin, however, fell too far short of stereotypes, ultimately making the supporting characters more interesting than the hero himself.

All these elements, combined, made Ghost of Tsushima a critically acclaimed success. To this day, the title is considered one of the most beautiful games of its era and one of the most fascinating open-world titles for fans of games with oriental aesthetics and themes.

After five years, Ghost of Yōtei arrives on PlayStation 5, and if we're addressing the strengths and weaknesses of its predecessor in this introduction, it's because most of what Tsushima calls its strengths can be found—in an enhanced version—in Yōtei.

From the colorful, vivid, and action-packed world to the challenging combat to the plot, which, while avoiding stereotypes and featuring memorable moments, still struggles to deliver a compelling protagonist, Ghost of Yōtei is the purest improvement on Sucker Punch's title.

Platform: PlayStation 5

Genre: Open World, RPG, Action

Developer: Sucker Punch

Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment

Release Date: October 2, 2025

Ghost of Yotei takes place over 300 years after the events of Ghost of Tsushima, during the early Edo Period in Japan in 1603, considered a new era after the fall of the Toyotami and the rise of Tokugawa Ieyasu. The plot takes place in the Ezo region, around Mount Yotei in Hokkaido, known for being inhabited at the time by the Ainu people, who suffered oppression under the new regime in the years that followed.

While the new title partially addresses the themes inherent in the societal changes of the Japanese people during this period, Ghost of Yotei is the story of one character: Atsu.

As a young girl, Atsu watched her family be murdered by Lord Saito, leader of a group of mercenaries known as the Yotei Six. Atsu, impaled on a burning tree, survived the massacre and traveled to the mainland to train in the art of swordplay and fight the war using the sword forged by her father. Now, back home, the protagonist decides to begin her final task: take revenge on each member of the Yotei Six.

In her quest, Atsu encounters several supporting characters who aid her in her mission to assassinate the region's current rulers. Some, like Lord Kitamori, deliver solid narrative experiences that complement the protagonist, while others have individual plots that divide between memorable and potentially forgettable moments but which help contextualize the era in which the game is set.

Atsu is a more interesting and even relatable character than Jin Sakai, whose dilemma existed as a plot device for the game's mechanics. The new protagonist has purpose, and the various moments in which we experience flashbacks of her with her family well represent the scars of trauma and grief from the tragedy she experienced.

However, the story presented and her development both feel repetitive and stuck in recent game narrative tropes, ultimately overshadowing the protagonist's personality, repeating, differently, the same mistake Ghost of Tsushima made with Sakai.

From the way the wind moves the leaves, Atsu's interaction with the environment, or the sunlight reflecting off the dense forests of some regions, Ghost of Yotei is a visual spectacle from beginning to end. The world feels dense and vivid, and the extensive use of 3D audio on headsets creates an immersive atmosphere, capable of making players lose themselves for hours exploring every corner searching for a new landscape and/or a yet-to-be-discovered secret.

There's also more life in exploration. NPCs share more details about your targets or about treasures and unknown regions. Some side quests or locations allow you to camp with other travelers and even trade items with them, as well as making excellent use of the DualSense's functions for mundane activities like lighting fires and cooking, or even playing the iconic instrument Atsu carries around.

Most of the side quests don't differ much from what we saw in Ghost of Tsushima, lacking a bit of innovation in this regard. We still follow bird and fox tracks, enter hot springs, and meditate in temples to obtain rewards, but some stand out: while duels were a staple in the previous title, Ghost of Yotei expands on them with bounty hunts that provide more resources for Atsu and more challenges for the player.

Combat is one of Ghost of Yotei's greatest highlights and continues to offer a good mix of opportunity and reward for precise button timing for each action, including attacking, knocking, blocking, dodging, and avoiding certain lethal attacks. This includes the novelty of enemies disarming Atsu, putting her at a major disadvantage in battle.

The need for timing has become even greater. Even reusing essentially all the systems, Ghost of Yotei gives us a protagonist who fights considerably differently than Sakai, including in weapon selection, where using multiple swords means dealing with a specific type of opponent, while another weapon deals with more robust enemies, and a single sword works better against opponents who also fight with only one hand.

The addition of new weapons comes with a deeper and more complex customization system, but it doesn't offer so much freedom that it would allow for dozens of distinct builds in different runs. This would provide more replayability but could make the system perhaps a bit too convoluted to the point of alienating more loyal audiences.

Ghost of Yotei is, in essence, a title designed to improve on everything that made Ghost of Tsushima so beloved last generation. World exploration, combat, and other gameplay aspects have been expanded, improved, or reimagined to provide greater depth, but perhaps sticking too closely to its roots to the point of venturing too far and taking more risks.

The story, on the one hand, is better crafted and less formulaic than its predecessor, with Atsu being a more memorable character than Jin Sakai, but it still has inherent flaws of repeating tropes used in other recent narratives. Despite this, there are clear qualities in the character and plot development that deserve to be highlighted and experienced, on par with what we find in other Triple-A games.

It's a great title for those who want a richly detailed open-world adventure with engaging gameplay and dozens of hours of activities, but don't expect major changes. If you enjoyed Ghost of Tsushima, this is the game for you; otherwise, it will be difficult to find anything in Yotei that justifies exploring the second title in the series.

SCORE: 8.5