Review: Ghost of Yotei proves that the PS5 is still a winner
Editor's note: This review of Ghost of Yōtei contains bloody images.
Sony and the PlayStation brand have hit a few rough patches in the last year or so. Aside from the standout success of Helldivers 2, PS5’s high-profile multiplayer projects have stumbled — from the cancellation of Concord to the shelving of The Last of Us live-service game. But single-player titles remain PlayStation’s strong suit, with hits like Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, Astro Bot, and Death Stranding 2 keeping the console top of mind for gamers.
Ghost of Yōtei continues that trend. As the sequel to Sucker Punch Productions’ Ghost of Tsushima, it’s grander, bolder, and brighter. Its story of revenge and redemption makes it one of the most heartfelt experiences this year; its combat options have been expanded to give players even more bloody ways to kill enemies, and it features one of the best open worlds in recent memory.
The game takes place once again in ancient Japan, specifically Ezo, more than 300 years after the events of Tsushima. Thankfully, Yōtei’s story is completely separate from the first game, so newcomers can jump in without needing to play the original. Yōtei follows a new protagonist, Atsu, who returns home after wandering around doing odd jobs and mercenary work to stay alive. Sixteen years earlier, her family was slaughtered by the Yōtei Six, a group of rogue samurai who strike fear into Ezo’s citizens. Atsu was pinned to a giant tree in the middle of the family home and left for dead as it burned.
Somehow, Atsu survived and has adopted the persona of the onryō, a vengeful spirit from Japanese folklore. Stories of the spirit spread across Ezo, fueling Atsu’s legend and notoriety. Now, she’s out for revenge against the Yōtei Six and their leader, Lord Saitō. It’s a chilling, dark setup that immediately grabs your attention. But there’s light at the end of the tunnel. As Atsu meets new allies across Ezo, her tunnel vision begins to widen. While her quest for vengeance is justified, she’s forced to confront the consequences it could have for her newfound family. Atsu’s development feels natural, her growth believable, and the character arc layered with nuance.
Teaching an old wolf new tricks
As opposed to Ghost of Tsushima’s samurai protagonist, Jin, Atsu wields a wider variety of melee weapons and isn’t limited to the katana. Over the course of her journey, she gains access to weapons like the yari (spear), kusarigama (a sickle with a chain and weighted end), and odachi (two-handed sword). This variety keeps the moment-to-moment gameplay from becoming stale. To further encourage players to switch things up, there’s a weakness system in place. For example, the kusarigama is especially effective against enemies that hold shields, as the weighted end can break them and leave them open to attacks from the sickle blade on the other end.
Dual katanas, on the other hand, are advantageous against enemies with polearms like the yari, as their blistering speed can overwhelm them. This makes every melee weapon in Yōtei feel useful and purposeful, rather than an afterthought like in Assassin’s Creed Shadows, which had very similar weapons but lacked the proper attributes to differentiate them.
And unlike Jin, Atsu is not bound by a samurai honor code and can fight dirty. She has access to plenty of long-range weapons, too, such as firearms like the pistol and rifle. These add an extra fun flair that gives Atsu her own unique identity. I loved breaking enemy stances up close with my weapons, then immediately switching to my pistol to deliver a satisfyingly deadly blow. Time slows to a crawl whenever you pull up the menu to switch weapons, encouraging you to constantly juggle between and execute flashy chains and combos.
The slowdown also helps you manage the frantic nature of Yōtei’s combat. At any given time, half a dozen or more enemies might be swarming you, and being able to pause briefly to plan which weapons to use makes battles feel fluid and responsive. From the start, Atsu also has access to the Onryō’s Howl, which works similarly to Jin’s Ghost Stance from Ghost of Tsushima. When activated, Onryō’s Howl strikes fear into enemies, causing some of them to retreat. The ability can be used once Atsu slays enough enemies without getting hit herself, which rewards careful play and precision.
Atsu’s quickfire tools are also helpful for getting out of sticky situations. For example, her oni’s flame lights her weapons on fire, adding extra damage to her strikes, while her smoke bombs momentarily confuse enemies, opening them up for assassinations. Despite Atsu not being a samurai herself — and not even a ninja — Yōtei will have you feeling like a deadly combination of both.
A direct approach isn’t the only option. Atsu also has plenty of stealth tools, such as the bow and kunai, to quietly take out enemies. This lets her thin enemy numbers one by one, ensuring she isn’t completely overwhelmed if she’s spotted. With so many combat options available, Yōtei is always fun to play and experiment with.
That said, the sheer variety of weapons can make the controls feel unwieldy. More than once, I had to check the controller layout to remember how to access a newly unlocked weapon or tool. While there are different control presets available, there’s unfortunately no way to fully customize the layout to your liking.
Exploring Ezo
Ghost of Yotei has one of the best open-world formats out there, and that’s due to how seamlessly its side quests and exploration unfold. As Atsu travels across Ezo, NPC characters will call out to her, signaling that they have a side quest for her to tackle. It’s worth doing them too, as they reward Atsu with new equipment or money to help her on her journey. The side quests aren’t mindless fetch quests either — each one has a story that expands Yotei’s lore and worldbuilding. For example, one quest had Atsu rescuing an imprisoned gambler who maintained a winning streak against Saitō’s lackeys, showing not only their lack of morals but their pettiness, too.
In many role-playing games like Ghost of Yōtei, experience points are usually rewarded for defeating enemies — but that’s not the case here. To actually make Atsu stronger, you’ll need to find Altars of Reflection. Praying at these altars grants a skill point that can be spent to upgrade one of her abilities. She has several skill trees, such as the Melee one, where she can learn new weapon attacks beyond simple strikes. Investing in the Onryō skill tree, meanwhile, allows her to assassinate multiple enemies in succession instead of just one. This system lets you tailor Atsu to your playstyle, which makes her increasingly fun to play with. Tying ability upgrades to Altars of Reflection also incentivizes exploring Ezo, rather than just going straight to the next story quest.
Open-world games can often feel like exhausting checklists of activities, and Yōtei fits that mold to a degree. But the developers have made the experience as smooth and immersive as possible. Instead of a direct waypoint pointing you to your next objective, there’s a gust of wind that shows you the direction of it instead. If you’re galloping on your horse across Ezo, sometimes a bird will fly near you, and following it leads you to an activity that can increase your parameters. The hot springs increase Atsu’s max HP, while a bamboo cutting mini-game increases her max Spirit. Sure, these are typical open-world activities, but they’re so naturally integrated into the game’s flow that it feels rewarding to stop, check them out, and enjoy the scenic route.
Ghost of Yōtei’s equipment upgrade system is straightforward: collect a set number of materials dropped by enemies to strengthen your weapons. It’s a simple but effective approach that keeps upgrades from feeling like a chore. That said, spotting materials can be surprisingly tricky. Fallen enemies drop items that sparkle, but it’s hard to notice unless you walk right up to their bodies and wait for the prompt to appear.
I was hoping there would be a way to modify this, but there isn’t. Ghost of Yōtei’s accessibility options are a bit disappointing compared to the ones found in other PlayStation first-party titles. For example, The Last of Us games often include a high-contrast mode, which is immensely helpful in spotting pickups as the colors more clearly differentiate what’s interactable compared to the environment. Options like that are absent in Ghost of Yōtei, though the overall suite of accessibility options is still plentiful, with features such as increasing the subtitle font or the size of the guiding wind.
Ghost of Yōtei’s art direction and sound design are superb. The menus are styled with classic Japanese brush strokes, and flipping through them triggers sound effects reminiscent of traditional Japanese wooden instruments. It lends the game a sense of cultural authenticity, despite being historical fiction. The open-world environments are equally gorgeous — from sprawling grasslands to frozen tundras — and look as realistic as games can get.
Is Ghost of Yōtei worth it?
Ghost of Yōtei is an amazing sequel to one of PlayStation’s most impressive PS4-era games. It improves on its predecessor in virtually every way and is a testament to how much of a powerhouse the PS5 is. Loading times are blazingly fast, and performance is nearly flawless — with the exception that, when jumping into a corner, Atsu’s character model can get stuck in the middle of the jumping animation.
This year is stacked with Japanese games featuring ninjas and samurai, including Ninja Gaiden Ragebound, Shinobi: Art of Vengeance, and the aforementioned Assassin’s Creed Shadows. The upcoming Ninja Gaiden 4, which releases next month, is also highly anticipated. But Ghost of Yotei is on a whole other level, and I can confidently say that it’s one of the best games of the year.
