Ghost of Yōtei is a safe but satisfying sequel

Several hours into Sucker Punch‘s Ghost of Yōtei, I found myself a bit underwhelmed.

Sure, I was enjoying its stunning visuals, punchy combat and immersive open-world, just like I did in its 2020 predecessor, Ghost of Tsushima. But that’s the thing: it felt overly similar. Having spent dozens of hours getting the Platinum Trophy in Tsushima on PS4 and then revisiting it in the 2021 PS5 re-release, it didn’t feel like Yōtei was doing anything all that new or exciting.

Funnily enough, though, Yōtei even ends up following a similar trajectory to Tsushima in that its uneven first half paves the way for a rousing final act, tying everything together in a satisfying way. While I wish the entire experience felt fresher and tighter, it’s certainly one I’ll look back on fondly overall.

An initially dull revenge tale that eventually proves quite emotional

First and foremost, though, you have to go through the motions to get there, including some sluggish and uninteresting opening chapters. Set more than 300 years after Tsushima, this standalone sequel follows Atsu, a wandering mercenary who seeks vengeance against the ruthless “Yōtei Six” outlaws who murdered her family and left her for dead. All told, it’s a pretty by-the-numbers premise that you’ve basically seen a million times, including just months ago in the gaming space in the similarly historical Japan-set Assassin’s Creed Shadows.

Compounding this problem is the fact that Atsu is, for a good while, an overly dour and one-note lead, not unlike Tsushima protagonist Jin Sakai. (This self-seriousness is rather ironic as the Ghost games are unabashed homages to Akira Kurosawa that nonetheless seem to overlook how several of the legendary Japanese filmmaker’s samurai works, like Yojimbo and The Hidden Fortress, actually contain quite a bit of levity and charm.)

For hours on end, Atsu exhibits little personality outside of her all-consuming vengeful drive, which can make it difficult to connect with her despite the commendable efforts of actor Erika Ishii. It also doesn’t help that all but one of the Yōtei Six, led by the renegade samurai Saito, are the thinnest of characters themselves — bad guys for the sake of bad guys with little depth otherwise. The last one, who I won’t spoil, does actually have a solid arc that feeds into Atsu’s own growth.

Thankfully, though, Yōtei‘s story meaningfully improves over time, especially thanks to Atsu’s allies. Take the mission thread focused on the ruthless warlord known as the “Oni.” In it, Atsu meets a figure from her past, creating a compelling dynamic wherein they struggle to reconnect amid all of this lost time and their conflicting views on how to stop the outlaws. Likewise, Atsu’s journey to the frigid northern region to find the enigmatic “Kitsune” has her striking up an unexpected partnership with a shamisen (musical instrument) performer with a sympathetic backstory.

These characters bring out much-needed depth in Atsu, eventually putting her on a belated, but nonetheless effective, arc about overcoming her trauma through human connection. This leads into a concluding stretch that is incredibly suspenseful and heartfelt. Given my early apathy towards her as a character, I was surprised to find myself genuinely moved by these final hours, ultimately making the initial slog worthwhile.

Exceptional Ezo exploration

Of course, Ezo itself is also a character unto itself, and it’s one that absolutely begs you to uncover every nook and cranny.

Every single frame of this game could be a painting.

Like its predecessor, the best part of the moment-to-moment Yōtei experience is the exploration. In place of tired marker-filled minimaps that are standard in so many open-world games, Yōtei once again features the Guiding Wind, a mechanic that lets you swipe up on your controller’s touchpad to see the air current leading you in the right direction. It remains the Ghost series’ single greatest feature, an innovative way to avoid handholding and encourage exploration.

This minimalist approach allows for a deeper connection between you and its painstaking recreation of Ezo, the land now known as Hokkaido. Truly, this is one of the most breathtakingly gorgeous games ever made. From the cragged flecks of dirt and blood on Atsu’s face and clothing to every luscious blade of grass in the fields, you’ll constantly find yourself in awe of the unmitigated beauty of Yōtei. Throw in Toma Otowa’s wonderful and stirring score and you have a simply divine audiovisual experience.

But of course, it’s not enough to just look at the world; you want to engage with it, too, and that’s also where it succeeds. Quite smartly, Sucker Punch builds on the Guiding Wind from a structural standpoint with the welcome freedom to pursue the Yōtei Six in whatever order you desire. This, alongside a new “clue card” system that rewards exploration and NPC encounters with useful information related to both main quests and sidequests, gives Atsu’s hunt an almost detective-like feel.

The Yōtei Six look cool, but don’t have much else going for them.

Indeed, Yōtei is constantly rewarding you with meaningful distractions as you explore. This can manifest in small ways, like a naïve young man wanting to challenge you to a duel to prove himself or a woman by a gravesite containing an unlockable sword cosmetic who, if you stop to listen, will tell you a sombre story about the family member she buried there. NPCs will also often identify points of interest, like the returning hot springs and bamboo strike minigame that increase your maximum health and Spirit (used in combat to heal or perform special moves), respectively.

But you can also come across entire sidequest chains just by wandering off the beaten path. Early on, I started one of my favourites simply riding over to see what was at a towering tree in a field, leading a man to challenge me to a duel. Upon beating him, I realized he was one of several rōnin who were taking part in a tournament, of sorts, to see who could become worthy of facing a clandestine master swordsman. Finding each of the often remote locations of each rōnin and eventually encountering the fabled warrior proved to be quite a highlight, especially since the latter is the toughest fight I’ve experienced in the game.

Some of the sidequests also contain sweet little narrative beats. A particular highlight is Atsu’s encounter with the Ainu, a real-life Indigenous ethnic group. Sucker Punch worked with Ainu consultants on this subject matter, and the end result is a touching look at morality and spirituality that challenges Atsu’s worldviews. Another standout, meanwhile, is a supernatural horror-tinged romp through a forest to learn more about the tragic story of a samurai before facing off against his spirit. These short stories are consistently engaging and well-worth seeking out.

The Ainu are just some of the many interesting side characters that Atsu meets in Ezo.

Combat is still decent, albeit too familiar, but stealth continues to disappoint

Having said all of that, the core mechanics with which you engage with the world of Yōtei are ostensibly the same as they were in Tsushima. For me, that’s ultimately disappointing considering I didn’t necessarily love the combat or stealth in the first game. In Yōtei, you still have the same setup of basic and heavy melee attacks, with a small assortment of unlockable combos involving them both. This time, though, the rock-paper-scissors “Stance” system to overcome certain enemy types has simply been replaced by new weapons.

While this creates the illusion of greater variety, the weapons largely feel the same in practice, just with different animations. Fundamentally, you’re still mashing square or, occasionally, triangle, the only difference being you’re using two swords, a spear or a kusarigama (sickle with a chain). That last weapon feels the most distinct, at least, as it affords you both range and flexibility as you swing it in wide circles for crowd control and enemy shield destruction. If anything, the newest “weapon,” if you can it that, is a wild wolf you find that you can help out in a sidequest chain and build out its skill tree. The CPU-controlled animal will then aid you in battle and, when properly upgraded, even save you from fatal blows, making it feel like an invaluable ally.

The duels are still incredibly stylish and engaging.

Outside of weapons, two new combat mechanics end up having conflicting results. The first, the ability to disarm and be disarmed, just proves extremely tedious, as Atsu’s weapons often go flying offscreen and you have to fight the camera, which is firmly locked towards enemies, just to find them. Conversely, the second new feature, the ability to pick up and throw fallen weapons at enemies, actually feels overpowered at times, letting you swiftly insta-kill many opponents without any real friction. In the end, the combat is still enjoyable enough thanks to the tightness of the controls, snappy animations and satisfying (if unoriginal) timed parrying system, especially in the one-on-one duels, but it still doesn’t really feel like a step forward from Tsushima in any way.

But combat at least was always solid in that first game, so it’s at least understandable why Sucker Punch didn’t want to mess with it too much. That said, a common criticism of Tsushima from many, myself very much included, was that the stealth was lacklustre, and that’s sadly still the case here. Once again, your repertoire is primarily single-button executions, while the level design itself generally just isn’t wide or vertical enough to encourage a variety of approaches.

The weapons unfortunately don’t feel all that different to use.

Even the one legitimately cool new stealth move, an unlockable ranged takedown with the kusarigama, doesn’t really feel necessary considering the patrolling enemy AI is incredibly basic and you can typically just creep up behind them for a quick neck stab. In a similar vein, the Kitsune’s forces hide in places like piles of snow, which sounds like a novel wrinkle on paper, only for you to soon get the ability to hold down R3 to highlight their silhouettes, removing any tension. Once again, stealth is sadly pointless in Yōtei, resulting, more often than not, in me just fighting enemies head-on.

High(s) and Low(s)

In many ways, Ghost of Yōtei is a pretty safe sequel. It features everything you liked from its predecessor, from the combat or world design, and gives you more of it. At the same time, some of the issues from the original game, like a boring protagonist and rudimentary stealth, have only returned.

But ultimately, I find myself walking away from Yōtei quite satisfied. The core gameplay loop remains thoroughly enjoyable, especially as you stop to soak in the beautiful Ezo and interact with its many interesting denizens. And best of all, Atsu’s journey eventually proves to be moving in ways that Jin’s never was, leaving Yōtei with a beating heart that will stick with you after the credits roll.

Ghost of Yōtei will launch exclusively on PS5 on October 2.

Image credit: PlayStation