Ghost of Yōtei somehow manages to surpass its predecesor

When I think about Ghost of Tsushima, I am filled with happiness and satisfaction. I may not remember a lot of the details and every story beat, but I remember the feeling; how I felt while playing and after finishing the game. Even though it definitely left a positive impact, that was five years ago. When they announced Ghost of Yōtei, to be honest, I was not that excited. The thought that went through my head was “Oh, that game is getting a sequel. That’s cool”. Then they released the State of Play deep dive, and THAT got me excited to play the game. The marketing of the game played a big role in my anticipation of this title, even though some of the drama related to writers and the voice actress of Atsu, the main character of the game, had me worried a little. I will say this, as soon as I started the game, all my worries and doubts were replaced by joy and excitement.

This excitement was because of the things that I couldn’t wait to see and do again, things that made Ghost of Tsushima such an outstanding game. These would be the beautiful visuals, the breath-taking landscapes, the satisfying combat, the cinematic duels, the authentic music, and an open world begging to be explored. A Ghost of Tsushima sequel would not be a Ghost game without these features so I knew that Ghost of Yōtei would deliver those things. That said, we have waited 5 years for this game, so we expect to see improvements and innovations, or at least changes, in these aspect of the game. Before discussing those, I will talk about what I was really had me curious in the sequel, the story. Ghost of Tsushima told the compete story of Jin and his journey to becoming a ghost almost flawlessly. Then we learn that in the sequel we will follow Atsu and her quest for revenge as she embarks on a path to kill those responsible for the murder of her family. Would Sucker Punch be able to tell a revenge story with the same level of writing and attention as in the first game?

But the fact that Ghost of Yōtei tells a completely different type of story makes it difficult to compare it to the first game. Yet, as a sequel to a game such as Ghost of Tsushima, certain comparisons will be drawn. Let’s try to break this down.

There is the ghost element of the story. In Tsushima, you start as a noble warrior but then are forced to make decisions and take actions that set you on a different path. As we play the game we see Jin slowly embracing this new side until by the end of the game, he has truly become the ghost of Tsushima. In Yōtei, the seeds of your reputation as a ghost, an onryō, are placed as soon as the game starts. People know about the onryō from the very beginning, it’s a matter of whether they believe it’s real or that it’s a rumor. That’s what changes throughout the game, how the people of Ezo believe in you. While similar, this element of the story doesn’t hit as well as in the first game. There is nothing wrong with it, and is executed well. A nice detail is how the threats and dangers in the open-world increase as you progress in the story and more people believe in you. I think it has to do with setup. In Yōtei we are sort of thrown in the story; we are shown how Atsu was nearly killed along with her family by the Yōtei Six, then we get a short tutorial as we kill the Snake, and we begin the hunt for the rest in a matter of minutes. However, something that it does better than the first game is throw in twists. The story of Tsushima, while executed well, was linear in a way. There were shocking moments and developments for sure, but Yōtei has those and a little bit more to spice things up.

Something similar can be said for the main character. I loved Jin and while he is my favourite protagonist of the two games, I understand when some people found him a bit lacking when it came to personality. Atsu on the other hand has been written very well. She is dedicated to avenging her family and for thirteen years that thought has never left her mind. That said, she has a personality beyond the thirst for revenge. She can show kindness and even make jokes, she has an attitude that makes you connect to her easily. Sometimes it is difficult to get behind her reasoning for certain arguments and decisions but only sometimes. Furthermore, as she continues her hunt for the Yōtei Six, she does begin to question what can come after her quest has ended, whether she even sees a normal life for herself beyond the hated for those who wronged her. There is character development here and I appreciate it.

Something that is common to both of these stories is that we also get to see the reaction of the people around the character to their development. For Yōtei, we are told that some of those around us will be joining our “wolf pack”, allies to help us fight against the Six. However, the relevance of these characters varies significantly. Some will simply provide you services and have one quest attached to them, while others will accompany you for a long period of time through the story. Depending on that, the characters of these NPCs will be explored accordingly. Those who are important to the story and that will spend time with us are written well, which I think is the most important part. This is in no small part thanks to the way the dialogues are written. The way characters talk to each other is believable and they act like actual, real people. I’d say the interactions are even better than Tsushima; they are more ….. colourful, varied. From what I remember the first game was serious and sincere pretty much all the way through, but Yōtei has a greater range of characters. Obviously the overall tone is serious, being a revenge story and all, but there are moments of levity and humor that stand out because of how spread out they are. The facial animations and the work of the voice actors, along with the dialogue, ensure that we get immersed and enjoy watching these characters.

In regards to character, I was disappointed by the antagonists though. The members of the Six have their own personalities and are different, but they are one-note and bland. They serve their purpose as Atsu’s enemies and have their moments as real threats, but nothing beyond that. With Saito, the leader of the Six, they do try to flush him out more, giving us more of his backstory as you progress in the story. Despite that he still feels generic. He does have his reasons for the things he does and perhaps we can understand his actions and motivations, but he just doesn’t stand out.

While the story and characters of Tsushima were integral in making that game good, what made it jaw-dropping was the visuals and artistic direction of the environments. Thinking back to Ghost of Tsushima, it amazes me how that game was released for the PS4 and it looked as amazing as it did. It’s not strictly the graphics and realism, it’s more the environments and how they are created. The landscapes in Tsushima were absolutely breath-taking and surprisingly varied. With Ghost of Yōtei being released for the next generation, the expectations were higher. Thankfully, the game delivers and then some. Some of the vistas in this game are absolutely mind-blowing. The environment and the weather effects creates feasts for the eyes to enjoy. At times you will want to slow down and ride slowly with your horse to appreciate your surroundings and how beautiful the world is. It’s not just fields of flowers and grass either, there is a good variety when it comes to geography. You will ascend the snowy cliffs of a mountain, ride through areas of scorched earth, find your way through areas filled with different types of vegetations, and it goes on. With the photo mode of this game you can create endless photos that can be used as wallpapers for your devices or to capture the potential of the game when it comes to beauty. the game, In terms of visuals this game is 100% a step-up compared to its predecessor. I do have some nitpicks. There is a dynamic weather and what stood out to me was that the changes to weather are too sudden and jarring. Sometimes the sudden 180 change in weather would just catch me off guard and take me out of the game a bit. There is one part of your interaction with the world that is so exaggerated that I couldn’t get over. As you run over leaves, they are thrown intp the air behind you as if a car has driven over them. It’s a nice touch but the leaves just burst up behind you in an unrealistic way. It is a small gripe though and it doesn’t bring down the experience or anything.

The world serves more than just the background for the game, it is designed to encourage exploration and allow you to keep yourself entertained as you progress through the story. A lot of the open-world activities in this game are carried over from the first game but it does have some innovations of its own. While having extra things to do is always appreciated, there are two elements of the world and its exploration that I wanna point out as I think they are very important. First is the ability to use your spyglass to look to the distance and mark locations of interest. This turned out to be an exciting part of the exploration for me, probably because of how immersive it felt and how it gave the world realism. By realism I mean that the world of Ezo feels real as you can spot important buildings from across the map, or from the very highest point of the map you can look down and mark locations that can be interesting. While NPCs and their information can guide you exploration, it’s much more fun when you set the path and explore as you see fit. Second, the side activities are obviously there to keep you occupied and fill the world. That said, the developers do try to make them as unique as they can. I don’t wanna give details but what they do as that they add something to some of the side activities to catch you by surprise. You think you have the hang of something and know how it goes, but then the game throws a little curve ball your way to catch you by surprise. A small addition that helps keep the side activities from becoming mindless and boring. The third thing I want to talk about is the density of the world. In terms of size, I don’t think Ezo is much bigger than Tsushima, or that it can even be considered a big map in regard to open-world games. It’s not often that you see a sequel control its scope instead of going bigger for the sake of offering a bigger map. What this does is that it allows the developers to properly fill up this world, to position locations, quests, stories, duels, fortresses, and other things so that the world doesn’t feel empty. Ezo is dense and different activities are always pop up along your way, whether they are randomly generated events or are purposefully placed. I am happy that the game went in this direction as in my experience, sequels with bigger maps don’t really elevate the game much (I’m looking at you Horizon: Forbidden West). That said, it can at times feel a bit too dense. It would happen often that you would try to follow and complete a quest only to be distracted by other things multiple times along the way. This isn’t bad by itself but at some points it did get a little annoying. But that was not a constant feeling, and overall I am happy with the structure of the world and its size and exploration.

One of the additions to the game that interested me was the ability to camp as you are traversing Ezo. When you camp certain NPCs can come and visit you, offering you their services and trade. This is meant to allow you to keep the flow of exploration, so that you don’t have to fast travel mid-exploration to get upgrades or start new quests. An interesting idea with a good intention, but it doesn’t add anything really. It is kinda a bit random who will come and visit you so someone may come to offer you things that you are not interested in. Also, if you decide to fast-travel to an inn, you will have access to different venders and people so you can just do couple of things at once, so you will end up doing it anyways. Sometimes NPCs can show up to your camp that are unique to camping, but that is rare. The camping itself is solid though, you get to craft ammo, eat food for buffs, replenish your spirit, and play the Shamisen if you want, along with a quick access to photo mode if you are camping in a place with beautiful views. You can keep exploring because of these, not because some NPC might visit you.

Another new feature of the exploration is the ‘clue system’. As you talk to different characters, you are given “cards” that can guide to your next target or other side-activities. The way this was shown in the Sate of Play gameplay dive is a little misleading. The clue system basically includes your missions and quests; instead of a list you are presented with cards. It is an aesthetic choice and doesn’t have an investigative function or anything special. In the gameplay deep dive we are also shown that you can interrogate enemies and chose which information to ask for and what leads to follow. You do this once, maybe twice throughout the game. Outside of the first area of Ezo that you enter you don’t even get a choice as to what you ask. Throughout the game you can interrogate defeated enemies, but you don’t have any control over it. Randomly Atsu will decide to spare someone and ask them a question that leads to a side-quest or location. They way they showed this showed this interrogation insinuated that it is something you can do as you progress in the story while it is not the case. I think by calling it the “clue system” they were trying to make it sound special and unique, but it is anything but.

Talking about features that don’t mount to anything really, we were shown that in certain places, with the click of a button, you can switch between Atsu in the present and her younger self in the past. It is used to tell stories and do flashbacks in an interactive way. While it does showcase the power of the console and is creative, there are way to few places where you can do this for it to have any impact. It doesn’t help that these places are pretty much limited to the first area you visit in the game.

I’ve talked a lot about how they’ve tried to mix things up and offer a new experience in different parts of the sequel. Of course that extends to the combat as well. The addition of different weapons seemed like the right move as in the first game you were limited to your katana as your main weapon. There are five weapons that you can use in Yōtei and they all have their strengths and weaknesses. However, in terms of function, they are the same as the different stances in Tsushima. As in that game you had to use specific stances depending on the enemy, in Yōtei you will also decide which weapon to use based on who you are fighting. This was a little disappointing at first, but as you play the game and unlocks abilities and moves for your weapons, this systems starts to stand out a little more. Also the movement and the animations for each weapon are done very well, with movements feeling fluid and impactful. This variety in how Atsu moves and wields her weapons makes up for the criticism regarding function. You can make the argument technically you can use whatever weapon you want and make it work, but you will be at a big disadvantage, and in difficulties higher than medium you need every advantage you can in combat. Other than your main weapon you have access to a good amount of accessories to help you during fights. You have different bows with different arrows, different throwables, and different quick-fire tools. This is good but the problem I had with it, one of the main problems of the combat I’d say, is that there is no slow effect when your are trying to switch between these. In the middle of battle I couldn’t properly choose the tool I wanted because enemies are always pushing me and I have to dodge/parry to stay alive. Switching main weapons and quick shots is fine but trying to use a different tool mid-fight was quite a headache, so I felt limited to using the tool with which I entered the fight. Add to that the fact that most enemies and bosses can switch their weapons mid-fight, things can become quite hectic. The ability of enemies to switch weapons, by itself, is fine as it forces you to adapt. A downside to this though is that it makes the enemies feel the same. There are enemy types technically and while different enemy types tend to use specific weapon types, they do kinda blend with each other. Overall, the combat is still very responsive and satisfying, but that was the bar that was set by the previous game. The changes and new features to the combat make it feel new enough. They are not shaking things up completely but just enough so that it doesn’t feel identical to its predecessor.

I wanna wrap things up by saying that this game has a lot of “moments” where you truly appreciate something that the game is offering, a lot of them coming from the characters and the environments. The developers have added a lot of small things to the world and exploration that made it a real joy. Some of the new features don’t stick the landing unfortunately but they don’t take anything from the experience either. The story, while being a revenge story that has been told numerous times, is done well along with most of the characters, including the protagonist, are well-written. The combat can have issues but it is still snappy and impactful. Tsushima has a special place in my heart but Yōtei is a better game overall. It is an excellent game. When you can feel the passion of the developers through the game, when you get to see the effort that they put into the game, that makes you appreciate that game even more. Ghost of Yōtei oozes love and care. I can probably write even more about this game, but I hope my feelings are clear. Writing this in 2025, it should definitely be a contender for game of the year, even though that title will probably and rightfully so go to Expedition 33.