Hey all, I’m back with one of the biggest exclusive releases for the PlayStation 5. It’s my Ghost of Yotei review.
Plot: The plot of Ghost of Yotei is almost entirely disconnected from its prequel, Ghost of Tsushima, which we reviewed back in 2020, and again when the director’s cut was released in 2022. Both versions of it got perfect 5 GiN Gem scores.
The Ghost of Yotei adventure is set hundreds of years after Tsushima was invaded by the Mongols, so there is little connection to the first game. This one takes place after the final great battle of the Sengoku era of Japan, Sekigahara. Historically, Sekigahara had the same impact on that part of the world as Gettysburg or Waterloo did for the United States and Europe, respectively.
The main character in Ghost of Yotei, Atsu, returns home to Ezo (which is modern day Hokkaido) to finally pursue vengeance against the killers of her family from 16 years ago when she was just a child. I won’t go into the specifics much, but the story is very different from Ghost of Tsushima, which was focused on its main character Jin’s struggle between being an honorable warrior (not a Samurai, as they didn’t exist at that time) and using dishonorable tactics as the Ghost to save more Japanese lives when fighting the Mongols.
Atsu’s story is significantly less impactful or compelling by way of it being one of countless stories of revenge. It’s not a bad story by any means, but it does lack the same impact as the plot of Ghost of Tsushima. So, while it’s not as amazing as its prequel, it is still compelling in terms of the story it tells. And Ghost of Yotei definitely makes up for its story shortcomings in other ways as well.
Gameplay: Combat in Ghost of Yotei is spectacular. We’ve reviewed a few titles lately that focused on Asian martial arts and combat. For example, Where Winds Meet Wuxia styled its combat based on myths and legends. Assassin’s Creed Shadows had a lot of fighting too, and it was set in the late Sengoku period. They were both good, but I have to say that the combat in Ghost of Yotei is the strongest of the three. The other two had good combat, but they lack the flow and visceral nature of Ghost of Yotei’s combat.
Now, combat in Ghost of Yotei is focused partly on not getting hit at all in order to use special abilities like the Onryo’s Howl to terrify and therefore easily defeat enemies by using parries or dodges to avoid any damage. This is not unlike how Ghost of Tsushima handled the Ghost Stance, but it also focuses on players having Atsu switch weapons seamlessly in combat at will in order to take on different enemies and their weapons.
For instance, the single katana is the best at attacking and defending against fellow katana users whether they use single or dual katanas. It does well against everything else, but each type of enemy or weapon use is best countered by one of Atsu’s other melee weapons. That includes the Odachi (the equivalent of a great sword) against large enemies, the Kusarigama (sickle and chain) against enemies using shields, dual katanas against polearms, and the Yari (spear) against enemies using kusarigama and scythes. It all flows together with a quick action menu to switch seamlessly between them with almost no delay in order to devastate Atsu’s enemies. I say almost because if you are guarding against an attack and are actively receiving one, then switching weapons won’t go into effect immediately.
These other weapons aren’t bad at dealing damage either, so it’s not some form of rock paper scissors where weapon A is good against Weapon B but weak against Weapon C. It’s that weapon A is good against weapon B, C, D, and E and is especially good against weapon C, while not being weak against weapons A,B,C,D, and E. You can definitely get through the entire game without ever learning how to use another weapon other than Atsu’s katanas (learning to use dual katanas is mandatory to progress in the story). It’s just that enemies are easier to take down with additional options.
There is also the stealth and on foot traversal which plays a lot like Assassin’s Creed but to a lesser degree. This is where my lower score comes in for the gameplay. The stealth and foot traversal is easily worse than Assassin’s Creed, but that series has been focused on such things for nearly two decades so I can understand why it’s not equal. It’s not terrible here but having played both Shadows and Yotei very recently in order to compare the two, the movements of Atsu in Yotei aren’t up to Shadows mastery of parkour and certainly don’t hold a candle to the stealth of Shadows. That’s not a bad thing, but it is something I noticed and that’s why I’ve marked Yotei as having a 4.5 instead of 5 for gameplay.
Another way Yotei distinguishes itself from Tsushima (and Shadows to a lesser extent), is the way that Atsu can team up with some characters and in particular the wolf that she has encountered since returning to Ezo. The wolf is its own character in Ghost of Yotei and players are able to call upon it by upgrading certain skills via helping it free and rescue other wolves around Ezo from various hunters. Doing so will let you call the wolf to enemy camps, have it show up occasionally when you hit them with an empty sake jar to save Atsu from dying at the last second, or when Atsu initiates a standoff. Standoff is a feature that is returning from Tsushima in which Atsu squares off against a group of foes and takes on one of them in a quick draw contest. If you do it right, you get to instantly kill one enemy and combat then begins against the rest. This number can be extended through various upgrades and charms (equippable accessories found via exploration). But if the wolf or another character is around, they can also take on a foe and instantly kill them at the same time as Atsu does her own. This is a big help in fights. So having the wolf or another ally around makes killing enemies much easier because they’ll distract additional foes you aren’t engaging with at the moment, taking off the pressure from Atsu and even helping Atsu assassinate enemies by taking out ones nearby when she’s in stealth.
Another new feature is Atsu’s skill with her Shamisen (a traditional Japanese stringed instrument sort of like a lute) where upon playing certain tunes she learns over the course of the adventure she can find various locations including searching for vanity items, calling the wolf to help at an enemy camp, or to find essential upgrades like hot springs to increase Atsu’s max health. That’s another thing returning from Tsushima, having the wind be the guide instead of having a mini-map or waypoint on screen. That’s not to say you can’t use your map to create such waypoints, but you’ll be guided via the wind rather than have an obvious path to follow. Honestly, I don’t mind the more indirect method of guidance for the most part, although if you are going for vanity items it can get tedious to not know the exact location you are being guided toward.
Everything in Ghost of Yotei is quite fun, and it’s a treat to explore Ezo with Atsu and the wolf. I will state that I am super happy they included an area where Atsu can interact and pet various animals more than once, although you never get to pet the wolf via a direct player action which is kind of a bummer since you get to pet various foxes, deer, and even bears. Maybe a future patch will let us play with the wolf.
Art: The art of Yotei is pretty stunning, and it’s a real visual treat to travel through the plains and mountains of Ezo with Atsu either on foot or on a horse. Yotei also retains the very gritty and dirty tone that Tsushima has with mud and blood covering Atsu frequently. You can still clean up by going to a hot spring or just switching armor sets, but you’ll frequently find Atsu is covered with lots of blood or mud in a cutscene after a battle. This extends to enemies and allies including the wolf and even the foxes players occasionally follow to shrines. Seeing the wolf absolutely covered in blood from clearing an enemy camp is certainly something. There is an option to remove the blood splatters for those who get queasy easily, but it’s not a truly gory title in that you don’t see guts spilling out of people. It’s just lots and lots of blood everywhere. You can’t remove the mud splatters though. Just expect Atsu and everyone else to be quite dirty after a battle.
Music: The music in Ghost of Yotei is quite amazing as well, and I enjoyed listening to it very much. The voice overs, which I absolutely recommend everyone use the Samurai Showdown option in order to really get a good cinematic feel for the game, are also spectacular. There’s a bit of disconnect in translation for some more minor details that I noticed as a person who understands Japanese, but as a whole it is definitely the absolute best way to experience the Ghost of Yotei.
Overall: Ghost of Yotei is a spectacular adventure and while it isn’t perfect, when it comes to certain aspects, even those parts are by no means bad or even mediocre. It’s definitely worth playing if you can afford it and have a PlayStation 5.
For those who like: Japanese History, Action, Adventure, Stealth and Combat, Amazing Plots, Excellent Characters, and Great Artwork and Music.
Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above, but you really ought to give Ghost of Yotei a try.