Ghost of Yōtei Review (PS5). Is it better than Ghost of Tsushima?

For the past five years, Sucker Punch Productions have been hard at work, developing a sequel to its successful Ghost of Tsushima. With the power of the PlayStation 5, the world of Yōtei is even larger, combat has been expanded tenfold, and hours upon hours of playtime to enjoy.

I am continuously impressed by Sucker Punch’s take on the open-world genre. Story wise, I feel like it’s just as compelling as Jin Sakai’s journey in Tsushima. The pacing is all over the place but the themes and direction of the narrative is well done.

After playing for nearly 40 hours, is Ghost of Yōtei worth it?

Sucker Punch Productions is by far my favorite PlayStation Studios developers. The team introduced the world to Sly Cooper, my childhood 3D platformer, before moving onto the likes of inFAMOUS on the PS3. Although Sucker Punch’s IPs get shadowed by their colleagues from Insomniac Games and Naughty Dog, the team’s consistency from project to project remains very high.

Sucker Punch received mainstream recognition with Ghost of Tsushima. Playing as Jin Sakai, a samurai who is struggling with the past code of honor versus what needs to be done to win the war. It’s an extremely solid game across the board. Although I haven’t re-visited it since 2020, I was very excited to see what Sucker Punch can cook up with its sequel.

Ghost of Yōtei does not have any connection with Tsushima. We’re hundreds of years into the future where Jin’s legacy and his supporting cast are nowhere to be seen. There are Easter Eggs and references but nothing that’s directly tied into the narrative.

We follow Atsu, a skilled warrior who’s seeking revenge on the Yōtei Six. The group murdered her family 16 years ago and she has returned to Ezo to defeat the organization. To not only get justice for her family but to also stop Lord Saito’s reign.

Ghost of Yōtei’s story nails everything that I would want from a revenge plot. Atsu as a character is blinded by her revenge quest. Throughout, she meets characters that often make Atsu and you as the player reflect on the journey so far.

Is revenge truly the right answer here? And is the cost of vengeance worth it in the end?

The Yōtei Six are fleshed out a bit too, making the overarching story feel complete. It’s Atsu’s story through and through, slowly learning more about her past and how it connects to current events.

To quickly compare it to The Last of Us Part 2, a story famously known for its revenge plot, it’s similar in concept but very different in execution. Both versions work to a certain extent but Yōtei’s direction feels more personal.

One thing both stories have in common is bad pacing. Ghost of Yōtei’s first Chapter is a majority of the adventure. You’ll spend upwards of 20 to 25 hours before you see the next title card. From there, the rest of the story can be finished in 10 to 15 hours.

The first Chapter is so heavily stacked because all of the main weapons and tools are unlocked here. From Chapter 2 onward, you unlock enhancements to already existing abilities.

By the end of Yōtei, I very much enjoyed its story. Just as much as Tsushima, maybe a little bit more. Although the pacing is all over the place, Ghost of Yōtei lands a compelling revenge story that doesn’t hold back.

Building upon its predecessor, Ghost of Yōtei is an open-world action game where exploring the world of Ezo is met with a ton of side activities.

The biggest improvement in gameplay is the combat. Ditching the different stances, Yōtei opts in to give Atsu a variety of weapons to use. Starting off with the normal katana, you’ll soon unlock the dual katana, the spear, the odachi, and the chain-sickle. All of them are unlocked when you complete Weapon Master Missions.

Later in the game, a pistol and rifle unlock. The guns aren’t that broken due to long reload time on the rifle and certain enemies needing multiple bullets.

You still have to block, parry, and dodge attacks to deal with your opponents. The satisfying combat gets even better when all the weapons unlock. Each melee weapon counters certain enemies, making every encounter more engaging. You’re kitted out to deal with anything but that doesn’t mean enemies are easy. Reckless gameplay will get punished.

Sub-weapons are plentiful. Usually long range tools to thin out the herd or give you the combat advantage. Arrows, bombs, kunai, smoke bombs, and more are in Atsu’s arsenal. There’s never a dull moment when the action starts.

When you’re not hunting down a member of the Yōtei Six, you can complete one of the many side activities. Hot Springs, Bamboo Strikes, Fox and Wolf Dens, Zeni Hajiki, Saito Camps, Shrines, and Bounty Hunting are some of the side quests you can journey on.

For an open-world title, you are definitely getting your fill on content here. You’re free to explore the world and these side activities are littered everywhere. A yellow bird will pop up when a side activity is nearby. It makes diverting from the main objective very easy, especially early on.

The best part about side missions is how they all feel important to the world. The quests won’t directly tie into the on-going narrative but Atsu’s quest for revenge continues to be questioned.

Boss Fights aren’t exclusive to the Yōtei Six. Mini bosses are scattered throughout Ezo in the Bounty Hunting and side missions. Every single one tests your combat skills. Patience is key and you’ll probably die a few times before you get it right.

If you die enough times, the game will ask you if you want to “Suspend Duel,” meaning you’ll back out of the mission to the main world. It doesn’t outright skip the fight but gives the player a bit of breathing room to reset and replenish resources.

Spirit circles are used to perform certain actions during combat and to restore your health. If you ever need to restore Spirit circles, you can set up camp while on the horse. Be sure to do this often because your health and Spirit circles do not regenerate organically. Drinking a Sake bottle can also restore Spirit.

When you start the adventure, you can go after three members of the Yōtei Six. There’s no correct way to go about it but the missions do have a certain level of difficulty to them. One of these missions is Saito which obviously isn’t meant to go after first. The place is littered with enemies and you don’t have enough weapons.

I tried Saito’s mission, only six hours in, with just the katana and dual katana, and backed out after a few attempts. When I returned 20 hours later, I had nearly every weapon unlocked. It’s clear the game wants you to do this mission towards the end of Chapter 1.

You can say the game has this “illusion” of open-world but it does give the player the choice to do what they want in whatever order they want. Outside of Story Missions, Weapon Master and Equipment missions will unlock new tools for Atsu. They appear as side missions but are kind of required to play in order to fully experience the game.

The DualSense controller is heavily used during the adventure. It can be cooking your food, upgrading your Katana, starting a fire, and much more. I am thoroughly impressed by the DualSense’s use in Yōtei. Sucker Punch truly used every feature the controller has to offer. Motion controls are always finicky to implement but it’s tastefully done here. You can even skip certain motion control sequences if they really bother you.

Ghost of Yōtei has practically everything I would want from an open-world game. From a long list of side activities to the engaging combat system, players will have their fill when it comes to exploring the world of Ezo.

Performance wise, Sucker Punch are taking advantage of the PlayStation 5’s power. The game will consistently load in less than 20 seconds when resuming your playthrough. I remember back when The Last of Us needed a couple of minutes to load on the PlayStation 3 but now, it’s something that can be achieved in less than 30 seconds.

Visually, its realistic setting and characters are brought to life. I played on Quality mode (unintentionally), prioritizing a 30 frames per second (fps) with the highest graphical fidelity on the base PS5. I would have gone with Performance, targeting 60fps experience but I simply forgot to toggle it.

The frame rate never dropped. Not many bugs or glitches encountered during my 36 hours either and if anything did glitch out, it was a one-time deal.

One problem I will say about Ghost of Yōtei’s presentation is how the in-game cutscenes feel detached from a cinematic cutscenes. There’s never a moment when the game shifts from gameplay to cutscene or vice versa like in God of War Ragnarök or The Last of Us.

Music has a large emphasis this time around and it fits well for Yōtei’s setting. There’s so many options to play with, accessibility or otherwise, that you can mold your experience unique to you. It’s the kind of stuff you would want from a triple-A game like difficulty options, multiple languages, handicap toggles, and more.

The Ghost of Yōtei is a sight to behold. Its massive world of Ezo is fully explorable with countless activities to do that all feel relevant to the narrative. Combat is a treat, expanding upon its predecessor. Atsu’s revenge quest might seem stale for a PlayStation exclusive but Sucker Punch manages to find a new angle that makes the climatic finale worth it.

The pacing could have been better, spending more than half the game on Chapter 1 just to finish the adventure shortly after. Presentation is everything you would want from a $70 product, especially with a less than 20 second loading time.

If you’re interested in another open-world game set in Feudal Japan with a superb combat system, you can find it right here with Ghost of Yōtei. You can get lost for 30 to 50 hours depending on how many side missions you complete. The game can stand proudly amongst the other PlayStation 5 console exclusives.

Travis “tvsonic” Vuong
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