The ending of this review contains late game story spoilers. There will be a clear warning before any specific plot details. If you just want to know if I recommend this game: I do.

A truly exceptional sequel should try to jump off and distinguish itself from its predecessor; not wallow in it. I am delighted to report the long awaited and eagerly anticipated successor to 2020’s Ghost of Tsushima, one of my favourite games of the entire PlayStation 4 generation, is finally here: Ghost of Yōtei, and it has crafted an identity all of its own.

We play as Atsu, a travelling mercenary who comes to be known as the ‘Onryō’, a famous vengeful ‘Ghost’ hunting the game’s antagonist group, the Yōtei Six, who brutally murdered her entire family sixteen years before the events which unfold. The game begins upon Atsu’s return to her childhood home: Ezo, known today as Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost island. As you would expect from a Sucker Punch Productions experience, everything you see is intricately detailed and lovingly crafted to make Ezo feel like a lived in, battle-scarred world; with a majesty which has to be seen to be believed. Ghost of Yōtei indisputably has one of the most beautiful video game worlds I have ever explored.

At first glance (or thanks to YouTube trailer compression) the graphics may look largely similar to those from Tsushima, but upon any further inspection the improvement is immediately noticeable. Snow crunches and deforms around Atsu as she walks, and drops off trees and bushes as she comes into contact with them. No matter where you look in Ezo, from a crisp, white-capped mountaintop to a mud and blood soaked battlefield, there is a feast for the eyes waiting to be discovered in all directions. All images through this review were captured by me, and trust me when I say I still have dozens of amazing photos left over.

I love Atsu as a protagonist. Where Jin had to develop from the honour-bound samurai to the vicious Ghost throughout his game, Atsu starts the game bordering on legend status, actively maturing into the role of a legend alongside her fearsome reputation as the Onryō before the story conclusion. She has an attitude, will not be spoken down to by anyone and stops at nothing to defend those closest to her. My absolute favourite moment with her was upon defeating a ronin who challenged her to a duel in the open world, dubbed the ‘Irritating Ronin’. “Prick”, she spits as she leaves him a feast for the crows.

Those lucky enough to have played Ghost of Tsushima will no doubt remember the glorious opening sequence in the battle against the Mongol invaders on Komoda Beach, shoulder to shoulder with your fellow samurai. Ghost of Yōtei’s opening takes the introductory minutes in an entirely different direction, pitting Atsu against a member of the Yōtei Six, the Snake, and his goons straight away. The climax of this outstanding segment expertly sets the tone for most of the game, but more on that later.

Ghost of Yōtei’s open world has the charm and isolated feeling that goes as far as to be reminiscent of Shadow of the Colossus’ incredible atmosphere at points. When you find yourself surrounded on all sides by eerily silent trees, creeping mist and blankets of falling leaves, it’s easy to feel completely lost. Unfortunately this is also a point against the game’s immersion, as I often had to open the map to see where I was. If I didn’t have the guiding wind, which gusts in the direction of your set objective as there is no mini-map, blowing constantly it was too easy to wander off-course. Ghost of Tsushima, which introduced this mechanic, didn’t have this problem as it was a long narrow island, so if you got lost you could quickly establish your location via proximity to a coastline and the region specific features each chapter introduced.

Yōtei by comparison is several smaller maps throughout Ezo, using what must be the most misleadingly laid out world map in recent gaming. Very little of what you see is scaled accurately upon first viewing, and I admit I began the game quite disappointed with its apparent size until I had a couple hours of exploring under my belt.

A detail I adore is that if you open the map screen outside while it is raining, raindrops can be seen landing on the map while you find where you are going; a really nice touch. I’m also a big fan of how there are plenty of events and collectibles to interact with throughout Ezo, and the repetitive nature of those returning from Tsushima have been trimmed down to be much most palatable here. I am grateful that the boar packs from Tsushima have not made a return in this game, as they were always more of an unwelcome interruption than a worthwhile fight.

I am very pleased to report I only experienced one bug in my entire playthrough: an eternal loading screen at the end of a duel. Upon reloading the game it had saved my progress as the victor of the confrontation, and thanks to the PS5 Pro I was reloaded in no time, able to could carry on like nothing had happened. I experienced no visual hiccups whatsoever which I am hugely appreciative of, even when playing on release day. A game this stunning having no rough edges is a rare treat these days..

I was sceptical that combat would reach the depth achieved in Ghost of Tsushima, as instead of relying solely on a katana as Jin did, Atsu favours a variety of weapons. Each of them is designed as a counter to particular enemy types in the game, just as Jin’s different stances were. The step-up here is that while the game gently encourages you to use each weapon in its intended scenario, I often disregarded that and used what I wanted to in the moment, with the only penalty being it would take slightly longer to stagger some enemies.

Every encounter is as savagely addictive as it was in Ghost of Tsushima, with new ranged and quickfire weapons joining the melee additions. One of Atsu’s new options is to blind enemies with thrown dust, which I never stopped yelling ‘pocket sand!’ while throwing and cackling as I cut down my blinded foes.

There is a mesmerising and delightfully violent aspect to Atsu’s fighting style that makes every enemy interaction feel like a maliciously delicious treat. Atsu kicking a downed foes spear up to her hand before sending it arcing through their buddies heart delivered a surge of dopamine every single time I did it, and I firmly believe this to be one of the best combat styles I have ever witnessed in gaming. The final boss fight ends the game on a triumphant high note, with a dramatic showdown I look forward to playing again when new game plus arrives in a future update.

I’ve avoided mentioning the story so far in this review for one simple reason; it is Ghost of Yōtei’s biggest misstep. By the time the credits rolled I felt a strong sense of déjà vu as the frustrating level of safety and absence of any weighty surprises strongly reminded me of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. That game also received criticism for having an overly safe story and stagnating as a result. This game not only blunders in the end of its story execution, but in the narrow-minded pursuit to have Atsu learn that revenge is seldom a worthwhile motivation, she makes a simply terrible decision very late into the plot that is entirely at odds with her story thus far.

*BIG STORY SPOILERS FROM HERE*

Two members of the Yōtei Six are the sons of its leader, Lord Saito, known as the Dragon and the Spider. At the beginning of act two, Saito’s sons are shown to have burned hundreds of innocent villagers to death, as well as massacred a considerable amount of samurai in a targeted ambush. This plot line eventually leads to Atsu killing the Dragon in the only anti-climactic showdown in the game, but what she does with the Spider instantly made my blood boil.

Upon the Dragon’s defeat, Lord Saito disinherits the Spider for not preventing the Dragon (his favourite child)’s death. As a result of this, Atsu feels this proven war criminal and mass-murderer is no threat to anybody moving forward, so she spares his life and allows him to leave Ezo.

Excuse me?

(This is the aftermath of the village massacre)

This man, more than most in the Yōtei Six, deserves the death Atsu would have stopped at nothing to deliver not much earlier in the game, but by the time the credits roll he remains a free man, able to leave Ezo by Atsu staying her blade. That’s not a clever subversion, that’s bad writing.

This brings me neatly on to my issues with the rest of the Yōtei Six. Aside from the introductory cutscene that shows them committing atrocities against Atsu’s family, apart from Saito admonishing his sons in throwaway cutscenes through the game, we never see the Six interact or even be in the same vicinity as each other ever again.

Lord Saito has a clear motive to target Atsu; he hates her family because Atsu’s father deserted him in his darkest time of need decades prior. He also wants to gain enough power to rule Ezo as its self-appointed Shogun. His motives are transparent enough that anyone can understand them, and that he’s prepared to go to extreme lengths to achieve them. By contrast, Saito’s sons are just along for the ride to appease their father. The other three members seem to follow Saito solely through blind and unquestioning loyalty, with any backstory for why they are so loyal remaining unexplained. The whole concept of the ‘Yōtei Six’ as foreboding antagonists falls apart when you establish they are actually just ‘Lord Saito, his kids and his mates’.

Is this truly the best story we could have had? I think not, and my issues with the game don’t end there.

Upon completion of the story and finishing all bounty hunt side objectives, I found roaming the open world to be disappointingly uneventful. Ghost of Tsushima delivered a pack of Mongols to butcher every minute or so, yet in Yōtei ten minutes can go by and all I find are bears or, if I’m lucky, three or four wandering ronin who may try to put up a fight but are more likely to attempt to flee.

The gameplay in Ghost of Yōtei is a clear improvement on Ghost of Tsushima. Ezo is varied and gorgeous, packed with variety and activities around every corner, all of which feel fun and worth pursuing. The praise stops there unfortunately, as aside from a great first third, the remainder of Yōtei’s story really lets it down. Mainly due to my love of the combat, I am happy to offer a confident recommendation, but as soon as the story quality begins to wane it’s a constant downhill slide. This may not be the game of the year contender I had hoped for, but it predominantly sticks the landing in its sharp and bloody execution. I score it

7 / 10

Written, edited and all images captured by Alexx.

Reviewed on PlayStation 5 Pro.

There’s No Safety in Silence