Ghost of Yōtei Review - Immersive World Aesthetics Hook You In, But Story Falls Short

After the Mongol invasion, we head 300 years later to the north, which both the shogun and an outcast from the once-renowned Saitō clan want to control. Nobody counts on Atsu's arrival. Despite her anger and thirst for revenge, she finds time to explore a world whose beauty draws you in so much that you'll want to explore every corner.

Action Adventure for PlayStation 5 • Price: $60 • Singleplayer • Age Rating: 18+ • Official subtitles available

A Fresh Take on Feudal Japan

The trip to Tsushima Island in 2020 brought some fresh wind among sprawling open-world games. The processing and setting in a part of Japanese history that doesn't get much space in games secured its place among the best action adventures of the previous generation. It's hard to blame Sucker Punch studio for wanting to build on their success. But they didn't do it with a direct sequel.

Instead of continuing Jin Sakai's story, who fearlessly defended his homeland, we move to the northern island of Ezo, known today as Hokkaido. We also move in time, specifically to the beginning of the 17th century, so it's logical that the protagonist must change as well.

Atsu takes the lead role - a blacksmith master's daughter who lost her entire family when she was still a child. By miracle, she managed to escape and fled south. She survived as best she could, and during the war, she mastered the art of combat. The game itself starts years later when Atsu returns to Ezo to settle accounts with the Yōtei Six, a gang of killers responsible for her family's lives.

Storytelling That Doesn't Hold Back

The story doesn't mess around and immediately dumps everything essential on you in the first few minutes. You won't even notice and severed hands are already flying around. That's right after you choose your dubbing language. Besides English, Japanese also has lip-sync this time, so the fiasco from Ghost of Tsushima doesn't repeat. The game is completely translated into text as well.

Atsu clearly shows that she'll do absolutely anything to cut down every member of the Yōtei Six. At what pace you complete the mission and who will be the next target is entirely up to you. After the opening sequence, you get free rein. You can clearly see what needs to be done to progress further in the main line, but it's much better to play slowly and let yourself be carried by the wind, which again functions as navigation.

World Design That Captivates

Yōtei has a distinctive style and aesthetic that breathes on you from the first moments and had no problem enchanting me even after some 40 hours of gameplay. Just look around the horizon with binoculars and you immediately have entertainment sorted.

There's a fox running around that will lead you to treasure. A bit further, you can take a hot bath, which means permanent health increase. When you don't know which way to go and don't feel like running around the countryside blindly, just ask. Travelers, guards, and ordinary villagers don't hesitate to push you in the right direction where you'll encounter something interesting.

Natural Exploration System

I often found myself already determined to continue with the main line, but was diverted by bounty hunting local outlaws, shrine searching, landscape painting, or another of many activities you encounter in Ezo. Yōtei processes the discovery method perfectly. You naturally get to everything important without needing guiding arrows flashing everywhere, or conversely having to search for hidden surprises in complicated ways.

Combat System: Five Weapons, One Goal

While Jin in Tsushima was a ghost due to breaking samurai principles, Atsu is also a ghost, but in a completely different sense of the word. No code binds her; to achieve her goals, she's capable of doing everything, no matter how dirty her practices might be.

Atsu skillfully wields a katana, but unlike Jin, she doesn't use different stances. Instead, she takes five types of weapons into action, whose mastery she must first learn from local teachers.

Weapon Specialization System

• Dual Swords - Better for breaking through spearman defenses
• Kusarigama - Excellent for destroying shields
• Katana - The blade forged by her father, perfect for sword duels
• Bow - Ranged precision attacks
• Chain weapons - Crowd control and entanglement

💡 Pro tip: Each weapon suits a different enemy type. Battles against enemies who switch multiple weapon types during action take on the right dynamic.

Reactive World That Remembers Your Actions

Depending on what you get into, the surrounding world reacts differently to Atsu. In villages, there's still whispering about which camp she cleared out last or which member of the Yōtei Six recently fell by her hand.

Enemies also don't ignore her actions. Simply put, the more chaos you cause, the more they'll come after you. Patrols start appearing more frequently, joined by hunting dogs, and Saitō's henchmen don't hesitate to stretch rope across the road to trip your horse.

Reputation System Features

Increasing Infamy:

• Higher bounty on your head
• More frequent enemy patrols
• Ambitious ronin challenging you to duels
• Hunting dogs tracking your movements

Growing Legend:

• Citizens leave gifts at shrines
• Recognition as onryō (vengeful spirit)
• Local support against oppressors
• Information about enemy movements

Story: Revenge Tale That Plays It Safe

This is where Ghost of Yōtei stumbles a bit. The main storyline is one big cliché about revenge. I've seen enough Japanese stories in anime, comics, and films. Maybe that's why Atsu's journey seemed too predictable to me, and I was more looking forward to being able to explore again than to get to the resolution as soon as possible.

Hunting bizarre troublemakers and outcasts with sad fates has more charm for me than the main narrative thread.

I'm quite sorry that the story doesn't work more with the Ainu nation, for whom Ezo was home long before the shogun became interested in it. In one story branch, it has solid space, yet its potential doesn't seem utilized to me. If you happen to be interested in the Ainu people while playing, I'll directly recommend the anime series Golden Kamuy.

Technical Excellence: PS5 Optimization Done Right

Yōtei can stand alongside most PlayStation exclusives that came out in perfect technical condition. I only encountered one problem where the image froze and the game needed to be restarted. Otherwise, you'll have a hard time finding bugs. No frame rate drops, no dynamic range drops to tragically low values.

Graphics Modes Breakdown

Base PS5 Options:

• Performance Mode - Lower resolution at 60 FPS
• Quality Mode - Higher resolution at 30 FPS
• Ray Tracing Mode - 30 FPS with enhanced lighting

PS5 Pro Exclusive:

• Pro Mode - 60 FPS with medium details and ray tracing enabled

The game doesn't look bad with any option. During direct comparison, you can see lower details and resolution with performance settings, but probably nobody will examine fur details on one of Atsu's armors during gameplay, where I noticed the difference most.

Visual Modes: Cinematic Homages

Just like with Ghost of Tsushima, we have special presentation modes:

Kurosawa Mode - Black and white presentation honoring the legendary director Akira Kurosawa, with enhanced wind sounds.

Miike Mode - More brutal presentation inspired by director Takashi Miike, with closer camera and more blood/mud effects.

Watanabe Mode - Samurai Champloo fans will love this - adds pleasant lo-fi music during exploration while keeping original soundtrack for story moments.

💡 My personal favorite is the Watanabe mode. The lo-fi accompaniment makes exploration incredibly chill.

Combat AI: Room for Improvement

Unfortunately, the not-so-great artificial intelligence of enemies remained. They always wait for their turn to attack, and quite often I got into funny situations where basically nothing was happening.

Atsu stands surrounded by three soldiers. I step left, everyone else steps left. Sometimes enemies repeat your movements like this, where you lead them around you like on a leash instead of one of them trying to get behind your back.

Final Verdict: Beautiful World, Safe Story

Ghost of Yōtei doesn't turn the open-world game concept upside down, yet you'll gladly spend time in it, and I plan to return to finish the remaining side quests. Despite brutal battles, it's an incredibly pleasant escape that looks like classic samurai films.

The natural exploration process and uncovering side stories is much more engaging, and it's precisely because of this that you'll have a hard time putting the controller down.

What Works Best

✓ Exploration feels organic and rewarding
✓ World reacts meaningfully to your actions
✓ Combat variety with five weapon types
✓ Stunning visual presentation
✓ Perfect technical optimization

What Could Be Better

⚠ Main story lacks originality
⚠ Enemy AI needs improvement
⚠ Ainu culture deserves deeper exploration

Ghost of Yōtei succeeds where it matters most - creating a world you want to live in. The revenge story might be predictable, but the journey through Ezo is anything but boring.

FAQ

Q: Do I need to play Ghost of Tsushima first?
A: No, Yōtei is a standalone story set 300 years later with a new protagonist.

Q: How long is the main campaign?
A: About 20-25 hours for main story, 40+ hours for completionist gameplay.

Q: Are there difficulty options?
A: Yes, multiple difficulty levels that mainly affect enemy damage output.

Q: Does it support Japanese voice acting?
A: Yes, with proper lip-sync this time, unlike the original Tsushima.

Q: Is there multiplayer content?
A: No, Ghost of Yōtei is a purely single-player experience.

Q: What's the best graphics mode?
A: Performance mode for smooth 60fps gameplay, Quality mode for screenshots.

Related Articles:

• Silent Hill F Review - The Legendary Horror Series Returns in Japanese Form
  
• Steam Ending 32-bit Windows 10 Support in 2026 - End of an Era?
  
• Marvel's Wolverine Shows Brutal Gameplay - Insomniac Goes All-In