Do you remember that magical moment in the opening of Ghost of Tsushima when you’re riding your horse and suddenly break out into the world, seeing its rolling hills, lush vistas and beautiful world sweep you up in a gust of wind? That was one of the most breathtaking openings I’ve ever played in a video game – against all odds, Sucker Punch Productions maintained that same level of bewildering awe and beauty throughout the game. You could say it was a true lightning in a bottle moment in gaming. Five years later, Ghost of Yotei has managed to sweep me off my feet yet again.

Note: This review is completely spoiler-free.



Ghost of Yotei follows Atsu, a lone mercenary on the hunt for the Yotei Six – six influential masked figures who were responsible for the death of her family and the destruction of her home when she was just a child. The Yotei Six now have an iron grip on the land of Ezo, causing division and unrest with its citizens. Blazing a path of revenge, Atsu seeks to kill the six responsible and avenge her family by any means necessary.



Within the first half hour, Ghost of Yotei’s sprawling story is set in motion. Sucker Punch Productions immediately lays the groundwork for the entire game, defining Atsu’s motivations, introducing us to the central antagonists, and letting us loose on a land caught in the crosshairs of tyrannical rulers. While Ghost of Tsushima certainly didn’t waste time throwing you into the fray, Ghost of Yotei almost gave me whiplash with how fast it sets up its conflict and narrative. From here, the story gradually ascends – initially at a slower pace than you might expect – until it crescendos into a riveting third act and finale that kept me completely engaged until the credits rolled.

As great as Ghost of Yotei’s story eventually becomes, that evolution comes with baby steps first and that might be the toughest pill to swallow. If you aren’t rushing the main quests, the game asks you to pump the brakes and roll with its slower rhythm for the first 10-20 hours or so. There isn’t a great sense of urgency to your mission initially – Atsu’s journey is more about stopping to smell the roses drenched in blood as you uncover clues, interrogate enemies for information, engage with and understand its systems, and generally get a lay of the land. One of the best aspects of Ghost of Tsushima is wonderfully realised again in Ghost of Yotei; that being exploration and getting lost in the scenic beauty of it all.



At its core, Ghost of Yotei is every bit as exciting, absorbing, and visually awe-inspiring as its predecessor – to many, that’s either going to be its greatest strength or flaw depending on your feelings and experience with the first game. This time, the world of Ezo and Mount Yotei’s surrounding environments are slightly larger than Tsushima, with more refined exploration baked into its open world.

While Ghost of Tsushima certainly didn’t waste time throwing you into the fray, Ghost of Yotei almost gave me whiplash with how fast it sets up its conflict and narrative.

There’s now a lot more diverse biomes to discover, from the snowy cliffs of Mount Yotei to swamps, grasslands, gloomy forests, and more. I appreciate that Sucker Punch doesn’t riddle its map with markers to chase. Instead, the game once again uses natural elements to guide you to points of interest, be it the wind, birds, wind chimes, wolves or ominous smoke rising in the distance. Everything you do, everywhere you go, feels incredibly organic, highlighting its emphasis on visual storytelling to keep you invested and motivated to explore.



Combat is the bread and butter of Ghost of Yotei’s top-heavy gameplay. As far as the ever-reliable katana goes, nothing has significantly changed regarding its moveset, though stances offer a little more depth to one-on-one encounters. However, the game’s combat really opens up with the other weapons at your disposal. New to the game, the Odachi blade is an imposingly large sword that moves slow but hits hard, making it perfect for guard-breaks, while the fast, agile dual katanas slash and stagger enemies with quick, swift blows. Certain enemy types are weaker to specific weapons. Bigger, brute enemies fall harder with an Odachi, while spear-wielding foes are likely to get their guard broken by the dual katanas’ speedy cuts. There are other weapons that I won’t spoil but each feels incredibly satisfying to use.

Sucker Punch Productions injects the game’s combat with a stylish, visceral flare that’s equally as punchy and smooth as it is brutal when used effectively. Ranged weapons like the bow are also far more viable in Ghost of Yotei thanks to lite build options (more on that in a bit). The game’s combat simply refines the already excellent core gameplay of Ghost of Tsushima while delivering a wider arsenal of killing tools that benefits both stealth and head-on combat equally. Basically, the combat is superb yet again - positioning Sucker Punch as one of PlayStation’s leading studios when it comes to sword-clashing action.



Several elements and ideas from Ghost of Tsushima carry over to Ghost of Yotei with a few refinements made. Hot springs, for example, allow Atsu to bathe and reflect on her thoughts, which also increases her maximum health. Black smoke billowing elsewhere could signify a fort or well-guarded village that needs to be liberated in order for settlers to safely return to the area, opening up more options for vendors, blacksmiths, and cartographers. Here, you’ll also find the mini-game zeni dajiki, a simple yet enjoyable way to pass the time which involves flicking coins on a table – each flick offering different pressure levels - to rack up a higher score than your opponent. All of these elements combine to create a cohesive world where nature co-exists with the good few who are struggling to survive and thrive. It’s not the most densely populated world, but it’s a land that feels like it has a distinct personality and its own small stories to tell, regardless of how mundane or strange they can get at times.

Everything you do, everywhere you go, feels incredibly organic, highlighting its emphasis on visual storytelling to keep you invested and motivated to explore.

On that note, Ghost of Yotei populates its world with various side quests to undertake between your main objectives that slowly guide you upwards on the map. A majority of the time, these detours lead you to new bamboo strikes, artefacts, gear, or shrines that give you points to pour into the straightforward skill tree. Each tree improves your stealth, combat and survival capabilities while weapon trees unlock new combos or abilities that make them far more effective. It’s nothing we haven’t seen before but it’s a welcomed, easy-to-grasp progression system.



Armour also contains specific buffs that can improve your effectiveness in melee combat, stealth, or ranged combat, while mixing and matching various charms (that can be bought or offered as rewards for completing quests) further enhance and hone your build. Ghost of Yotei also introduces quick loadouts so you can switch between builds on the fly, opening up your options to adapt to any given situation. Upgraded armour actually changes its appearance with each level, adding a nice touch of customisability to Atsu’s attire. It’s very lite on its RPG elements but it offers just enough variety to experiment with, even if it becomes more important on higher difficulties.

Ghost of Yotei is another visual juggernaut and possibly one of the best-looking games of the generation. Strong, inspired art direction shows the team’s deep respect for the culture and natural beauty of Japan. That reverence doesn’t go unnoticed in how the game perfectly captures the mystique of the country’s historical landscapes, architecture, music, clothing and even some dialect accurate to the time period. Ghost of Yotei builds a stunningly picturesque adventure driven by its sense of wonder – a giddy feeling I got every time I mounted my horse and glided through a field with the wind behind me, kicking up leaves and fauna along my paths.



On a technical level, Ghost of Yotei is almost pristinely polished and runs phenomenally on PS5 Pro, especially on its Ray Tracing Pro mode (which I strongly recommend for that pitch-perfect balance of higher resolution targeting smoother frame rates). I say “almost” because I did stumble upon a few bugs and glitches – one hilarious bug saw an NPC repeatedly get teleported into the air and thrown into the side of a boulder. These hiccups aren’t frequent but when they do happen, they stand out and can be immersion-breaking. The sound design, luckily, is stellar with excellent English and Japanese voice acting across the board, though both of Atsu’s performers – Erika Ishii in English and Ai Fairouz in Japanese – really give it their all, especially during a few heightened emotional scenes that ask a lot from them.

Ghost of Yotei is another visual juggernaut and possibly one of the best-looking games of the generation. Strong, inspired art direction shows the team’s deep respect for the culture and natural beauty of Japan.

If I had a couple of nitpicks worth mentioning, it mainly has to do with the DualSense support. The haptic feedback and adaptive triggers are great, and the touchpad is used creatively to raise the wind to your destinations. However, the motion controls are a mixed bag. Tasks like smithing and cooking use motion controls that require you to perform real-life actions like melding iron with a hammer or holding and turning fish over a campfire. All of these motions are done by moving your controller accordingly, but they feel a little awkward. Smithing, in particular, gets annoying when it needs to be done every single time you upgrade your katana – it’s a repetitive process that gets tedious quickly.



Ghost of Yotei might not be a massive leap over Ghost of Tsushima in many regards, but it takes the existing formula and simply refines it in key areas to create another visually mesmerising, equally engaging action-adventure game from Sucker Punch Productions – one that fans of the first game are going to absolutely love. Some aging open-world elements and awkward DualSense hiccups aside, the game’s stylish, punchy combat, masterful visuals and art direction, and grand sense of scale mixed with organic exploration will give you exactly what you want out of a follow-up to the Tsushima epic.

PS5 Review code provided by PlayStation | Ghost of Yotei is now available to pre-order at Nexus Hub for R1,399