The first thing I wanted to do after rolling the credits on PS5 exclusive Ghost of Yotei is to go right back and uncover more of its mysteries. It’s a testament to how good Sony’s open-world action-adventure is.
While Ghost of Yotei is a sequel to 2020’s most excellent Ghost of Tsushima, you don’t need to play it to understand the events of this game. They’re largely self-contained standalone stories.
Clocking in at about 25 hours to see the game through its main quest, Ghost of Yotei is set during the Edo period in Japan and has you as Atsu. You’re a wandering mercenary back in your homeland of Ezo (modern day Hokkaido) after being away for 16 years. The opening moments has you offing one of the Yotei Six—villains responsible for the death of your family.
Soon enough, events spiral into an out-and-out plot of conquest that pits the Shogunate-powered forces of the Matsumae samurai versus the army of Saito, a renegade samurai who is also the leader of the Yotei Six.
The ongoing war between the Matsumae and Saito makes for a compelling backdrop to Atsu’s tale of revenge. In fact, it shapes her into a demonic spirit who stops at nothing in her quest for vengeance. This makes for some genuinely gut-wrenching moments that shape its intriguing cast of characters in interesting ways.
Without spoiling much, outside of a minor narrative misstep, Ghost of Yotei’s main quest is memorable and well worth experiencing. It builds on the standalone prequel Ghost of Tsushima’s storytelling chops while expanding on gameplay in welcome ways.
Up close, new weapons such as dual blades, giant swords (odachi), spears (yari), and sickle and chain (kusarigama) work well with the series staple katana. In terms of ranged weapons, regulars like bows, bombs, and throwable daggers (kunai) are paired with the likes of muskets, pistols, blinding powder, and oil which you can coat your weapons in and light up to turn your foes into fiery spectacles.
The wild weaponry works well with crisp controls that make traipsing through Ezo a treat. You’ll sneak, sword-fight, parry, and swim through its exotic environments with ease. All of it feels frictionless and responsive. This extends to how the PS5’s DualSense controller makes everything feel a lot more immersive.
Granted, best-in-class haptics is a given on most PS5 exclusives, what I didn’t expect was canny use of the DualSense’s adaptive triggers to light fires or play a mini-game not too dissimilar to carrom.
And speaking of environments, Ezo is filled with gorgeous vistas. From scenic summits to hot springs, the great outdoors in Ghost of Yotei is a joy to see. Even areas that aren’t meant to be aesthetically pleasing like sake bars frequented by bandits or hideouts belonging to outlaw ninjas feel right at home with the rest of what the Ghost of Yotei have to offer.
Where it really comes together is how developer Sucker Punch dotted its scenic scapes with quality questing. You’ll encounter a ronin with a death wish dotting trees with names of their victims, help a hippie grandma detective rescue a bear, wake up a mercenary at the top of hill only to be greeted by a humorous exchange of words instead of a fight, and learn to use the odachi from a sensei with sass.
All these moments make Ghost of Yotei’s world feel a lot more dense and memorable than it lets on. Progression is pleasant too. You’ll encounter shrines on your play through—either through exploring Ezo or simply reclaiming enemy encampments—these let you upgrade your skills as you see fit.
Compared to the likes of Assassin’s Creed Shadows which makes earning new skills a chore, Ghost of Yotei makes it feel effortless so you spend more time using your talents in combat or exploration instead of grinding to get them.
In terms of performance, Ghost of Yotei looks fantastic on a standard PS5. No crashes or issues were faced during my time with the game. There were a couple of small updates that dropped during the review period, however there didn’t seem to be any perceptible difference in performance. It was smooth throughout.
As it stands, 2025 has been a bumper year in video games. Be it the likes of Avowed, Death Stranding 2, Doom The Dark Ages, and now Ghost of Yotei to name a few. This is to say nothing of the deluge of games expected between now and December. Safe to say Sony’s newest exclusive holds its own. And then some.
With Ghost of Yotei, Sucker Punch surpasses its own previous effort of Ghost of Tsushima. If you own a PS5 or plan to get one, Ghost of Yotei is well worth the price of admission. It really is that good and quite likely my game of the year.
Ghost of Yotei is out on October 2 for PS5.
