Ghost of Tsushima was one of the best surprising IPs we had in a long time for the PlayStation era. People were already screaming for a direct sequel but the developers had other plans. Sucker Punch wanted to take everything we liked about Ghost of Tsushima, enhance it, and let it play out in another part of the universe. Ghost of Yotei might be a sequel, but with another main character in mind. Can it live up to your expectations?
The main character in Ghost of Yotei is named Jin Sakai. Jin Sakai is the survivor of a family massacre. Her family was murdered by a bunch of 6 distinguished characters, and now she’s in search of revenge. It seems like Sucker Punch wanted to go for a more reliable story than something special. Don’t get me wrong, I like a revenge kind of story, but make it unexpected, and unfortunately, this isn’t the case.
“The game itself looks beautiful…”
We’ve been promised an open world that’s full of points of interest and explorable environments; however, the developers chose a more approachable way and went for a more restricted world than you might expect. Ezo, the place where the story of “Ghost of Yotei” takes place, is being divided into different valleys with a certain number of quests. These different valleys are actually restricted playgrounds for you to explore, but the exploration in the game could have been more than just a virtual environment where you go from point A to point B. The restricted districts don’t even feel big, even though the background seems like we’re just touching the surface of exploration within the game. I also feel like the world is a bit bland when it comes to the vibe of a living world. There are very few things happening in the environment around you; only when in villages you’ll see some activity.
The game itself looks beautiful: when you roam with your horse in the environment and the leaves are being guided by the wind, reflecting the speed of the horse, it just looks great. Some battles are truly action-packed duels to the death with lightning strikes at the moment your katana clashes with the boss’s weapon. Or the ethereal vibe when you’re traveling during the night, moonlight shining through the leaves of the trees, or even the misty surroundings at early mornings. Sucker Punch made the game very beautiful, and I think they know it, because you can also activate a photo mode to get some pictures with awesome scenery.
“In other words, the game can look fantastic if the developers let it be fantastic…”
These beautiful moments aside, there are also some design philosophies that make the game less than it truly could be. The game has some technical difficulties that influence the true vision of the game developers. Water seems a bit bland, lighting effects are sometimes a bit off, not all characters feel vividly, or some points of interest could have used some extra time to shine a light on some of the fantastic details… So, circumstantially, the game looks like it can’t fully live up to its potential. In other words, the game can look fantastic if the developers let it be fantastic…
You do have your standard features to get experience as a character. You have, of course, your main story progression, but you also have different altars that give you the opportunity to pray and get talent points to spend. You have your standard killing rampage mission, where you have to eliminate all enemies from the occupied building or territory, and you also have a couple of activities where you’re asked to free wolves. If you want to escape the different routines to level up your character, you can also bathe in hot water tubs to gain extra health. All of these features make the leveling experience top-notch. You can even choose between the number of side quests you have because you will get enough experience points to become the strongest version of yourself without completing each side quest the game has to offer. It provides the same experience as most open-world games. It’s good to feel that you don’t need to grind as much to get powerful.
“The combat still acts like you know it from the previous game…”
The combat system is what you would expect from Sucker Punch. It’s really fluent and satisfying when you can instant kill an enemy with the perfect block, for example. There are a few talent trees that can help you develop your character in the way you want it to be. It’s perfectly possible to build your character to a combat set that suits your fighting style perfectly. It’s not like you need the best talents to survive; you can just roam the world as the samurai you want it to be. Of course, you can make the game a bit more pleasant if you use the right weapon for the right enemy, but then again, you’re not obligated to do this. The combat still acts like you know it from the previous game; you have your light and heavy attacks that can deal different kinds of damage. If you just need to eliminate the cannon fodder, just use your light attack. If you’re facing enemies that have a persistence bar, you can break this bar by using your heavy attack to stun them and deliver the finishing blow. The same concept can be applied to boss fights. What seems an impossible task beforehand, you’ll quickly notice that the bosses aren’t undefeatable. You can probably blame yourself when you die. The bosses aren’t Elden Ring difficult, but they can be challenging due to some great in-game mechanics or cinematic sequences. Don’t lose your composure and fight with a stable mind, you’ll be undefeatable instead of the enemies. I do want to mention that these battles or duels feel pretty awesome in terms of cinematic storytelling. The duel is fun to use the talents you have, but the environment around you is dressed in a way that you feel like you’re in an epic stand-off between you and your opponent. Sucker Punch really outdid themselves in making the boss fights an epic fight that you’ll probably remember for a while.
Conclusion:
Ghost of Yotei is a good sequel to Ghost of Tsushima, and if you’re a fan of the series, this game will be right up your alley. The game looks great when it has the chance to let all of the elements come together. The animations are good, which makes the battles enjoyable and challenging at the same time. The way you can grind towards the most powerful version of yourself is totally in your hands, as you can choose what kind of talents you would like to unlock. You don’t have to unlock every aspect of the talent tree. If you want to make the game a bit more challenging, just try to parry all of the attacks, and you’re good to go. The main story is predictable, and the side missions are decent enough to make the grind more enjoyable. If you’ve liked the first game and you would like to play the game just like before, without any new mechanics, you’ll definitely want to buy this game.
7,5/10
Tested on PS5
