Ghost of Yōtei's gameplay deep dive shows the open world, combat, and chill beats
The story is inspired in part by the folklore creature known as an onryō, a sort of vengeful spirit which seems to fit the themes of the game pretty well. It is, after all, about a ronin named Atsu who spends the game hunting down the six outlaws who killed her family when she was young. As the hunt progresses, Atsu takes up the onryō moniker, and her legend grows over time.
Sucker Punch says that the open world is designed around player choice, letting you focus on specific gameplay elements — like exploration or combat — based on what you're interested in. 'Ghost of Yōtei isn't going to rush you through anything,' the developers explain. Like its predecessor, the world also looks beautiful, with a lush landscape to explore; it's set in Ezo (what's now known as Hokkaido) in 1603. As for combat, the team says the goal is to create the feel of a 'classic samurai movie.' Oh, and this time you get to partner up with a wolf.
Yōtei will feature what looks like an expanded photo mode, and will once again include 'Kurosawa mode,' which renders the game in black-and-white like a classic Akira Kurosawa movie. But Sucker Punch also partnered with other notable directors. There's now a 'Miike mode' (inspired by Takashi Miike) for more visceral, close-up, and bloody action, along with a lo-fi 'Watanabe mode' with chill beats inspired by Shinichirō Watanabe.
Yōtei is a sequel to Ghost of Tsushima, which served as a swan song of sorts for the PS4 when it launched in 2020. Enhanced versions of the game eventually made their way to the PC and PS5, and it was successful enough that the director of John Wick is attached to a film adaptation.
The sequel is particularly notable because 2025 has been a relatively quiet year for major PS5 exclusives. Another sequel, Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, just launched last month, but there isn't much else in the schedule aside from a remastered version of the biker zombie game Days Gone. Bungie's revamp of Marathon was originally expected in September but has since been delayed.
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