Review

Ghost of Yotei: Revenge on the Island of Ezo

Sucker Punch returns to its feudal Japan series 300 years later, with a new protagonist and a completely new setting: the island of Ezo. Within its opening minutes, Ghost of Yotei makes its premise...

Introduction

Sucker Punch returns to its feudal Japan series 300 years later, with a new protagonist and a completely new setting: the island of Ezo.

Within its opening minutes, Ghost of Yotei makes its premise clear. Ezo is not simply scenery. It is the emotional map of the journey. Windswept forests, villages perched on cliffs and the silhouette of Mount Yotei chart the path towards the revenge and redemption Atsu so desperately seeks.

Story and Characters

From its first moments, Ghost of Yotei lays its cards on the table. Atsu is a mercenary with unfinished business and far more pragmatism than heroic grandeur, and every main mission becomes another step in her reckoning. The script makes the correct decision by remaining focused: it avoids preaching while giving just enough context to make you feel as though you are affecting Yotei’s world, even though your decisions do not actually change the direction of the game. The campaign moves at a strong pace, maintains interest through occasional twists and uses the variety of Ezo’s locations to keep the journey surprising.

That said, the story is not seeking to rewrite anything. It is functional, effective and honest about its revenge premise, but it never leaves behind the same emotional resonance that Tsushima managed to build. The final act shows signs of fatigue: its climax arrives and does what it needs to do, but loses some narrative strength compared with the adventure’s finest moments. Its antagonists, the gallery of figures who shape Atsu’s odyssey, function primarily as catalysts for memorable battles rather than deeply developed characters. Overall, the story carries you through, keeps you engaged and reaches its conclusion without showboating.

Gameplay and Mechanics

Combat is where the major change lies. The previous game’s stance-driven system gives way to one based around countering enemy weapons. Rather than memorizing a dance of stances, you learn to read patterns, identify which enemy is about to attack and what weapon they are carrying, then answer with the correct tool. In practice, combat gains both pace and clarity. Every encounter rewards timing, distance and weapon choice, and when you get it right, the force of each impact says everything.

The game teaches these mechanics naturally: masters instruct you through battle, missions make you internalize a countermeasure before moving on, and bosses introduce phases that validate what you have learned. You will not find constant pop-ups telling you to press a button for a special move. It feels extremely natural and is woven perfectly into the game. In my opinion, this is an excellent decision.

The connection with the wolf is also handled very well. Without going into spoiler territory, the bond is not a simple adornment. The wolf becomes another companion walking beside you throughout the adventure, and even when it is not visibly at your side, you know it remains close. Its skill tree complements Atsu’s progression, improving both how easily it may appear and the damage of its attacks.

Artificial Intelligence and Stealth

Ghost of Yotei continues to treat stealth as an important pillar of the experience. Its problem, familiar to many contemporary open worlds, is enemy artificial intelligence. Detection is fairly inconsistent, enemies can be too permissive in certain situations, and higher difficulty levels appear more inclined to increase statistics than substantially improve behavior. Stealth is entertaining as a way to approach an area filled with enemies, but the game shows its best self in direct, face-to-face combat.

Exploration and Progression

Ezo is built from postcards. Around 80% of the screenshots I kept on my PS4 Pro were from Tsushima. Around 90% of those on my PS5 are from Yotei. Forests where the wind moves the leaves, hills at dawn, villages hanging over cliffs and temples on mountaintops overlooking the ocean: stopping to admire the landscape becomes something you do naturally, almost without noticing.

It is true, however, that this world is more traditional than reactive. Events wait for the protagonist, and empty spaces are often intended for contemplation rather than systemic surprise.

One strange choice is that the familiar merchants who improve your armor and weapons are the same people in every village you visit. They move alongside you throughout the journey. It may have worked better to keep them in a single village, or to provide different merchants in each settlement.

Side Missions

Side content alternates between genuine highlights, small stories that use the landscape well and introduce unforgettable Easter eggs, and much more routine tasks involving collection, combat or escorting characters. When the game slows down and simply lets you inhabit Ezo, its visual and audio presentation sustains the experience. In terms of narrative rewards, however, these missions are not always worthwhile.

Players pursuing 100% completion, including objectives not required for the platinum trophy, will comfortably move beyond 70 hours. If you stick to the main campaign and complete only a few side missions, the adventure breathes more easily and preserves its rhythm.

A glance at the map also reveals an extraordinary density of collectibles. By my estimate, there are approximately 900 points of interest, and only a little over half are needed for the platinum trophy. Compared with Tsushima, there may simply be too many activities that add little to the game itself. In Tsushima, completing everything happened almost without noticing. Here, you will need to divert from the main route for many hours to reach that coveted 100%.

Art Direction and Sound

This is where Ghost of Yotei plays in a league of its own. The art direction once again composes every journey as though it were a photograph: light, color, mist, leaves carried by the wind. The weather is not merely beautiful, but frames scenes and strengthens the tone of particular missions. Photo mode can easily steal half an hour without warning, offering enough tools to direct your own image by adding elements such as cherry blossom petals or snow.

Technically, the game feels robust, with minimal loading, near-instant resuming, smooth animation and a camera that remains close to the action without obstructing it. There is very occasional pop-in and a small amount of NPC repetition between villages, but the overall result radiates care and technical muscle.

The Spanish localization is exceptional. The voices suit the tone, and dialogue has been adapted without ever sounding stiff. Should you prefer Japanese or English, those performances are equally effective: in duels, breathing and the scrape of steel take center stage, while exploration is enriched by wind, wildlife and the creaking of the forest. The soundtrack enters and withdraws with elegance, using epic motifs to lift the climaxes of combat and intimate passages to sustain the protagonist’s inner journey. Without shrillness or overexposure, the audio becomes the emotional glue of the experience.

Length and Pacing

The campaign shows its best face when side content is largely ignored. It maintains tension, balances epic moments with carefully judged breaths of calm and introduces each new gameplay concept without unnecessary delay. Open the experience up to include side missions, collectibles and optional objectives, and the adventure stretches beyond 70 hours, bringing uneven pacing that does not always serve the narrative. The final act does its job, but loses some intensity.

The Good

• More reactive and satisfying combat than the first game.
• Extraordinary art direction, with every journey providing photo-worthy scenery.
• Excellent Spanish localization, with Japanese and English performances also reaching a very high standard.
• Clear progression for Atsu, together with a wolf bond that gives the adventure a distinctive identity.
• Minimal loading, almost instant resuming and tutorials naturally built into the missions themselves.
• Packed with superb Easter eggs.

The Bad

• An effective revenge story that is less affecting than Tsushima, particularly in a final act that lowers the bar slightly.
• Middling enemy AI in stealth and combat; higher difficulties increase statistics instead of improving behavior.
• Too many collectibles and uninspired objectives, potentially damaging the pacing.
• A beautiful open world, but a highly traditional one with few genuine innovations.

Conclusión

9/10

Ghost of Yotei is an exercise in focus. It identifies the area where the series could grow most convincingly, combat, and develops it with purpose, supported by impeccable audiovisual production. As a story, it favors effectiveness over depth. As a game, it asks for your timing and rewards it with force. Enter the campaign without becoming distracted by clearing the map and you will find an exceptionally polished action adventure. Try to complete absolutely everything and the scenery will remain wonderful, but the machinery of its open world becomes increasingly visible.

It does not reinvent the genre, but it does deliver one of the most elegant and satisfying dueling experiences of recent years.

Final Score: 9/10

Recommended For

• Players who loved Tsushima and want more dynamic, reactive combat.
• Fans of beautiful open worlds made for wandering and photography.
• Players who value outstanding voice acting and a soundtrack that supports rather than overwhelms.
• Anyone seeking a cinematic action adventure.

Available platforms: PlayStation 5.

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