Ghost of Yōtei Review

With huge thanks to the folks at Sony Interactive Entertainment, I’ve been spending some time among the plains and grasslands of 1600s Japan for our full review of Ghost of Yōtei. This follow up to the 2020 Tsushima outing has been a long time coming, and if you’re wondering if Ghost of Yōtei is worth grabbing, or if it’s safe for kids, read on!

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The Basics – What is Ghost of Yōtei About?

Ghost of Yōtei builds on the pretty excellent Ghost of Tsushima, providing much the same kind of gameplay but with an elevated experience overall. Ghost of Yōtei follows the adventures of Atsu as she hunts down the Yōtei Six – seeking revenge against those who brutally murdered her family.

Similar to Ghost of Tsushima, players will find a large world to explore, this time set in 1600s rural Japan in what would now be known as Hokkaido. As a lone hero, players will guide Atsu through a generous and engaging main campaign, as well as plenty of side quests, collectables and exploration to get to grips with as well.

What’s new in Ghost of Yōtei?

For those who played Tsushima, you’ll find a few new elements waiting for you in Ghost of Yōtei. Within upgraded Combat, Atsu can now disarm opponents as well as being disarmed herself if players aren’t careful to watch out for new attack indicators. In addition to this, you’ll be able to use disarming to your advantage even further, as you can throw dropped weapons at enemies as well.

Ghost of Yōtei also introduces a new companion – a wolf that can come to Atsu’s aid within both combat and stealth environments. Stances have been replaced with new weapon-specific counters, and while you’ll start with a single katana, players will also unlock spear, chained-sickle and greatswords, dual wielding, rifle combat and (of course) bows, too.

It’s not just combat, though. In Ghost of Yōtei players will also find new distractions from the main quest with new activities. Fox following, hot springs and bamboo cutting (my personal favourite) all make a return, but you’ll also find new painting activities, gambling and unlocking new songs on the guitar-like shamisen.

Players will also be able to set up camps to rest and provide a portable hub for quests, where players can summon key NPCs to your camp, helping you to complete quests and purchase items and upgrades.

Is Ghost of Yōtei Safe for Kids?

Ghost of Yōtei is rated by PEGI at 18 and above and by the ESRB as a Mature 17+. This is a title which contains a number of elements which I wouldn’t want our Micro-Bandits seeing, so it’s one I don’t recommend for younger gamers, and I don’t even play it while in the same room.

While it’s a stunning title, the violence in game is packed with blood effects and as well as this, there are some overriding violent themes which are simply not suitable for younger players. Ghost of Yōtei also includes bad language and drug use as well as a lot of scenes which are very likely to lead to some pretty nasty nightmares. There’s some slight nudity, which isn’t a problem unless you have a problem with a brief glimpse of a bottom.

Overall, while the mid-range bad language and themes surrounding drug use are in game, it’s the frequent, bloody violence and frightening scenes which are the main reason I recommend not letting younger gamers get involved with Ghost of Yōtei.

The Run Down

Our Five-Point Quality Check for Ghost of Yōtei

Gameplay – 5: Ghost of Yōtei feels like somebody played Tsushima and just thought “yes, let’s make that but better”. I’ve loved all of the new additions, and combat gameplay feels smoother and much more cinematic. Yōtei manages to add new features without over-complicating things, and really nails the concept of bringing what I loved from Tsushima, while adding enough to make it engaging and interesting once more.
Visuals – 5: I’m Playing on PlayStation 5 and have been consistently in awe of the visuals delivered in Ghost of Yōtei. In addition to looking great, overall, there’s also a fantastic photo mode to let players really get the most out of their screenshots. The environments really steal the show, but character design and movement just looks fantastic.
Audio – 5: I’m playing with original Japanese voices and English subtitles and while at this point I have been trying desperately to find anything to mark Ghost of Yōtei down on, everything here holds up. The soundtrack is incredible, the voice acting is outstanding, and effects are all well crafted.
Narrative – 5: Another strong showing, with Atsu’s tale of revenge being one which I’ve really enjoyed. In addition to the main story, there’s also a good amount of lore which players can pick up in the background from notes.
Replay – 5: If you’ve played Ghost of Tsushima, you’d probably expect Yōtei to have good replay value, and you wouldn’t be wrong. There’s a good-sized map to explore, plenty of additional challenges and activities and a decent main campaign. With the free-form nature of the gameplay (being able to approach the story in your own order) adding to this, there’s always a reason to jump back into Yōtei.

The Verdict – Is Ghost of Yōtei Worth Grabbing?

Overall, our Pixel Bandits’ Hit them for Six score for Ghost of Yōtei is a rare and outstanding 10/10. It’s a title which has taken its predecessor and elevated it in pretty much every way. Expanded weapon selection, new activities, gorgeous visuals and a soundtrack worthy of listening to on its own – everything comes together to make a stunning follow up to an already great franchise.

I do agree that the narrative may be predictable in places, and doesn’t break any moulds, but I also don’t think that it manages to impact on anything enough to provide a noticeable difference. The open-world exploration and incredibly smooth (and above-all, enjoyable) combat pulls players along a decent, solid and well-acted story.

Atsu is a great protagonist and while she had some pretty big shoes to step into, she (for me) absolutely steals the show. Ghost of Yōtei is a fantastic outing and one of my leading choices for 2025. Whenever you’re reading this, it’s one which comes highly recommended as a must-play adventure, which you should look at jumping into immediately.

As ever, to provide our Pixel Bandits review and common-sense parent’s guide for Ghost of Yōtei we received a game code from the folks at Sony Interactive Entertainment