Hungry like the wolf
It has been a long time coming. The original Ghost of Tsushima was released in Summer of 2020 for the PlayStation 4, just a few months before the PS5 was available to the world. It was the latest IP from storied developer Sucker Punch, and it delivered one of the best experiences available on the console. Now, five years into the new console lifecycle we are finally getting the anticipated follow-up in the series, and for the most part, it delivers.
Ghost of Yōtei takes place over 300 years after the original game and focuses on a new protagonist named Atsu. The tale is as old as time as Atsu’s family is slaughtered by the Yōtei Six at the beginning of the game while she is pinned to a tree and left for dead. After which she takes on the role of an onryō, which is a spirit of vengeance in folklore. The story is very familiar, but excels thanks to its excellent writing and characters.
MSRP: $69.99
Platforms: PlayStation
Price I’d Pay: $59.99
The game takes place near Mount Yōtei in the area of Ezo, and features several gorgeous locales with a map that is roughly the same size as the first game. The world is filled with interesting characters to meet and the idea of the Yōtei Six is familiar, but interesting as they really do a great job of fleshing each one out throughout the game. If I had one gripe, it was that I was not as big a fan of Atsu as I was Jin in the first game. Her motives are clear, but the performance left something to be desired. I didn’t connect with her story as much as I did in the first game.
The structure of Yōtei is fairly similar to Tsushima. This is an open-world RPG action title with plenty of side quests and optional missions. The main story takes around 25 hours to complete with plenty of stuff to pad that time out. The combat switches things up this time with different weapons instead of styles, but it works essentially the same. Atsu collects new weapons throughout the game by visiting various masters and learning their techniques. Each one has a specialty such as being effective against shields or staffs. These can be swapped by holding down the trigger and selecting the weapon. This allowed me to switch up while in combat to deal with different enemy types.
Core combat feels fairly similar to the previous game. Atsu has two attacks, a block/parry, and a dodge move. The lock-on mechanic is a little wonky when it comes to camera angles, which was also something I had issues with in the original game. The game does toss different enemy styles in almost every encounter, so expect to be switching between weapons constantly. Like Jin, Atsu also has a special move that builds up during the fight that is triggered by clicking in both analog sticks. This slows down time and goes black and white as she strikes fear into an enemy. It is a very cool sequence. The wolf also plays a role in the combat and is vicious. I do wish it had come into play sooner in the game, but once unlocked, it really ramps up the action.
The upgrade system continues the theme of familiarity. Springs increase health, and shrines allow for upgrades for your character. The blacksmith will upgrade weapons and armor, and there are shops where new items can be purchased. As with the previous game, there are some cool items locked behind side quests and exploration, which make the world worth digging into.
While I was playing through the game there was something that just wasn’t clicking with me. Ghost of Yōtei feels just a little too familiar to me. The story, the setting, the game play has just run its course. The quality of single player PlayStation games cannot be denied. They truly have some outstanding experiences, and this one is no exception. The game screams quality, but it just feels a little too by-the-book. There are sequences that are in every one of these games, and when they happened here, I exclaimed “there is THAT section”.
The game also focuses a lot on making Atsu a little over the top. Some of the camera work and sequences just feel off for some reason. There is a lot of padding early on in the game, and of course the shoehorned touchpad and motion control mini-games, that even developers seem to be tired of evident by the fact that a skip button appears during each one. These things are novel, but I feel like they aren’t needed.
Something that was nagging me about the entire game was the visuals. Don’t get me wrong, it looks fantastic, but I felt like I remembered Tsushima having better character models and art direction. So, I booted it back up and much to my surprise, I was right. I was shocked when I loaded up Tsushima, a PS4 game, and felt like it just looked better. I am sure there are technical things that are being done here, but at a glance, I really loved the design of Tsushima, and the character models just looked better. Yōtei has several visual modes including a Raytracing mode, performance, and even a special PS5 Pro mode that runs at 60 with RT. It looks good, the environments are gorgeous, but it just never impressed me the same way Tsushima did.
The score remains outstanding with plenty of dynamic compositions that really set the tone. As I mentioned, the characters and writing are excellent. There was rarely a character that I did not like. I am not the biggest fan of the main character though. The performance sounds like they are trying too hard to sound angry, and it comes across disingenuous. Outside of that though, the performances are stellar.
Ghost of Yōtei is another outstanding achievement by the team at Sucker Punch. While I didn’t love it as much as its predecessor, it is still one of the best games to launch this year. Sony continues to push the envelope when it comes to single player experiences. I just wish they would step outside of the template more often. This game hits all the notes I expected, for better or worse, and it suffered at times because of it. It rarely disappointed me, but it also rarely blew my socks off. I wanted to love it more, but it just played some parts too safe to make it stand out.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
