Ghost of Yotei is really good. I coincidentally was on “staycation” last week when it came out, and thought I’d give it a whirl. It’s been about a week, and I’m twenty hours in or so. I haven’t even cleared the second “region” yet, but I wanted to share some early thoughts.
In my opinion, Yotei is a meaningfully better game than Ghost of Tsushima by every imaginable measurement. The story is more interesting. The music is better (and the sound is crazy too). The side quests are far and away more interesting, and much less repetitive. There are fewer fox dens, but each fox den is actually fun, which is a nice change. The cinematography, when they include recorded cut scenes, is fantastic. I never thought Tsushima compared to Kurosawa, and I never understood why they would invoke that comparison. But Yotei has moments where I get it. (And I love Kurosawa.)
The combat (which was already excellent) is better, if only because there’s more weaponry and variety.
The world design is leagues better. Tsushima had some of the least inspired open world design I can recall; Yotei’s world is actually interesting to explore. I want to see every nook and cranny.
I’ve seen some folks compare Yotei to Red Dead Redemption II. This is a terrible comparison. RDR2 is a much better game. Yotei isn’t operating in that weight class.
But Yotei reminds me constantly of the first Red Dead Redemption, which I replayed only a couple years ago and am also currently re-replaying on my PS5. Red Dead Redemption evokes a particular feeling: I am a western cowboy acting as a sort of bounty hunter, taking on quests from people in a world that seems (to me) plucked straight out of a spaghetti western. Red Dead Redemption II did not scratch the same itch (but it is one of my all-time favourite games). Ghost of Yotei feels like a game in which I am a samurai bounty hunter, taking on quests from people in a world that feels plucked straight out of Kurosawa’s Sanjuro or Yojimbo.
This is, from my perspective, the highest praise I can give it. It evokes a feeling that Tsushima never did.
This has been a big year for games. I’ve bought more than I would care to admit. Kingdom Come: Deliverance II, the Oblivion remaster, AC: Shadows, Split Fiction, Donkey Kong: Bananza, THPS 3 & 4, Mario Kart World, Tears of the Kingdom on Switch 2 (where it finally became playable), etc.
Out of all of them, Yotei is maybe my favourite. It feels like the samurai game that was made for me specifically. (If TOTK was a new game, that would be my favourite, but as it is, I am deeply enjoying my replay.)
Thus far, it is highly recommended.