Just when we were expecting Sony to announce another The Last of Us remaster during the latest State of Play, the company surprised its fans with the reveal of one of the most long-awaited sequels. Ghost of Yōtei will continue Sucker Punch’s Japanese historical epic adventures that first introduced to Jin Sakai and Tsushima – only there won’t be any Jin (or a Tsushima) this time around.
A Leap Through Time
Ghost of Yōtei takes place 300 years after Jin’s time. Besides Assassin’s Creed, it’s hard to conceive a sequel skipping three centuries of history for its second installment. Still, there are many reasons to believe Ghost of Yōtei will be just as exciting – if not downright better – than its predecessor.
Back when Ghost of Tsushima was first released for the PlayStation 4, no one knew what to expect from Sucker Punch’s new IP. After all, the developers were known for their work on the superhero classic Infamous before working on Tsushima. Going from a superpowered protagonist to a noble samurai was quite the leap for the studio.
Thankfully, Sucker Punch proved they knew exactly what they were doing with Tsushima. Not only was the game a solid adventure title in the same vein as the best Assassin’s Creed titles, but it was also a visual marvel thanks to its Akira Kurosawa-inspired visuals.
Building on a Winning Formula
With Ghost of Yōtei, the studio now only needs to follow the same gameplay formula that worked before. Think of it as going from the first Infamous to its sequel. Yōtei only needs to deliver more of what fans want, and if trailers are any indication, we’re getting just that.
As visually impressive as Ghost of Tsushima can be, the game is very clearly a PS4 title. Even though Sucker Punch worked around the limitations of the aging console, you can notice a distinct lack of geometry and terrain complexity in most scenes within Tsushima.
Ghost of Yōtei, on the other hand, was built from the ground up as a PlayStation 5 title. Now, Sucker Punch can go wild with the visuals, especially after the release of the PlayStation 5 Pro. It’s more than likely that we’ll finally get the ray-traced Ghost of Tsushima experience we always wanted with this sequel.
A Bigger World Awaits In Ghost of Yōtei
Beyond mere visuals, Ghost of Yōtei has the potential to be “bigger” than Tsushima in every other sense. The location alone shows this, with the game now taking place in the scenic locales surrounding the foothills of Mount Yōtei.
In recent years, Sony has made an effort to bring its most popular games to a larger audience. To accomplish this, the company has decided to release almost all of its first-party releases on PC a few years after their PlayStation debuts. That’s how many of us have experienced classics like God of War: Ragnarök or even Ghost of Tsushima.
While Sony hasn’t divulged its plans for a PC release of Ghost of Yōtei (understandably,) its commitment to PC players indicates we might see a PC port of the game two years after its PS5 debut.
This tactic ensures every Sony game reaches a larger audience than before, positioning its exclusives as some of the most notorious in the video game market. Now that the Ghost series from Sucker Punch has become a household name for Japanese historical action games (and that Assassin’s Creed Shadows looks like a disaster waiting to happen), Ghost of Yōtei looks to be the best game for Japanese history enthusiasts in 2025.
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Tell us, do you think Ghost of Yōtei will be better than Ghost of Tsushima?
Ghost of Yotei |
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In 1603, Atsu sets out on a journey in the lands surrounding Mount Yotei, an area filled with sprawling grasslands, snowy tundras, and unexpected dangers. |
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| Release Date: 2025 |
| Platforms: PlayStation 5 |
| Developer: Sucker Punch Productions |
| Genre: Single-player, Action-Adventure |
