Ghost of Yotei will build on Ghost of Tsushima with guns, a gorgeous change of scenery, and "unexpected dangers"

Ghost of Yotei is finally on the horizon. We've had to wait five years for a sequel to Ghost of Tsushima, but it could've been much worse. For example, this second game takes place a full 300 years after the first adventure. In a console generation filled to the brim with more straightforward sequels, it's a delight to see a developer make such an audacious move, abandoning the characters from the first game and travelling three centuries forward in time for a new 16th century Japan setting. It's also dropped "Tsushima" from the title (spare a moment of silence for the poor marketers at Sony) as we're getting a whole new part of the country to explore in a constant state of shock at how pretty it looks as a PS5 exclusive.

For the uninitiated, Ghost of Tsushima was a third-person stealth-action adventure from Sucker Punch. Set in 13th century Japan, it was the samurai open world game we'd always wanted, and a terrific victory lap in PS4's final major year. The swordplay was particularly inspired, starting out relatively simple and then steadily introducing new powers and stances until you felt like a true legendary samurai, even if you were playing it hungover after a sake binge (er, hypothetically). If you have PlayStation Plus, the excellent PS5 upgraded version is well worth your time.

Blade stunner

Sucker Punch visited Japan several times for research, and apparently these trips left the studio so enamored with a whole different part of the country – inspiring the sequel's change of setting. This time it's set around the mighty Mount Yōtei in Northern Japan.

No complaints here, because what we've seen so far is, unsurprisingly, absurdly good-looking. Golden fields, lush greenery, snow that looks so real it's hard not to shiver just looking at it… It's a game that'll make you seriously consider remortgaging the house in order to afford a PS5 Pro. We're excited to see how it feels in our hands too, as the PS5 upgrade of the first game made great use of the DualSense's lovely rumble tech. We'd love another PS5 exclusive to showcase what that marvelous controller can do again so soon after Astro Bot reminded us that it remains one of the console's most exciting (and criminally underused) features.

According to Andrew Goldfarb, senior communications manager at Sucker Punch, we can expect "sprawling grasslands, snowy tundras, and unexpected dangers". One of the best features of the original game was how alive and dangerous it felt to explore. It's nice to see a studio remembering that an open world shouldn't just be an annoying long commute between the fun bits.

New protagonist Atsu possesses a skull mask that is the terrifying assassin accessory to beat in 2025. More outstanding swordplay is a given, but Atsu will also be able to use firearms. The conflict between fighting with honor and being more sneaky with your kills (and, therefore, actually surviving) drove a lot of the first game's story. I'll be interested to see if Atsu is similarly conflicted about resorting to gunplay. Us? Our trigger fingers have never been itchier, especially if you can now swiftly take out those bloody archers that made our lives so miserable in Ghost of Tsushima.

New toys

Gunplay's confirmed, but could the way we interact with animals also be getting an overhaul? Towards the end of the reveal trailer, Atsu stares down a wolf that changes its mind about attacking her. True, she is dual-wielding some nasty looking blades that would intimidate anyone, but what if we can now tame animals and get them to do our violent bidding? Sucker Punch have promised more varied activities this time, addressing a common complaint of the first game, so we wouldn't rule it out.

The big question is what the studio has planned for the swordplay. Ghost of Tsushima possessed an excellent combat system, full of unlockable stances and attacks that made it more rewarding the more you played. But in the years since, it's FromSoftware's Sekiro, with its parry-or-perish fights, that's proven more influential (like in last year's outstanding Nine Sols). We've also had the underrated gem Rise of the Ronin from Team Ninja, Like a Dragon: Ishin from Ryu Ga Gotuko Studio, and soon we're getting – after a delay pushed it out of 2024 – Assassin's Creed Shadows, a samurai epic also set in 16th century Japan. Basically, Ghost of Yotei is launching with a lot more competition than Ghost of Tsushima did. It'll be interesting to see if Sucker Punch deem a similar-but-evolved combat system enough to still compete, or if they have a more radical overhaul in mind.

But if any studio has earned the benefit of the doubt, it's this one, and we'll never say no to more satisfying samurai swordplay. It's PS5's most beautiful game, an adventure the studio tantalizingly describes as an 'underdog vengeance' story. If you're not excited for that, then maybe it's time to trade-in your PS5 and get into theater or something.

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