New Ghost of Yotei Gameplay Unveils Fresh Details and Presentation Modes

Ugh, so Thursday. Just another day, right? Nope. Sucker Punch Productions hit us with this bombshell about Ghost of Yōtei, a new game coming to PS5. Seriously, they just threw it at us during Sony’s State of Play. I was half paying attention when—BAM—the future ghosts get all these deets about Atsu’s weapons and adventures across Ezo. The whole thing just screamed epic.

Oh man, remember Ghost of Tsushima? That Kurosawa Mode was like this love letter to Akira Kurosawa’s legendary samurai movies. I’m talking Seven Samurai and Yojimbo levels of legendary. Anyway, it’s making a comeback in Ghost of Yōtei. Black and white, film grain, and spot-on Japanese lip syncing. It’s like watching an old film on a lazy Sunday—nostalgic vibes.

Now, this was my favorite bit—new Takashi Miike Mode. The camera’s so close you practically feel the mud splash your face. And the blood. So much blood. Miike’s all about those intense visuals, and if you’ve seen 13 Assassins, you get it. Apparently, they also teamed up with Shinichirō Watanabe, the genius behind Samurai Champloo. This mode adds lo-fi beats to combat. Beats and battles. Love it.

They showed off these cool new weapons too. Dual katanas, ōdachi, and kusarigama. I was staring like, “Can I wield those in real life?” Atsu can just switch them like she’s changing socks. Oh, and animals help you find hidden spots! Just like in Tsushima. I don’t even know why I love following virtual animals, but I do. There’s also some impressive Elden Ring-like discoverability happening. Travel off the beaten path, get rewarded—sounds like life lessons or something.

I should mention the Limited Edition stuff they flaunted. Consoles and controllers, all with Ghost of Yōtei art. Console plates show Mount Yōtei, and the controllers have Atsu’s face. Pretty sure collectors freaked.

Ghost of Yōtei’s not a direct sequel to Ghost of Tsushima, just to clear that up. It’s set like 300 years later in Ezo (yeah, Hokkaido now), and Atsu’s got this blood feud with the Yōtei Six. Someone needs to avenge her fam, right? What’s cool is, players get to decide the order of taking these folks down. Freedom and chaos. Makes you kind of wonder what our own lives would look like with that kind of narrative freedom, huh?