Sony and Sucker Punch Productions have unveiled a proper first-look at the upcoming open-world action-adventure sequel, Ghost of Yōtei, during a dedicated State of Play showcase for the game, offering a deep dive into the title’s revamped world design and combat.
The 20-minute gameplay presentation, narrated by Sucker Punch creative directors Jason Connell and Nate Fox, took fans through how the game has evolved in design since the studios acclaimed 2020 samurai adventure, Ghost of Tsushima. The trailer covered three major aspects of the upcoming game: Exploration, combat, and new gameplay modes.
Perhaps the biggest shake-up to Ghost of Yōtei’s core gameplay design compared to its predecessor is with regard to how players will progress through its open world. Ghost of Tsushima already featured a game-changing exploration system that integrated nature instead of the usual game HUD elements, but this time, the sequel takes things one step further, and according to Sucker Punch, “focuses on player freedom more than any game”.
Apart from returning elements such as yellow birds that will guide players to shrines that unlock abilities, Ghost of Yōtei will introduce a Clue system to tie together its main narrative instead of the usual waypoints, which direct players towards new locations depending on how they choose to explore the world. Clues can not only be gathered naturally during exploration, but also via interrogating enemies, which gives players a choice of multiple clues, each offering a new path and unique rewards to unlock. In the trailer, for example, players could choose between asking about the Oni, which unlocks the Ishikari Plain region and the Yari weapon, or the Kitsune, which unlocks the Teshio Ridge and the Kusarigama weapon.
At any point while exploring, players can now pull out a spyglass to manually mark points of interest they come across, with the trailer teasing both returning side activities like Bamboo Strikes and Hot Springs, alongside new ones like painting, and a mini-game involving flicking coins across a table. Players will also be able to set up camps, which not only allows them to rest, cook food and play music, but also meet up with allies, a system which replaces the traditional journal known as Atsu’s Wolf Pack, a more natural way to progress the story and build relationships with the supporting characters.
With the game centred around protagonist Atsu’s quest for vengeance against the Yōtei Six, a gang of ruffians who massacred her family, combat unsurprisingly plays a huge part in the experience. Unlike Jin Sakai from the previous game, Atsu isn’t a samurai trained in honourable combat, giving her the freedom to use whatever tool and trick at her disposal to dispatch her foes.
This leads to the game’s revamped combat system, which revolves around the use of multiple weapons instead of different stances. Atsu will have access to five different melee weapons, including a traditional Katana, dual swords, a spear, a huge odachi and the kusarigama chain blade, each featuring its own moveset, upgrades, and effectiveness against different types of foes.
Combat seems to offer the same familiar feel as the first title, although it has received a few new additions, such as a disarming system, a timing-based deflection technique similar to a parry that can disarm an enemy when timed correctly, or if not, can lead to Astu being disarmed herself. Ranged combat has also seen a new addition in the form of a rifle, with the trailer also teasing a companion system, showing the example of a wolf that assists in combat
Ghost of Yōtei will also see the return of the fan-favourite Kurosawa Mode, alongside two new ways to play: Miike Mode, inspired by 13 Assassins director Takashi Miike, which pulls the game’s camera in closer during combat while ramping up blood and mud effects, and Watanabe Mode, which features the audio works of Samurai Champloo anime director Shinichirō Watanabe, offering original lo-fi tracks to accompany exploration and combat.
In a final surprise reveal, Sucker Punch also announced a special edition Ghost of Yōtei PS5 console and unique DualSense controllers, both which will be available at launch, further confirming the studio’s confidence for Ghost of Yōtei to be one of the biggest game launches this year when it releases on 2 October 2025 for the PS5.
Kevin is a reformed PC Master Race gamer with a penchant for franchise “duds” like Darksiders III and Dead Space 3. He has made it his life-long mission to play every single major game release – lest his wallet dies trying.
