Ghost of Yōtei (2nd October 2025)

[Julius]

The sequel to Ghost of Tsushima has arrived! 

This trailer was one hell of a rollercoaster. 

Quote

In 1603, a new Ghost named Atsu sets out on a journey in the lands surrounding Mount Yõtei, an area filled with sprawling grasslands, snowy tundras, and unexpected dangers.

Ghost of Yõtei comes to PS5 in 2025.

I'm hyped as hell for this. Tsushima is one of my favourite open world games. 

Roll on 2025 

Edited 10 hours ago by Julius

[Julius]

This is going to make a beautiful cover:

First word from Sucker Punch on the game has just dropped in the PS Blog, written up by none other than Andrew Goldfarb, formerly of IGN! 

Some beautiful shots of the game shared in that blog post, too. 

To grab some details of note:

• set over 300 years after the events of Ghost of Tsushima, Sucker Punch are focusing on the "Ghost" rather than picking up with Jin Sakai. 

• located in the lands surrounding Mount Yōtei in Ezo, or what is known today in Japan as Hokkaido. 

• this area was outside the law of Japan in 1603, "a far cry from the organized samurai clans who lived in Tsushima."

• built from the ground up for PS5. 

• new mechanics, gameplay improvements, new weapons. 

I was already thinking of replacing Ghost of Tsushima next year, but with this one the way, I guess it's all but locked in. Being set in Hokkaido and the snowy region of Japan? This has Fall 2025 written all over it, I feel. 

Can't wait 

[Julius]

More info coming out now. 

Firstly, our protagonist is Atsu, voiced by none other than the awesome Erika Ishii! 

They have probably most notably voiced Valkyrie in Apex Legends, but Erika is also a regular on Dimension 20, has appeared on Critical Role, and some other similar shows in that corner of the internet, which is probably where I know them best from. So yeah, that's awesome! 

Additionally, some folks from Sucker Punch sat down with the New York Times, and there's some interesting stuff in there: most of note, to me, is this being "the beginning of a franchise that will include a movie and other spinoffs" following the success of Ghost of Tsushima, and that Yōtei will be a "linchpin to a series or tightly choreographed efforts from Sony to transform the series into a larger entertainment franchise"

Super interesting stuff. 

[sumo73]

Interesting time period since now it's the Japanese which have expansion plans and not the Mongols from the first game. It's a video game first but I would be interested to see how the 'Ainu' people are depicted in the game. 

If anyone is interested in this time period onwards (I realise this video is not for everyone) -

 

[Ashley]

I hope it also features Hokkaido (the dog breed) 

 

[Julius]

A few more tidbits from the game's page on the PlayStation site:

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The legend continues

300 years after the events of Ghost of Tsushima, a new warrior – Atsu – rises from the ashes of her homestead.

Filled with fury and determination, Atsu will hunt down those responsible for the death of her family and exact her revenge. Every odd job and bounty will provide the coin she needs for her journey. But how she fights, survives, and evolves the legend of the Ghost, will be up to you.

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People come north to disappear…

Ghost of Yōtei takes place in the lands surrounding Mount Yōtei, a towering peak at the edge of Japan's snowy northern region.

In 1603, this area was outside the rule of Japan – a wild frontier filled with sprawling grasslands, icy tundras, and unexpected dangers.

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Immerse yourself in the legend

Featuring massive sightlines that let you look far across the environment, skies of twinkling stars and auroras, and vegetation that sways believably in the wind, Ghost of Yōtei has been built from the ground up for PlayStation 5 consoles, with enhanced performance and visuals on PlayStation 5 Pro.

Alongside its stunning new setting, Ghost of Yōtei also features new mechanics, gameplay improvements, and even new weapons for Atsu to master, including ōdachi, kusarigama, and dual katanas.

Hurry up and say something about GTA VI already Rockstar, I'm chomping at the bit to see more Yōtei and learn when it's dropping 

[Julius]

Rated in Taiwan: 

I've been hanging my hat on September/October (because of the autumn vibes and potential for GTA VI in October/November), but with Death Stranding in June, Marathon in September, and now this rating...could this be coming July/August? Tsushima arrived in July 2020, and just a month after The Last of Us Part II at that, so releasing this 5 years later to the month doesn't seem impossible? 

[Hero-of-Time]

31 minutes ago, Julius said:

Ive been hanging my hat on September/October (because of the autumn vibes and potential for GTA VI in October/November), but with Death Stranding in June, Marathon in September, and now this rating...could this be coming July/August? Tsushima arrived in July 2020, and just a month after The Last of Us Part II at that, so releasing this 5 years later to the month doesn't seem impossible? 

Yeah, I think that's what they will probably be doing. 

Will you be buying it on release day? I'll pick it up at some point but I'm in no rush to get it day 1. The price will probably be £60-£70 and I wasn't huge on the original game.

[Julius]

1 hour ago, Hero-of-Time said:

Will you be buying it on release day? I'll pick it up at some point but I'm in no rush to get it day 1. 

Yep, I'll be buying it on release day!  outside of the Switch 2 it might be my next Day 1 purchase after letting myself get a little silly with the Xbox Game Studios published releases this week 

Tsushima was one of my favourites from last gen (makes my Top 10 for sure), think it's probably my favourite "traditional" open world game (falls short of Red Dead Redemption II, Zelda BotW/TotK and Elden Ring for me if I'm considering all open world games), just loved the vibes, the visual style, the combat, and of course that music! Really enjoyed the in-game elements to guide you from one place to another, as well as the use of the touchpad – that guiding wind and the flick to wipe the blood off your sword are probably some of my favourite uses of the touchpad even close to 5 years later. 

Me and my friend are planning to replay Tsushima ahead of Yōtei's release (he hasn't played the DLC and I haven't replayed the game since launch, and that was on a base PS4, though I did play the DLC on PS5), so I hope they hurry up and announce that release date if it is coming in July/August. A potential announcement in the rumoured May Showcase would leave things a bit too close for my liking. 

1 hour ago, Hero-of-Time said:

The price will probably be £60-£70 and I wasn't huge on the original game.

Yeah, I'm expecting full price for this. Given it's likely going to be the first first-party developed game from PlayStation Studios to release after Mario Kart World shakes the pricing structure up, I'm curious to see if they consider a price bump here with Yōtei, or if they decide to wait on GTA VI before pulling that trigger themselves. Or do they be sensible and wait until next-gen? Who knows 

Shame collector's editions suck these days, as I probably would've been interested. Definitely in for the inevitable themed DualSense and hoping for a matching plate, though! 

[Hero-of-Time]

1 minute ago, Julius said:

Shame collector's editions suck these days, as I probably would've been interested. Definitely in for the inevitable themed DualSense and hoping for a matching plate, though! 

How many of those do you have now?

[Julius]

5 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

How many of those do you have now?

Let's see  I've got...

• 2x white DualSenses from launch
• 1x black DualSense
• 1x sterling silver DualSense
• 1x Astro Bot DualSense
• 1x chroma pearl DualSense
• 1x 30th anniversary DualSense

So that brings me to 7.

Although, I guess it's worth pointing out that my 2 white DualSenses from launch were retired a few years back due to stick drift, and my black and sterling silver DualSenses are definitely on their way out (combination of stick drift and trigger issues), but I've been procrastinating on moving onto my next pair...so really, there are only 3 fully functioning controllers left 

I've been eyeing up importing the Final Fantasy XVI DualSense from Japan for a while but just haven't been able to justify it. That one even got a lovely matching plate, too! 

[Julius]

October 2nd! The autumn hunch paid off!  

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Discover a bold, new story of a warrior in Japan who is on a mission of vengeance all her own.

Set 300 years after the critically acclaimed Ghost of Tsushima, Ghost of Yõtei is standalone experience set in 1600s rural Japan. The story follows a haunted, lone mercenary named Atsu. Thirsty for revenge, she travels through the beautiful, rugged landscapes of northern Japan, hunting those who killed her family many years earlier.

Felt very Red Dead/Western before with the brief hint of a story we had in the last trailer, and she'll be hunting down the Yōtei Six for vengeance! 

Edited 10 hours ago by Julius

[Hero-of-Time]

A lot later than I was expecting. I guess this will be Sony's big Winter game?

[Julius]

Per the PS Blog, we get our first look at the game's box art (which is stunning) and the editions and pre-order bonuses that will be available: 

Collector's Editions suck ass with how they come with digital codes now, but I'm very grateful this doesn't have early access locked behind Deluxe Edition and above like Death Stranding 2: On the Beach has somehow ended up with. 

Now, where the hell is my DualSense announcement... 

9 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

I guess this will be Sony's big Winter game?

It must be.

It does feel like there's space between DS2 in June and this in October for another single-player game (Marathon in September), or between this and the end of the year (though I think this coming out at the very start of October does make me believe PlayStation are expecting GTA VI in October/November), but the spacing here makes it seem like that could be it for first-party and the rest of the calendar is filled out with third-party. Which could be great, we just don't know yet and likely won't know until Not-E3 for potentials like the Final Fantasy IX Remake, Persona 4 Remake, etc. 

Makes me wonder where the Venom game that was part of the unfortunate Insomniac hack has ended up, though – axed, or delayed from its likely November window because of GTA VI to next year? 

Unless there's some surprise at the next State of Play/Showcase or whatever we get in May/June from them, it's going to be another year which is a bit light for PlayStation; there's this, DS2, Marathon, Lost Souls Aside (being sent out to die against Night Reign) and Days Gone Remastered. Maybe we get that long rumoured Gravity Rush 2 remaster, but otherwise, yeah, not expecting much right now. 

Which, I'll be honest, I'm not too bothered by at this point, I'm buying fewer games on Day 1 anyways and am comfortable swimming in my backlog, but even though the quality is there from PlayStation first-party, there's no denying how much third-party has been carrying the PS5. We've said it before but the PS4 being as great as it was gave PlayStation momentum I think they're lucky to have had considering the ways they've tried to shoot themselves in the foot since then. 

[Julius]

Watched the trailer back a few times and read through the PS Blog, some scattered thoughts/speculation:

• As you'd guess with this being an open world game, you can tackle the Yōtei Six in whatever order you see fit. Thinking back to the end of the last trailer and some of what they talked about in that game's blog, we know new weapons are coming in Yōtei – and from today's trailer, it seems the Yōtei Six have some of these new weapons themselves. Are we going Mega Man here and taking the abilities/weapons of the bosses? 
• Wolf companion maybe? Getting major D-Dog vibes from that pupper which has turned up in both trailers. 
• The scene at the end of the trailer where Atsu becomes young seamlessly – the blog seems to confirm what you'd speculate is a mechanic? Putting the PS5 to work! 
• Returning activities...hot springs? Loved the bamboo slicing, really hope that returns here! 
• Building a campfire wherever you want sounds AWESOMEEEEEE, very Red Dead

Game releases on a Thursday, so think I'm going to book the Friday off for now, and maybe the Monday closer to the time if I want to spend a bit longer with it. Which I inevitably will! 

Hype through the roof, my most anticipated for the year easily