Ghost of Yōtei Review

Sucker Punch keeps what worked in Tsushima and sharpens what did not. Atsu is a mercenary with six names on a list rather than a noble with a code, which frees the writing from the honor lecture the first game kept circling, and the revenge structure lets you take the hunt in whatever order you like. Combat now runs on weapon swapping instead of stances, so a spear, an odachi and dual katana each answer a different problem, and the duels are the best in either game.

Ezo is the star: birch forest, hot springs, volcanic slopes and a wind system that still points the way, photographed with art direction critics rarely get to praise twice for the same studio. The reservations are the ones the series has always earned. The map is a checklist, the side content repeats its patterns quickly, and the open world structure is conservative next to how good everything inside it looks and sounds.