Biggest Mistakes Ghost Of Yotei Repeats From Ghost Of Tsushima

Both *Ghost of Tsushima* and *Ghost of Yotei* are fantastic open-world action games, standing out as some of the best examples of the genre. These samurai adventures feature stunning graphics, compelling stories, polished combat, and seamless exploration, making them incredibly immersive. *Ghost of Yotei* builds upon the success of the first game, refining almost every aspect of the experience. While both games are exceptional, there’s still potential to make a future installment even better.

It’s strange to see that several parts of *Ghost of Yotei* that were criticized in *Ghost of Tsushima* haven’t been updated. Some elements feel a bit old-fashioned for a game released in 2025, and it’s disappointing to see missed opportunities. Let’s examine a few of these areas where *Ghost of Yotei* could have improved upon its predecessor, but didn’t.

I don’t want to sound overly critical of *Ghost of Yotei*, or take away from what it accomplished. These are just my personal thoughts on a few things that could have been improved.

Traversal Enhancements Could Be Better

Running, Horse Riding, and Simplistic Climbing Sections Are All We’ve Got

Open-world games have been getting better at letting players move around, often with new tools or skills that make exploration fun. Even in more realistic, historical settings like *Ghost of Yotei*, games like *Rise of the Ronin* (which features a glider) find ways to make getting around more interesting than just walking or riding a horse.

The game’s biggest weakness is how it handles movement, borrowing a very straightforward approach from *Ghost of Tsushima*. Levels often funnel players down a single, obvious path, which feels unnatural. Compared to recent games like *Assassin’s Creed Shadows*, the limited use of Atsu’s grappling hook – and her inability to climb even modest structures – combined with the lack of a fast way to descend (other than a simple cut to black), might feel restrictive to players.

Few Distinct Armor Sets With No Transmog Options

Outfits Are Stunning, but There Are Too Few of Them

Similar to *Ghost of Tsushima*, unlocking new outfits in *Ghost of Yotei* is consistently satisfying. Each armor set is beautifully designed, packed with detail, and offers extensive customization through dyes and combat bonuses, making it fun to collect and experiment with them all. However, *Ghost of Yotei* doesn’t have as many armor sets to choose from – only 12 – compared to the greater variety of headwear options like headbands, helmets, masks, and hats.

Finding good armor is really difficult in the game, so players will probably only have a few choices for the first 20 hours of gameplay. What’s even more frustrating is that, unlike many similar games, Ghost of Yotei doesn’t let you change how your armor looks without affecting its stats. This means you can’t create a favorite style and keep the best combat bonuses, forcing you to constantly swap between different armor sets, which can be annoying.

Limited Combat Builds Variety

More Weapons Are Added, but Still Not Enough Diverse Character Builds

Building on what we’ve already discussed, while *Ghost of Yotei* adds a lot more weapons for Atsu, it doesn’t really allow for unique combat styles, similar to the original game. The combat focuses on matching weapons to enemy weaknesses, and once Atsu is detected, switching between stealth and direct fighting becomes very difficult.

While the game offers a lot of charms and armor upgrades, most of them only provide small benefits, like a little extra health or making enemies slightly easier to defeat. The weapon skill trees are also fairly basic, and don’t offer enough powerful options to let players develop really unique ways to play.

Player Choices That Rarely Matter

Choices in Quests and Dialogues Often Feel Irrelevant

Sucker Punch didn’t set out to create sprawling, player-driven RPGs with *Ghost of Tsushima* or *Ghost of Yotei*. Because the main characters, Jin and Atsu, have already-defined personalities, the dialogue choices offered during quests often *feel* like they matter, but rarely have a significant impact. The way the system works in both games makes you wish your decisions could truly shape Atsu’s character and even lead to different endings.

The game often falls into a predictable pattern with enemy encounters. Almost every time, the last enemy gives up and provides a clue for what to do next. Players are frustrated by the inability to choose whether to show mercy or defeat their opponents, and this lack of control makes these encounters feel repetitive as the game goes on.

Poor Enemy Variety and Behavior

You Can Only Do So Much With Human Enemies

A common complaint about *Ghost of Tsushima* was that it didn’t have enough different types of enemies, which was somewhat expected considering the game’s focus on historical accuracy. *Ghost of Yotei* does add some new enemies with unique weapons and fighting styles, requiring players to change their tactics, but it still feels like more variety would have been better. Unfortunately, even some of the rarer creatures, like bears, are simply copied from *Ghost of Tsushima* and act identically.

Honestly, while I enjoyed the world of *Ghost of Yotei*, the enemies themselves felt a little…basic. They still do that annoying thing where they yell before shooting an arrow, even if they’re totally alone! And stealth was way too easy – I often found enemies just standing around with their backs turned, completely oblivious. The ‘terrified’ mechanic didn’t really add much either. It all meant that fights started feeling pretty samey after a while, which is a shame, and I’ll get into why a bit later.

Forced, Repetitive Combat Encounters

Every Mission or Quest Basically Ends the Same

Both *Ghost of Tsushima* and *Ghost of Yotei* offer fantastic combat, with smooth sword fighting, impactful finishing moves, and a natural, free-flowing style that doesn’t force you to lock onto enemies. However, *Ghost of Yotei*’s quests and battles don’t feel as fresh or imaginative as they could be, making the overall experience feel a bit dated.

Most side quests and missions follow a predictable pattern: just as Atsu or her allies are finishing up, enemies—bandits, mercenaries, or wandering samurai—suddenly appear and attack. This reliance on repetitive “enemy waves” feels especially dated and unnatural by 2025 gaming standards, becoming tiresome after only a short time. Because of this, the occasional, more natural encounter—like being ambushed by bounty hunters—or missions that don’t involve fighting at all, are particularly memorable. It’s also disappointing that, despite Atsu getting a spear similar to the one in *Ghost of Tsushima*, the game doesn’t include combat while riding a horse, which feels like a missed opportunity.

Overly Curated Cinematic Structure

The Game Takes Away Control Way Too Often

The quick escape sequence with no player input is a prime example of how *Ghost of Yotei* feels overly directed, much like its previous game and many PlayStation exclusives. Throughout the game, it constantly breaks up the action with black screens, short and often pointless cutscenes, characters abruptly moving to new areas you don’t see, or locations instantly changing even after exciting fights.

Often, the game prevents players from picking up items from defeated enemies or even putting their sword away on their own, even though the game *has* a system for doing so. While trying to deliver a dramatic story, *Ghost of Yotei* sometimes gets in the way of letting players truly feel present in the world or act as they please.

Tough But Unoriginal Boss Battles

The Duel System Is Great, but What About Surprises?

Like the first game, *Ghost of Yotei* features a fantastic duel system for fighting bosses and powerful enemies. These one-on-one fights are presented with dramatic camera work, evoking the feel of classic samurai movies and remaining both visually appealing and exciting. However, after experiencing it in a second game, the system begins to feel a little stale and could benefit from some new elements.

I was really impressed with the boss fights in *Assassin’s Creed Shadows – Claws of Awaji* – they were so unique and creative, everyone was talking about them! It would be amazing if *Ghost of Yotei* could shake things up a bit with its big boss battles too. Right now, they feel a little repetitive, just the same sword fights with the bosses doing slightly different things each time. A little more variety would be fantastic!

2025-10-07 22:56