Ghost Of Yotei: Complete Edition Review - Echoes Of Excellence
Last year, I had the great pleasure of reviewing Sucker Punch Productions’ latest masterpiece, Ghost of Yotei, and Atsu’s adventure has lived rent-free in my mind for months since. While I’ve still sadly not returned for the multiplayer, I’ve been hanging on for an announcement like what we got for Echoes of Sekigahara. Like the Iki Island DLC for Ghost of Tsushima, Echoes of Sekigahara is a narrative expansion set in a new region of Ezo, Sekigahara, and threads straight into the core plot surrounding Atsu’s attempts to exact revenge on the Yotei Six. Paired with the release of Echoes of Sekigahara is Ghost of Yotei: Most Wanted, a roguelike-inspired mode that rounds out the additions to the Ghost of Yotei: Complete Edition. Having checked out all of the additional content, I’m confident to declare that the new content meets the high bar set by the initial release – so Ghost fans, come on back for more.
Echoes of Sekigahara is set during Atsu’s endeavours to eliminate the Yotei Six. Don’t worry, we don’t suddenly have a seventh member of the six to contend with, but as a result of Atsu’s slaying of ‘The Snake’ in the game’s opening hour, a void has opened in the region of Sekigahara, and a tussle for leadership has broken out, with many of the underling Vipers fighting to take the mantle as the new ‘Snake’. As word of the conflict reaches Atsu via the bounty board, she ventures to the region, rekindling relationships that were dormant for several years, as the game occasionally cuts from sequences years prior, before Atsu’s revenge kick begins, back to the present day. The story of Echoes of Sekigahara does not carry the weight that the core game does in terms of its overarching narrative, but it does introduce the player to a face from Atsu’s past, Nagato, who plays an important role in Atsu’s past and present, the spark of rekindling that relationship proving to be an important factor in the 3-5 hour campaign (depending on how much you engage with side-content).
The Sekigahara region is quite small, relative to the broader Ezo region you can explore in the main game, but the tight confines of the region greet players with some fascinating environments to explore, a small selection of foxes to track, and bamboo cuts to complete, and viper encampments to wipe from the map. Like mainland Ezo, Sekigahara is a gorgeous environment to explore, despite the destruction inflicted by the Vipers on the native wildlife. Exploring it all may take you little more than a lengthy night with the controller in hand, as you explore the main narrative, take out some bounty targets, and explore some of the core side-quests, but you’ll find that the quality is parallel to the main quest itself.
Then there is the Most Wanted mode. Roguelike-inspired at its core, the player can choose from a range of the Yotei Six to attempt to take down. To do so, you need to pass through several waves of encounters, making important choices about run-specific upgrades as you navigate your way through each wave, and eventually take on a member of the Six. Along the way, you will earn currency which, post-run, can be spent on a range of upgrades, from damage output to other buffs, that increase your ability to succeed in subsequent runs. Similar to other PlayStation Studios roguelike endeavours (seriously, check it out; they’re accumulating a few now, from The Last of Us to God of War, and now this), the mode caters to less experienced fans well, with difficulty sliders allowing you to crank things right down if you wish, or, conversely, if you’re looking for some real rigour, dialling the difficulty right up. There’s plenty of depth to be found in the mode for those looking to pick at the seams a little bit, and while the mode is standalone within the Yotei purchase (much like Legends), it should not be dismissed as a throwaway add-on. Also, who can possibly say no to the opportunity to return to the shoes of Jin Sakai as a playable option, either?
Ghost of Yotei: Complete Edition combines an exceptional core campaign, with the already added Legends mode, and now two wonderful new additions, Echoes of Sekigahara and Most Wanted, to form the most feature-rich Sucker Punch title in their history. Complete Edition sets a new bar of excellence that the studio will need to reach for each subsequent title, for a meagre sum of ~$20 AUD atop the game you’ve already purchased, and likely adored. Go get it.
Ghost Of Yotei: Complete Edition was reviewed on PS5 Pro with a code kindly provided by PlayStation Australia.
