There are so many exciting games releasing in 2025, from Xbox and PlayStation exclusives to surprising indies and AA masterpieces like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. It is a great time to be a fan of games, especially if you’re subscribed to Game Pass. However, while there are undoubtedly more amazing games releasing this year than I can count, there are a few that I am a tad worried about. Some have looked a little janky from the start, while others have promise, but there’s a facet or two about their design that’s concerning.
One of the most anticipated games of 2025 falls into this category, despite there being so much hype behind it. I wanted so badly to love it, to immediately like everything about it, but a part of it felt severely disappointing, so much so that I was ready to write the game off completely. Fortunately, a last-minute update from the developer that reveals a little bit more about it has put my mind at ease and assured me that this will likely be another amazing game.
I Was Extremely Worried About Ghost Of Yotei
Its Story Sounded Suspiciously Familiar
One of Ghost of Tsushima’s worst features was its approach to storytelling. It lacked the staunch linearity that I enjoy in other single-player experiences, instead opting for a more freeform mission structure that enabled players to pick and choose which missions to complete and when. It wasn’t entirely non-linear, but it certainly teetered on the edge of being completely open to the player, rather than guided.
I had feared that Ghost of Yotei would copy this approach to mission design, and that fear was compounded by the conflicting State of Play. It more or less seemed to imply that players would be able to tackle the game’s main villains, the Yotei Six, in whatever order they please. Naturally, that sounded a lot like Assassin’s Creed Shadows, a game with a similarly weak non-linear narrative. That freeform approach means no actions you take can mean anything, as the game has to accommodate for you doing everything in any order.
Fortunately, Yotei isn’t taking that approach at all. In fact, contrary to my previous beliefs, Yotei is very different from Shadows, as the game’s developers have been quite outspoken about how they balanced the game’s structure with their desire to promote freedom in exploration. It’s all a little complicated, but anyone worrying that Yotei would copy Shadows‘ greatest flaws can rest assured that it is going in a very different direction.
Ghost Of Yotei Has A Linear Story
The Yotei Six Are Just A Part Of It
In an interview with Game Informer, Sucker Punch Productions’ Creative Director Jason Connell spoke about how they attempted to balance a structured narrative with the ability to go anywhere at any time. He stressed that it was important for them to create a cohesive narrative that is impactful and full of heartwrenching moments, which is exactly what I would want from a single-player narrative-focused experience. He explained:
It’s not that you can pick any order of the six […] It’s really important to us that we develop great characters with good arcs with beginning, middles, and ends […] There’s a bit more choice in there, but there’s still a linear story structure that we really believe in to make sure that Atsu’s vengeance quest tears at the heartstrings. That’s the ultimate goal.
Of course, Yotei’s world is enormous, far bigger than Tsushima’s, and so players can expect there to be a lot of different stories happening all over the place. The way Connell describes it is letting the player “bop back and forth between” what they find interesting at that moment. That sounds a lot like Tsushima, which is somewhat worrying. However, the key point is that the Yotei Six aren’t just targets for Atsu to hunt at her leisure.
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For Ghost Of Yotei To Succeed, It Needs To Borrow Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ Best Idea
Ghost of Yotei will almost certainly be an incredible game, but if it is to truly succeed, it needs to borrow Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ best mechanic.
They’re part of a more structured and guided story within the vast open sandbox. Additionally, in an interview with Games Radar, Connell explained that the Yotei Six and, more specifically, Atsu’s quest for revenge, are just “the start – absolutely not the whole thing.” Obviously, that implies there’s far more going on in its story than merely hunting down the people who murdered Atsu’s family, which is refreshing to say the least after having slogged through Shadows. Frankly, all of it sounds like a vast improvement over Tsushima, which felt a little too loose, and especially Shadows.
Ghost Of Yotei Isn’t Like Assassin’s Creed Shadows
There Isn’t The Same Level Of Freedom
I think Shadows preemptively ruined a lot of my hype for Ghost of Yotei, especially after Yotei’s Onryo trailer dropped. That felt as if Sucker Punch Productions were taunting us as it dropped a month after Shadows had released, and seemed to imply they shared the exact same plot. Even Jin’s voice actor, Daisuke Tsuji, expressed concerns that the two games shared a lot of similarities in an interview with the YouTube channel GeekHeavy.
Connell’s words have dispelled that notion for me, though, and I’m pretty confident after the lengthy State of Play and the reassuring update that we have little to worry about. Ghost of Yotei may share some narrative similarities with Shadows, but the core experience from gameplay to structure will feel vastly different. We will hopefully get a guided narrative that is surrounded by a vast open-world sandbox, which feeds directly into the core gameplay mechanics and loop.
It is always possible that Ghost of Yotei launches with an extremely loose and disjointed narrative, but that doesn’t seem like Sucker Punch Production’s modus operandi. I have faith that Yotei is on track to be as heartwrenching as Connell is hyping it up to be. Honestly, I’m beginning to think that we’ll all need to bring a big box of tissues when we play what will almost certainly be one of PlayStation’s greatest exclusives.
Source: Game Informer, Games Radar, GeekHeavy/YouTube
Ghost of Yotei
- Released
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October 2, 2025
- Developer(s)
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Sucker Punch
- Publisher(s)
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Sony Interactive Entertainment
- Number of Players
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Single-player
- PS5 Release Date
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October 2, 2025
