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Ghost of Yōtei is a standalone PS5 story set in 1600s rural Japan, following Atsu across Ezo. Its open world lets you choose which member of the Yōtei Six to pursue first, while optional targets, bounties, weapon sensei and campfires give you room to wander. There is no officially established best early route or mandatory weapon: follow the lead that interests you, and adjust combat and accessibility options to suit how you want to play.
What should you do first in Ghost of Yōtei?
Choose a lead, rather than trying to clear every activity as soon as it appears. PlayStation says you can select which of the Yōtei Six to hunt first; the official overview does not rank targets or identify a best starting route. If one lead grabs your attention, follow it. If you would rather explore, take a detour for another dangerous target, a bounty, or a weapon sensei.
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Ghost of Yōtei PS5 | $53.99 | Buy on Amazon |
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Ghost of Yotei (PS5) | $52.95 | Buy on Amazon |
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Riders Republic PlayStation 5 Standard Edition | $25.95 | Buy on Amazon |
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Perp The Persistence Enhanced Amélioré(e) Anglais PlayStation 5 | $18.18 | Buy on Amazon |
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Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut | $43.80 | Buy on Amazon |
Weapon sensei teach skills, making them a useful optional stop when you want to broaden your combat options. You can also build a campfire anywhere in the open world. Treat these activities as ways to shape your own pace, not as prerequisites for a particular “correct” build. PlayStation’s open-world overview confirms the choice of target order and these exploration activities.
How to approach combat without chasing a “best” weapon
Experiment with the weapons and skills available to you, and use weapon sensei as an opportunity to learn more. The official materials describe multi-weapon combat but do not establish exact weapon-versus-enemy counters or a universally best weapon. Be wary of rigid matchup charts presented as official rules.
#1 Best Overall
- Stunning graphics and gameplay, explore the wild and striking lands around Mount Yotei on foot or horseback. Travel picturesque parts of northern Japan through grasslands, snowy ridges, fields of wildflowers, and more.
- Discover renegade combat, engage in lawless katana combat and battles with adversaires. Train with various sensei as you find and learn to use each new weapon.
- An unconventional story and journey, take in the cultural beauty of Japan, bathe in an onsen, visit shrines to pray, try Sumi-e painting, and so much more.
- Choose your weapon, battle Atsu's opponents as you see fit, with levelled-up dual katanas, odachi, kusarigama and other new weapons.
If a fight feels confusing or too demanding, change the relevant in-game options before assuming you need a different build. Enhanced combat clues make parry and dodge visuals larger; projectile indicators flag incoming ranged attacks; aim assist can help with aimed attacks; and custom combat difficulty lets you adjust the challenge. These are options to tune to your needs, not a prescribed optimal setup.
Settings that can make play clearer or easier
PlayStation Support lists the following options in the game’s settings. The best combination depends on whether you want clearer visual cues, less input pressure, or a different level of combat challenge.
Rank #2
- Discover a bold, new story of a warrior in Japan who is on her own mission of vengeance.
- Set 300 years after the critically acclaimed Ghost of Tsushima, Ghost of Yōtei is a 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.
- Sixteen years after her family’s death, Atsu’s quest across Ezo brings her to unexplored lands in search of a gang of six outlaws, but she finds much more than vengeance. Throughout her journey, Atsu will discover unlikely allies, and greater bonds than she could have imagined.
- For clearer combat cues: turn on enhanced combat clues for larger parry and dodge visuals, and projectile indicators for incoming ranged attacks. Options also include dark flashes for Blind Bombs and offscreen detection indicators.
- For navigation: enhanced Guiding Wind visibility can make the wind easier to see, and a camera nudge can point the camera in its direction.
- For aiming and difficulty: try aim assist if aimed attacks are difficult, or adjust custom combat difficulty if you want a different combat challenge.
- For less button timing or holding: simplified rapid button presses remove timing pressure from certain sequences, and simplified button holds can reduce the need to hold a control.
- For readability: options include large text, subtitle backdrops, character names in subtitles and selectable subtitle colors. A persistent center dot is also available.
- For specific activities: the options include a Zeni Hajiki shot-power display and button alternatives for forging and campfire controls.
Try one change at a time if you are unsure which setting will help, then keep or undo it based on how it feels. The official accessibility options list documents these controls.
Photo Mode: shape a scene, not just the camera
Photo Mode offers controls for both composition and atmosphere. You can set focal length from 12mm to 300mm, adjust depth of field from off or f/1.2 to f/63, set focus distance from 0.1m to 200m, and change exposure bias from -5.0 to 5.0. The mode also includes color grading, particles, time of day, weather and aspect-ratio options such as 21:9 and 32:9.
Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsRank #3
- Battle against over 50 players simultaneously in a massive multiplayer playground.
- Compete in an all-out mass start race—collide, grind, and fight your way to the finish
- Customize your character to show off your style to your friends or show up the competition.
- Bike, ski, snowboard, or wingsuit through a seamless open world in Career mode or multiplayer events.
- Go wild on the heights of iconic US national parks like Yosemite, Zion, and Bryce Canyon.
For a quick creative change, shift the time of day or cloud cover to alter a scene’s mood. Tilting the camera a few degrees creates a Dutch angle that can add energy. Tracking shots let you place up to 16 camera positions for an animated move. These are creative controls, not gameplay requirements; Sony’s Photo Mode guide describes the available tools.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What unlocks after the main story?
New Game Plus
New Game Plus unlocks after you finish the main story. In patch 1.100.000, Sony added harder difficulty options, two trophies, another upgrade tier for existing armor and weapons, and post-game replay with a stats display. A new vendor accepts Ghost Flowers for more than 30 cosmetics, including armor sets and weapon dyes, as well as 10 charms. Sony’s announcement says an internet connection and PlayStation account are required for the update’s features. See the New Game Plus announcement for the update details.
Rank #4
- PS5 Features include raytracing modes and immersive haptic feedback for DualSense
- Use darkness and cover to avoid being overwhelmed by the ship's deadly new inhabitants
- Seek out the weapon fabricators to increase your firepower as you journey deeper, into the dark and terrifying depths, but beware ammo is limited
- Gather materials & schematics for weapon upgrades and suit customizations with buffs
- Harvest DNA material to improve health, toughness and defensive capabilities.Survive an ever changing labyrinth. Each and every expedition into The Persistence will be disorienting and different.Death is just the beginning. Fatal encounters will result in Zimri's consciousness being uploaded into a new cloned body, ready to try again, with any upgraded stats, suits & weapon schematics kept to aid the next attempt to save the ship
Expansion and additional modes
PlayStation Store’s Complete Edition description lists Echoes of Sekigahara as a story expansion, Most Wanted as a combat survival mode, and Ghost of Yōtei Legends as cooperative play with Survival, Story and Incursion modes. The listing says the expansion and Most Wanted content are included via patch v2.0 or later. Availability and what is bundled can vary by territory and edition, so check the current Store listing for your region. Online play has account and PlayStation Plus requirements. The US PlayStation Store Complete Edition listing is one regional listing, not a guarantee of identical availability everywhere.
In Most Wanted, choose a bounty from a board, fight waves and minibosses, then spend Mon between runs on techniques, weapon upgrades, charms and characters. Cosmetics earned in the mode also unlock in the main game. Details are on PlayStation’s Most Wanted page.
Quick Recap
Best Value
- Beyond war, ancient beauty endures: Roam vast countryside and expansive terrain to encounter rich characters, discover ancient landmarks and uncover the hidden beauty of Tsushima.
- The rise of the Ghost: Seek support from old friends and new unlikely allies to reclaim Tsushima.
- Mud, Blood and steel: challenge opponents with your katana for an immersive Samurai combat experience.
- Become legends together: play with friends or via online matchmaking in a series of two-player story missions or four-player wave-based survival missions in the legends online co-op
- A whole new island to explore: Travel to Iki Island to investigate rumors of a Mongol presence in a brand-new story with deeply personal stakes.
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