Ghost of Yotei Complete Edition Review: Echoes of Excellence

In most cases, expansions can only be as good as the base game. They can address faults and introduce new features, but they rarely radically change the experience of playing the game. Even the best story DLCs like Blood and Wine and Phantom Liberty stand on the shoulders of excellent games—The Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077. If the foundations are shaky, new floors are not going to improve the building.

Ghost of Yotei's new story expansion, Echoes of Sekigahara, is similarly held back by the limits of its foundations. Sucker Punch's follow-up to Ghost of Tsushima was a robust sequel with modest ambitions. It refined the diegetic open world exploration and slick swordplay of Tsushima, but did little to distinguish itself from its predecessor. Ghost of Yotei's worst offense was that, despite its excellence, it was safe. The game's new expansion is guilty of the same.

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The Echoes of Sekigahara narrative expansion arrives as part of a Complete Edition package that also includes a new single-player combat survival mode and some quality-of-life updates. The DLC adds a new story chapter to Atsu's journey, a new map region, and new gear for the protagonist. Ghost of Yotei had teased glimpses of Atsu's past before she went on her quest for revenge against the Yotei Six, the band of outlaws in Japan's northernmost frontier that had killed her family and left her for dead. Echoes of Sekigahara confronts that past head-on.

The expansion is split between Atsu's present-day timeline that takes her to the Ashoro Foothills, a new explorable region in Ezo, and flashbacks to her time on the Japanese mainland when she took part in the historic Battle of Sekigahara three years before the events of the main game. Nagato, a key figure from Atsu's past, threads both these timelines. At Sekigahara, he was her mentor and companion. Now in Ezo, he returns as memory made flesh, bringing echoes of a time Atsu left behind.

With Nagato, Ghost of Yotei attempts to bring the possibility of a different kind of life for its protagonist, one that is not driven by a singular pursuit of vengeance. In flashbacks of Atsu's time with Nagato, as they prepare to head into the Battle of Sekigahara, we see her entertain the idea of staying back after the battle and not going to Ezo in search of the Yotei Six. These flashbacks stand out in Echoes of Sekigahara, showing a side of Atsu we did not get to see in Ghost of Yotei. But when the action shifts to present-day Ezo, the expansion closely resembles the main game, not only in gameplay but also in narrative choices.

Nagato, a former mentor and companion to Atsu, is the focus of the story in Echoes of Sekigahara
Photo Credit: Sony/ Sucker Punch (Screenshot – Manas Mitul)

Atsu's reunion with Nagato isn't easy, but they form a temporary alliance to loosen the tightly coiled grip of the Vipers, a new faction of outlaws, on Ashoro Foothills. Together, they help the valley's residents and thwart the Vipers' attempts to plunder gold and resources from the region. Although the introduction of a romantic interest feels fresh, Atsu and Nagato's relationship takes predictable turns as you watch them grow close after initial friction. And just when you feel the story might let the two rekindle their fondness for each other, the game ends up giving up on any new or meaningful change in Atsu's outcomes.

Like the base game, however, Echoes of Sekigahara excels at creating grand, evocative cinematic sequences, whether it is the explosive action set piece of the Battle of Sekigahara or the quiet, meditative ride into Ashoro Foothills when you first reach the new region. Located on the eastern edge of the Ezo map in Ghost of Yotei, Ashoro Foothills used to be the stomping ground of the Snake, one of the Yotei Six Atsu dispatched in the base game. The valley has since been devastated by infighting amongst the Vipers, a group once loyal to the Snake and now clamouring to fill the power vacuum left behind by the outlaw's death.

Echoes of Sekigahara has plenty of cinematic moments, just as evocative as they were in the main game
Photo Credit: Sony/ Sucker Punch (Screenshot – Manas Mitul)

The new region does little to stand out from other parts of Ezo seen in Ghost of Yotei, but it is just as stunning as any other area in the game. And just as Mount Yotei was a constant presence in the main game, Mount Akan forms the picturesque backdrop of the Ashoro Foothills in the expansion. The region also brings its own set of side quests and activities, new armour sets, dyes, and a couple of new abilities. Atsu can now pluck incoming arrows out of the air and summon wolves at will to take down enemies.

Echoes of Sekigahara also introduces a new Massive weapon category that allows Atsu to temporarily wield two-handed heavy weapons like great axes and Kanabos and deal devastating damage to foes. The new weapon category also has its own upgrade path, allowing for greater proficiency. But these additions aren't big enough to make the combat and gameplay in Echoes of Sekigahara feel fresh. I still did a lot of what I did in the main game, but I didn't mind the repetition because of the strength of Sucker Punch's action-combat sandbox. It was, in fact, a fun return to the excellent combat of Ghost of Yotei, with a few new tricks and tools at my disposal.

Ashoro Foothills is just as stunning as any other region in Ghost of Yotei
Photo Credit: Sony/ Sucker Punch (Screenshot – Manas Mitul)

Ghost of Yotei's smooth swordplay truly shines in the Most Wanted mode, the new combat survival gauntlet added to the game as part of the story DLC and Complete Edition update. The roguelite survival mode puts Atsu on a boss-rush bounty run, featuring waves of enemies with escalating difficulty and culminating in a boss fight against a member of the Yotei Six. During the run, you can unlock random perks that add new weapons and abilities to your arsenal. And as you accumulate gold during your runs, you can spend it to unlock new playable characters, including Jin Sakai, the protagonist of Ghost of Tsushima.

Each playable character comes with distinct combat advantages, including a unique Ultimate finisher and a killstreak ability, adding variety to repeated bounty runs. Rotating combat challenges, scenarios, and environments also help runs feel fresh. Without predictable narrative threads holding it back, the game's excellent combat system feels unshackled in the Most Wanted mode.

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Jin Sakai returns in Ghost of Yotei's Most Wanted mode
Photo Credit: Sony/ Sucker Punch

The Echoes of Sekigahara story expansion and the roguelike survival mode are robust and satisfying additions to Ghost of Yotei, but they fall short of greatness, as the base game does. There is enough content in the DLC to justify the $15 price tag for the upgrade for existing owners and fans of the game, but it is unlikely to persuade people who were unconvinced by Ghost of Yotei in the first place.

Echoes of Sekigahara introduces new narrative themes but develops them in ways nearly identical to the main game. And the DLC does very little to meaningfully refresh the gameplay experience of Ghost of Yotei. But if you haven't experienced Ezo in its wild splendour, the $70 Complete Edition package, with the story DLC and the Most Wanted mode as added incentives, makes an already excellent game even easier to recommend.

Ghost of Yotei Complete Edition was released on October 1 on PS5.

Pricing starts at Rs. 4,999 on the PlayStation Store.