Ghost of Yotei Complete Edition review

Ghost of Yotei was one of the best games released last year. In my review I called it “A true love letter to classic samurai films…. wonderfully presented and an absolute joy to play.” Returning to it almost a year later has only solidified my view, with the game not only receiving multiple meaningful updates adding new content, features and additional polish, but now also an expansion and single-player roguelike mode. If you already own the base game you can upgrade at a very reasonable cost. Otherwise, you can pick up the new Ghost of Yotei Complete Edition.

Whatever you do, you’re in for a treat, especially on PS5 Pro. Ghost of Yotei is one of the most visually sunning games out there, with a beautiful open world to explore. It’s packed with things to do, too, so while you can just move from one story mission to the next if you wish, it genuinely pays to explore and engage with the game’s side-content. Do so, and you’ll find thrilling battles, humorous story beats, rewarding activities, and more.

Read my review of the base game if you want to know more about the experience at the heart of Ghost of Yotei Complete Edition. Here, I’m going to focus more on what’s new: the Echoes of Sekigahara story expansion and the new roguelike Most Wanted mode. In my opinion, if you already own the base game and have thoroughly enjoyed it, these new bits of content make the Complete Edition upgrade an absolute bargain.

The new story expansion for Ghost of Yotei, Echoes of Sekigahara, takes place during the game’s campaign. You’ll need to have made about ten hours or so progress to access it, having had to complete a number of key missions. That might disappoint you a little if you’ve already completed the game, then, and were hoping to see some of Atsu’s continued exploits. Instead, it gives us a closer glimpse into Atsu’s life before she embarked on her quest for revenge, while also offering an engaging modern-day narrative to boot.

Playing through Ghost of Yotei with access to Echoes of Sekigahara, you’ll eventually find an intriguing bounty to pick up. An acquaintance of Atsu’s before she headed north to hunt down the Yotei Six has been spotted in the nearby Ashoro Foothills, and so she feels compelled to confront him. Soon you find yourself in a new region where the Snake’s followers have run amok in his absence, and meeting Nagato, you’ll learn the reason for his appearance; a large amount of Lord Saito’s gold is believed to be in the region, which he wishes to liberate.

With lots of history between Atsu and Nagato, there’s tension in the air from the off. But the expansion finds them working together cautiously. A number of flashbacks will take you back to Sekigahara, where Atsu and Nagato once enjoyed time together while preparing for an upcoming battle. But most of your time will be spent in the present, exploring the Ahsoro Foothills while trying to look for leads as to the whereabout of Lord Saito’s stores of gold. Just completing the main story here will likely take you around 4-5 hours, but with more bounties to complete, tales to unravel and other activities to complete, you could easily spend a dozen hours or more in the new location.

As if that’s not reason enough to make the Complete Edition upgrade worthwhile, the new Most Wanted mode seals the deal. This single-player combat-focused mode lets you pick a target and then fight through waves of enemies in the hopes of defeating them. While numerous difficulty options are available, it’s anticipated that you’ll have a challenging time, and so roguelike elements have been baked in to add some randomisation and sense of progression.

Upon choosing a target and starting a new run, you’ll find yourself in a random location where you need to defeat numerous waves of enemies, and after that you’ll typically find yourself in a more challenging duel. You’ll repeat this pattern multiple times depending on the challenge level of your target, before ultimately facing off against them if you survive, with a selection of perks offered up between each bout of combat. Some might give you access to new weapons, while others might reward you for performing certain actions by summoning wolves or spawning bombs.

Success is not only based on your skill, then, but also the selection of perks you acquire. Though while these are lost upon death or the completion of a run, permanent upgrades are also available. Money earned during runs can be used to purchase a wide range of upgrades and new skills, while earning boss tokens will also allow you to unlock additional cosmetics. Even better, as you spend money, you’ll unlock additional playable characters, each with their own weapons and unique skills. While you’ll just start with Atsu available, then, over time you’ll unlock Oyuki, Nagato, and even Jin Sakai from Ghost of Tsushima.

Together with Echoes of Sekigahara, Most Wanted makes the Complete Edition upgrade for Ghost of Yotei excellent value for money, presenting yet another reason to return to the game time and time again thanks to its randomised combat encounters. Even better, the upgrade contains a wealth of additional extras, too, including some that were only previously available via the Digital Deluxe Edition of the game.

If you’ve played and enjoyed Ghost of Yotei and are after an excuse to return to the game and learn yet more about Atsu, consider the Complete Edition upgrade a must-have. Some story aspects of the Echoes of Sekigahara it might be a little awkward if you’re exploring Yotei post-game, but it’s engaging nonetheless, and the Most Wanted mode gives an easy way to jump into bouts of the game’s fantastic combat. And if you’ve not yet played Ghost of Yotei, well, the Complete Edition is no doubt the definitive way to play one of the PS5’s most impressive exclusives.