Ghost of Yōtei Complete Edition lives up to its name with context that makes Atsu’s story better

If you were holding out on playing 2025’s Ghost of Yōtei, hoping to pick it up on sale, thank your stars; do the same even if you are midway through it playing it and have not finished it yet. There is a complete edition out now and it adds a lot of much needed context to Atsu’s storyline, which many felt was one of the weakest parts when compared to Ghost of Tsushima.

This version makes the mysterious protagonist formidable with the added backstory from the new expansion Echoes of Sekigahara. Also, Jin Sakai makes a comeback in the new game mode Most Wanted. 

Atsu takes on the Vipers, a shadowy group, who are the main antagonists in her story set in 16th century Ezo, known as Hokkaido today. One of her flashbacks later in the game take her to the time when she was a mercenary fighting during the legendary Battle of Sekigahara.

Atsu’s story has been a relentless blood-soaked tale of revenge against the Yōtei Six, driven by her trauma of witnessing her entire family get slaughtered. While vengeance plots are always one-note, Sekigahara introduces an old flame and shows a tender, vulnerable side to Atsu, infusing her character arc with a much needed emotional depth that sheds more light on her driven nature. 

The internet has a new heartthrob in Nagato, Atsu’s comrade, who fought with her in the past at the Battle of Sekigahara, and joins her in the present to clear off remaining Vipers. Their dynamic unfolds within the beautiful Ashoro Foothills, which are painted aflame with autumn colours that hide a shade of blood red at its war-torn underbelly.

While it is a shorter story and smaller area than Tsushima’s Iki, it is still a poignant addition to the core game that almost feels it belonged to the main one in the first place. If I put my tinfoil hat on for a moment, I would say it was neatly cut out for a future DLC, because it fits in so well.

Atsu was always proficient with several weapons and the complete edition adds more to her arsenal. To deal with the heavily-armoured Samurai deployed by the Vipers, you get a whole arsenal of heavy weapons. There is immense fun in picking up an oversized kanabō, a studded club I loved in Assassin’s Creed Shadows, to smash enemies with satisfying results.

You can find the otsuchi, a war hammer, the ono which is a massive axe and sasumata, a polearm, each with their own move sets. While it may not be Dynasty Warriors, it still has a fun little nod to it. Thankfully, Ashoro has its own bounty board to beat Vipers to a pulp or look for fancy new armour.

There are a lot of things to do in Ghost of Yōtei and there is one more excuse in the form of Most Wanted which adds rogue-like mechanics to the system where you not only play as Atsu, but also as her companions; as an added bonus you get Jin Sakai from Ghost of Tsushima.

The goal is to select waves and survive each one, earning more Mon (the currency), to unlock other characters, new weapons, cosmetics and more. The charm system, well, works like a charm to give you certain buffs to even the odds a bit. If you are into the Ghost games for fighting, then this is a superb mode. The co-op mode Legends is also back in this Yōtei iteration. 

For those of you who do not know, the true fun of Yōtei lies in the quiet moments riding across beautiful environments and feeling the digital wind in your hair. Just switch on Watanabe mode, a homage to Shinichiro Watanabe, famous for Samurai Champaloo, an anime that blends Samurai action with low-fi hip hop.

Yōtei’s Complete Edition brings Volume 2, which is just a music modifier, changing the soundtrack itself, but if you are a Champaloo fan, you will spend time at home exploring Yōtei or Ashoro to some jazz infused hip-hop tunes that put the ‘yo’ in Yōtei. This is my favourite way to play the game — Takashi Miike mode if you want to make the action more visceral with a closer camera and Watanabe mode to add style to your exploration. 

Turn that Nō-tei into Yōtei if you have been holding out on this incredible game, because Ghost of Yōtei Complete Edition lives up to its name. While it is a smaller update that did not require a yearly release, it is good it happened. It is worth returning to the game if you have finished it and if you have not, then you are in for a treat.