I have caught myself reliving riding my horse across Ghost of Yotei’s landscape of 17th-century Japan almost every time I’ve put the game down since starting it.

From the simplest of jogs between locations, or the longest of horse rides across sweeping lands, through fields, and over rivers, there’s just something truly beautiful about it that has consumed me.

And while the world of Ghost of Yotei is one of the best I’ve played in years, and one of the most spectacular things about the game, it’s only one of a number of highlights in the PS5 exclusive.

The worldbuilding and sense of place the lands offer is supported by an epic tale that twists and turns, an interesting protagonist who develops as the story goes, multi-faceted, immense, and bloody, moreish combat, and a smattering of enjoyable open-world and role-playing game (RPG) staples. Which, even though they can be repetitive sometimes, also bring much value and meat to the experience.

It wears the influence of its predecessor on its sleeve prominently, but Ghost of Yotei has been more than worth the wait.

A tale for the ages

Set a few hundred years after Ghost of Tsushima, you are Atsu an outlaw making a return to her homeland of Ezo with revenge on the mind. Be prepared to hear the phrase “The Yotei Six” an awful lot in the first half of the main story in particular, as that is who Atsu is chasing down: six masked-up baddies who inflicted great pain on her and her family when she was a child.

Complemented by intriguing flashbacks that give greater context to that original pain, the story of Atsu chasing after these six almost-mythical enemies is an epic one. It has twists and turns and is deeply cinematic and gripping, and Atsu and the change she experiences along the way make her a compelling protagonist. You can feel the anger and deliberation in her encounters, in her visceral combat actions; and you can see how her relentless pursuit of justice changes her outlook along the way, too.

And while the premise of hunting down the six masked big bads is similar to Assassin’s Creed: Shadows, a linear revenge tale, and checking off an assassination hitlist, this is not. There are more layers to the story and to each of the narratives around the enemies to get stuck into.

Experiencing the beauty of nature

That stylish way that the story is delivered is indicative of the lands that it takes place in, too - as well as how you explore it.

Firstly, the scenery and sense of place in the game’s landscapes and environments are wonderful. From expansive, sweeping fields of grasses and flowers bathed in sunshine, to the icy mountainsides of an arctic, wintry region. And from the spring-like, verdant, and lush fluvial landscapes either side of meandering waterways to the gorgeous and blinding oranges and golds of hundreds of trees in their autumn form, all four seasons are draped over the landscapes of Ghost of Yotei beautifully.

As well as offering sheer beauty, everything seems truly part of the environment; each location does seem purposefully placed, sprouting from the ground or perched on it intentionally.

There’s also a wider use of the landscape to create ‘landscape moments’ as I call them; using the wind for guidance is a sheer joy once again, throwing up thousands of flower petals as you bound across plains is a thrill, and there’s a few moments where your ride across the countryside or along winding tracks is accompanied by wonderful and haunting songs.

Mapping an adventure

Taking the importance of the landscape and environment further is Atsu’s in-game map, the way objectives are presented, and also how exploration and discovery work.

In short, the map is outstanding. Its art style is gorgeous, and the way icons and your travel route appear on it like paintings is great. Additionally, cartographers’ maps can be bought and placed over areas on your own map to reveal locations in an incredibly satisfying way that brings the map to life as opposed to being a static resource. This is echoed by other locations on the map being slightly animated, rather than just quest markers on a static background.

The details are excellent here, too. For example, if it's raining in the world, you’ll see a pitter-patter of raindrops fall on your map. Teaming this map with your spyglass makes for satisfying exploration that nails the ‘see that over there, mark it, and go there’ incentive, which is key to a well-done RPG world.

Additionally, there isn’t a smattering of side quest markers on the map or a list of text in your menu - there’s a superb card system instead, which is stylish and artsy - and you can stumble across simple side encounters naturally through exploration. It’s a world that demands to be explored, and its slowly revealing open zones in the open world are filled with things to see and do, and are more densely filled than massive, open, and empty.

Put them to the sword

However, it’s not just style and aesthetics and a stacked world; there’s plenty of substance elsewhere in Ghost of Yotei, and at the forefront of that is Atsu’s violent, bloody, and super-slick combat.

With access to five melee weapons when fully kitted out, Atsu can cut through hosts of enemies with ease and grace; it really can be like a dance, almost, and chaining together parries, strikes, weapon swaps, and dodges to seamlessly work between enemies and cut them down is almost poetic.

The violence and bloodshed are incredibly graphic - something that I’ve greatly enjoyed upping the ante on by playing in the game’s Miike mode - but also arty and make for extremely reactive visuals to this dance too.

At the core of the combat is, of course, the weapons and toolset open to Atsu. Yotei does away with the different stances to combat different enemies and weapon types, and instead gives you an arsenal of different weapons to use.

Each will work against anybody, but it pays to know your katana from your Kusarigama and who best to fight with each, for example - however, each weapon is excellent, dynamic, and exciting to use and master. I greatly enjoyed the process of acquiring these weapons through quests, too. Each expert you find for the weapons feels organic and feeds into Atsu's learning and developing skills to be best equipped to fulfill her revenge mission.

The bows in Yotei are once again satisfying to use, and while the rifle is an option, I barely used it - though finishing a stand off with a quick, hip fire shot of the pistol is dead cool. Complementing this are some ranged throwables you can use, such as firebombs to wreak havoc on groups of enemies, and quickfire kunai knives.

Armor always plays a part by offering perks that can be boons to different play styles. You can gain new sets to obtain with mysterious side quests or tasks, and they can be upgraded - but your main Ghost one is upgraded through the main story.

Style *and* substance

There’s plenty of opportunity to customize Atsu’s gear, too, and there’s clearly an emphasis on this. You can work to find resources for weapon and armor upgrades, and a whole raft of charms - themselves upgradeable through in-game tasks or actions - can give you edges in certain play styles. However, you can also enjoy a whole host of cosmetic upgrades to give Atsu the perfect look.

There are loads of skill trees and options to explore and acquire to enhance Atsu along your journey too. Each weapon has its own tree; there are some skills relating to Atsu’s survivor background (reducing fall damage, etc), and even some that relate to help you can sometimes get from a wolf companion.

You’ll unlock these abilities by bowing in front of altars. These can be found out in the wild on their own, or be tied to clearing camps of badmen. I appreciate the simplicity of this, but to mirror the location-specific skills of those who can teach Atsu skills, it could have added a further layer by tying certain abilities to certain altars or locations to give some geography-based nuance - i.e., certain skills can only be acquired at specific altars, for example.

Putting all of that to practical application is fantastic. Whether you’re absorbing the main quest line, or going off the beaten track to hunt down challenging or intriguing bounties, exploring myths and legends, or simply clearing out bandit camps to rid the land of baddies, utilizing Atsu’s wealth of combat approaches - either stealthily or head-on - is a joy.

On the whole, I have found myself preferring head-on combat. There is a good balance between stealth and combat - but I prefer the stealth found in Assassin’s Creed Shadows. Charging in and beating goons of all types and sizes, and bosses, with Atsu’s beastly weapons is so moreish.

Either way, whatever you choose, there’s excellence and mileage in both approaches, I’ve found. Utilizing tall grass to sneak around camps and pick off guards with a bow or with distant assassinations with the Kusarigama - a personal favorite - is brilliant. However, nothing quite hits like taking out a few pesky ranged enemies before engaging in a standoff to dispatch a host of guards. Throw in Atsu’s Onryo's Howl skill - a banshee-like scream you can blast toward your enemies, causing them to cower in fear.

A near-perfect cut

Are there creases in all this bloody brilliance, though? Of course, but only a few that I found that impacted my enjoyment. While I’m always one to sink dozens of hours into an open world, checking activities off a list, I did feel a bit of fatigue when stumbling across a vast number of the same activities such as bamboo cuts, hot springs, and altars.

The number of which also impacted the sense of exploration and discovery that the world is generally so good at. Elsewhere, the conversation options you get don’t seem to make a huge impact on encounters or quests I’ve found, which is a shame, and there are some strange moves later in the story that reintroduce tutorial-like sections that affect pacing.

However, one thing that is a fierce double-edged sword for Yotei is the game that came before it, as it wears the influence of Ghost of Tsushima and all that made that game excellent proudly on its sleeve. As a result, in a similar way to Horizon Forbidden West, there’s a lot of iteration on established features and facets.

Golden birds and foxes are present again, breaking guards in combat with heavy attacks is key again, and acquiring charms from shrines up broken pathways are back, to name a couple of examples. This might disappoint some, but it also offers ‘more of the same’ of one of the most memorable and enjoyable games of the last five years.

Technically, however, Ghost of Yotei does a lot to make itself feel like the PS5 exclusive we’ve been waiting for. The Ray Tracing Pro mode available on the PS5 Pro is superb and has offered a fault-free and technically excellent experience for my entire 55+ hours, but it’s the DualSense integration that is a real highlight.

Those raindrops I mentioned earlier falling on your map? You can feel those on the controller, along with rain on Atsu in the world; the balance of your instrument’s music coming from the main speakers with that of the DualSense’s speaker is a delight, painting sumi-e with flicks across the touchpad is superb, and you can even blow in the microphone to help light your campfires.

If there was any other indication needed to show what I think of Ghost of Yotei, then it’s the fact that I have kept playing the game, long after finishing the story and almost all of the quests, and am committed to going for the platinum trophy.

Yes, those few slight gripes hold it back from true generational greatness, but I’m already planning my way mentally across the map, strategizing weapon swaps and attack combos in my mind, and this is simply a world worth committing dozens of hours to, and I'm going to drink it all up.

Should you play Ghost of Yotei?

Play it if...

Don't play it if...

Accessibility

Ghost of Yotei's accessibility features are a little lighter than some of its PS5 first-party contemporaries. There are no colorblind options, which is a shame, for example.

Elsewhere, you do have options for subtitle size and color, you can increase gameplay clues and visibility, and simplify control schemes for things like campfires and forging, and also get some assistance for combat, such as projectile indicators.

How I reviewed Ghost of Yotei

Totalling more than 55 hours of testing, I reviewed Ghost of Yotei on a PS5 Pro teamed with a Samsung Q6F 55-inch 4K QLED TV and Samsung soundbar, and carried out some brief testing on a PS5 Slim combined with an Acer X32QFS gaming monitor and a Yamaha SR-C20A soundbar. On both machines, I used a standard DualSense Wireless controller, and I also spent many hours playing the game on my PlayStation Portal. When using a headset, I used a Drop + EPOS PC38X wired gaming headset combined with a Creative Sound BlasterX G6 on my PS5 Pro, and a SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7 wireless gaming headset on the PS5 Slim.

I tested the game thoroughly in all its graphics modes and found its Ray Tracing Pro mode on PS5 Pro to be the best way to play on Sony’s premium console. I also played chunks of the game on several of the difficulty levels to explore and experience the different challenges in the combat, and tried out the different filmic modes too, with my favorite being the Miike mode by far.

First reviewed September 2025

Silent Hill f is one of the most imaginative, compelling, and striking experiences I’ve had this year. Neobards has also made one of the most tedious, infuriating, and badly designed survival horror games I’ve ever played. We’ve all seen fascinating ideas mired by flawed mechanics countless times in the past, but it’s been a long time since I’ve wanted to completely walk away from a game just as much as I want to press on to see what revelations it has for me.

It’s this back-and-forth that I’m struggling to reconcile when settling on what I really think about Silent Hill f. Some will despise it for its dire combat, inconsistent atmosphere, and poor execution. To others, this will be a game of the year contender, with its beguiling mythology, gorgeous cinematic direction, and audacious design choices. I support the argument from both sides.

We play as Hinako, a young adult in 1960s Japan. She’s dealing with an abusive alcoholic father, a despondent mother, and a previously tight-knit friendship group that’s starting to show some cracks as emotions and hormones run high. The game’s themes are heavy, with gender, puberty, marriage, motherhood, family, friendship, and maturity just some of the topics that cult-favorite writer Ryukishi07 engages with throughout the story. I don’t have enough praise for the daring and uncompromising ways it engages with these big ideas.

Beautiful nightmare

It helps that the outstanding performances, stellar cinematic presentation, and moody music elevate many of the game’s biggest story beats and give them the weight they deserve. Silent Hill f may sometimes look a bit plain, but it certainly knows how to frame some grotesque and gorgeous imagery or give a performance the time and attention it needs to shine, especially in the game’s original Japanese dub.

It’s a shame the same can’t be said for all of the game’s environments, which swing from the signature foggy alleyways and disgusting visera-covered hallways of the series, to places that are too bright, too mundane, and too, well, clean.

There were brief moments where I was creeped out by the atmosphere (those scarecrows are pure nightmare fuel), but mostly I felt like a tourist taking a casual stroll through a town or temple in some inclement weather. That's a shame for a series that has mastered creating a feeling of dread with every step so many times in the past.

Silent Hill f also mixes up the exploration with a smattering of puzzles that we’ve come to expect from these games. These range from neat little brainteasers to cryptic nonsense, sometimes actually making less sense than what’s supposed to be the easier puzzle difficulty.

What also doesn’t help with the pacing is the way the game jumps between what is ostensibly the real world and a mystical otherworld throughout. Naturally, the two are intrinsically linked, but the transitions between the two are often contrived or completely unexplained, giving the game an inelegant and disjointed structure.

But these disappointing missteps are nothing in comparison to the one element that Silent Hill f gets severely wrong: the combat.

Lost in the fog

The majority of Silent Hill protagonists have (intentionally) never been adept at fighting, which has led to a series of awkward and cumbersome combat systems. Most of them, though, are serviceable. Silent Hill f’s is one of the worst I’ve experienced.

It’s all melee-based and a basic light and heavy attack affair, but it layers on unnecessary system after unnecessary system to try and stretch out of its terrible combat mechanics. There’s stamina, there’s a sanity bar, there are focus attacks, there’s weapon durability, there’s perfect dodges, and counterattacks. All of this mess just to try and bolster the simple act of whacking a horrific manifestation with a lead pipe.

None of it helps. It’s painfully slow and frustratingly sludgy, like Hinako is always trying to swing through mud. Hits have no satisfying impact unless you charge up attacks every time, which you will have to do continuously, because it's the only consistent way to stun and kill enemies with any speed.

Enemies, meanwhile, are such jittery and erratic nightmares that it’s impossible to read them, and the dodge is so janky or the window to counter so small that by the time you realise an attack is coming in, it’s too late, you’ve already been slashed or spat on or lunged at. The dodge is the most hilarious and out-of-place choice, which sees Hinako dart about six feet in a straight line in any direction in a split second, like she’s borrowed powers from Goku.

Some sections thankfully make the combat far more trivial in some unique and utterly bonkers ways that I won’t spoil. Ultimately, that’s still not much better, as it’s just as unsatisfying as it’s always been; it just requires less thought to get through it.

Every time I had to deal with the game’s combat, I thought it would be better just to let the Silent Hill fog take me. It wouldn’t be quite as bad if you could simply run past all enemies, but the game regularly forces you to engage with it, with creatures that block your path, walls that only drop once certain enemies are killed, and entire combat gauntlets that are thematically interesting but mechanically horrid.

And that brings me back to the dichotomy that makes Silent Hill f a curiosity that’s so hard to judge. There will be staunch defenders of this game for all of the incredible work it does with characters, story, and presentation. Others will be quick to trash it as a clunky, poorly designed, and maddening experience.

As is always the case with these things, I feel that the truth is somewhere in the middle. At times, it filled me with rage, but I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that it captivated me in equal measure.

Should you play Silent Hill f?

Play it if…

Don’t play it if…

Accessibility

Silent Hill f doesn't have an extensive list of accessibility options. There are three filters for green, red, and blue color blindness, as well as subtitle customisation options to change the font, size, and color. There are also three different controller layouts to choose from on console, but you cannot create your own custom layout or edit specific button bindings.

The game has separate difficulty settings for the combat and puzzles, ranging from a standard 'Story' option, a more difficult 'Hard' mode, and the most challenging 'Lost in the Fog' setting. These cannot be changed once you begin the game.

How I reviewed Silent Hill f

I played Silent Hill f for around 14 hours on a PlayStation 5 Pro on a Samsung S90C OLED TV using a DualSense Wireless Controller and playing audio through a Samsung HW-Q930C soundbar. In that time, I completed the game twice, with my first playthrough clocking in at a little over eight hours.

The game does not have different graphics modes to choose from, but performance was excellent throughout, although I got the impression that cutscenes were disappointingly locked to 30 frames per second (fps).