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Subscribe to the world's #1 PC gaming mag Try a single issue or save on a subscription Issues delivered straight to your door or device From€28.99View Amazon Prime Day Deals Essential Hardware PC Gaming Show Recommended reading Onimusha: Way of the Sword was the best thing I saw at Summer Game Fest Death Stranding 2 reviewers say it's a sequel that's 'more Metal Gear Solid than ever,' but it's 'still beautifully odd' Sword of the Sea fuses Journey with Tony Hawk to make a pro skater game that feels as good as it looks Ninja Gaiden 4 looks sick, is out in October, and has the exact storytelling I demand from a ninja game: 'You're a wanted criminal now' Assassin's Creed Assassin's Creed Shadows announces more difficulties, more immersion options, more Jesuits, and a bo staff in its year 1 roadmap The new side-scroller from the developer of Blasphemous isn't as brutal as you might expect—but it is a seriously satisfying slice of retro ninja action I'm declaring 2025 the year of the ninja: we're being spoiled with one glorious assassination game after another Ghost of Yōtei's big gameplay showcase had new weapons, smoother exploration, and a 'lo-fi beats' mode from Samurai Champloo director Shinichirō Watanabe Morgan Park 39 minutes ago Atsu isn't a samurai or a ninja, but a ruthless mercenary. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. Ghost of Yōtei - State of Play Gameplay Deep Dive | PS5 Games - YouTube After watching the Ghost of Yōtei State of Play stream, I'm convinced it'll be the sort of sequel that's more interested in refinement than reinvention. The 30-minute presentation showed off a lot of gameplay, particularly focusing on Atsu's expanded arsenal of blades and a new interrogation-based exploration system that looks really neat. Oh, also there's a lo-fi beats to murder to mode with original tracks by legendary anime director Shinichirō Watanabe (Samurai Champloo, Cowboy Bebop), because Sucker Punch can't help but be corny about the whole "playable samurai film" thing. Kurosawa mode also returns, this time elevated by optional Japanese voices and lip syncing (something the first game ought to have had at launch, but didn't). But honestly, I'll be flipping those gimmicky modes off after two minutes. I'm playing Ghost of Yōtei for some exploratory slice-and-dice, something that we're not exactly starved for after Assassin's Creed Shadows dropped just a few months ago. Latest Videos From PC GamerPC Gamer Best gaming PC 2025All our current recommendations 👉Check out our full guide👈 1. Best overall: HP Omen 35L 2. Best budget: Lenovo Legion Tower 5i 3. Best compact: Velocity Micro Raptor ES40 4. Alienware: Alienware Aurora 5. Best mini PC: Minisforum AtomMan G7 PT The similarities between the two western-developed, Japan-set games are hard to ignore, especially now that we know Ghost of Yōtei's new protagonist, Atsu, is on a vengeance quest to kill a band of evil bastards who killed her father… just like AC Shadows' Naoe. I suppose overlap is inevitable when you go with a cliche. One big difference: Sucker Punch describes Atsu as neither a samurai or a ninja. She's a mercenary willing to use any weapon or "dirty trick" to get by. The big gameplay implication of that is that Atsu roams Japan armed with a variety of blades—katanas, spears, kusarigama (chain blades), odachi (long katanas), and dual swords. The five weapon types seem to replace the role of Ghost of Tsushima's katana stances. Atsu can swap weapons in the middle of combat, and each weapon counters different enemy types. Sucker Punch showed one example: The odachi long katana will slice up heavy enemies quickest. Image 1 of 11 (Image credit: Sony) (Image credit: Sony) (Image credit: Sony) (Image credit: Sony) (Image credit: Sony) (Image credit: Sony) (Image credit: Sony) (Image credit: Sony) (Image credit: Sony) (Image credit: Sony) (Image credit: Sony) We also saw the return of bows, plus that rifle from the reveal trailer last year. Judging by the way one bullet took down an enemy, I'm guessing Atsu's guns will be used sparingly. Weapon swapping looks fun, but I'm a little sad Ghost of Yōtei is downplaying the katana. I liked having one signature weapon that carried me through the whole game—Jin's sword had real story significance behind it, and I don't think Atsu will be as precious about equipment. The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. My biggest highlight of the presentation was Ghost of Yōtei's updated flow for finding quests. Instead of a traditional quest screen, Atsu picks up leads by talking to her friends and interrogating baddies. At one point, we see this interrogation interpreted as a screen that lets you choose between a handful of quests the source could reveal, and what loot they lead to. On one hand, that's a cool way to find stuff, but it also looks very gamey to choose what quest info to extract instead of following a traditional, authored questline. The show concluded with an ad for a Yōtei-ified PS5 console and controller, if you're into that sort of thing. Ghost of Yōtei is out October 2 on PS5. There's no PC date yet, but hopefully a port will come quicker than the first, which only arrived last year. Morgan Park Social Links Navigation Staff Writer Morgan has been writing for PC Gamer since 2018, first as a freelancer and currently as a staff writer. He has also appeared on Polygon, Kotaku, Fanbyte, and PCGamesN. Before freelancing, he spent most of high school and all of college writing at small gaming sites that didn't pay him. He's very happy to have a real job now. Morgan is a beat writer following the latest and greatest shooters and the communities that play them. He also writes general news, reviews, features, the occasional guide, and bad jokes in Slack. Twist his arm, and he'll even write about a boring strategy game. Please don't, though. You must confirm your public display name before commenting Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name. Onimusha: Way of the Sword was the best thing I saw at Summer Game Fest Death Stranding 2 reviewers say it's a sequel that's 'more Metal Gear Solid than ever,' but it's 'still beautifully odd' Sword of the Sea fuses Journey with Tony Hawk to make a pro skater game that feels as good as it looks Ninja Gaiden 4 looks sick, is out in October, and has the exact storytelling I demand from a ninja game: 'You're a wanted criminal now' Assassin's Creed Shadows announces more difficulties, more immersion options, more Jesuits, and a bo staff in its year 1 roadmap The new side-scroller from the developer of Blasphemous isn't as brutal as you might expect—but it is a seriously satisfying slice of retro ninja action Latest in Action Silksong subreddit hallucinates an analog horror called Snosk, ritually sacrifices a mod to be their very own Hollow Knight, continues to have a normal one, nothing to see here John Wick Hex and Tron Catalyst dev Mike Bithell thinks licensed games have evolved past 'lunchbox tie-ins' because 'the people who played licensed games are now bosses in the companies that are licensing IP' GTA 6's server player count rumour could be great news for GTA Online 2.0 Capcom cancels a presentation on Monster Hunter Wilds performance at CEDEC 2025 amid ongoing developer harassment Deep Rock Galactic Survivor is gearing up for launch, literally—adding a fully-fledged gear system when it hits 1.0 in September The Silksong subreddit is conducting elaborate ritual ban sacrifices in an attempt to cure 'silksanity' and secure the game's release Latest in News Yep, Steam is down (update: we're so back) Shark Dentist is a 'horror roguelike' that's basically The Meg mashed up with an early '90s Milton Bradley toy Enough messing around: The objectively best PC gaming Prime Day deal is this boxed set of all three seasons of Twin Peaks and Fire Walk With Me for $45 The next Helldivers 2 warbond is going superscience sicko mode with a seven-barreled assault rifle, a plasma cannon, and a wormhole-generating backpack that lets you warp around the battlefield Controller prices are highway robbery these days, but even I can't deny this exceptional deal on Xbox pads for Amazon Prime Day Krafton accuses former Subnautica 2 bosses of abandoning the game in surprising new statement: 'We feel a profound sense of betrayal by their failure to honor the trust placed in them' HARDWARE BUYING GUIDES LATEST GAME REVIEWS Best graphics cards in 2025: I've tested pretty much every AMD and Nvidia GPU of the past 20 years and these are today's top cards Best gaming laptop in 2025: I've put the best of this new generation head-to-head and we have a winner Best gaming chair in 2025: I've tested a ton of gaming chairs and these are the seats I'd suggest for any PC gamer Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads Best graphics card for laptops in 2025: the mobile GPUs I'd want in my next gaming laptop Mycopunk review Persona 5: The Phantom X review NZXT N7 Z890 review NZXT N9 X870E review NZXT N9 Z890 review PC Gamer is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. 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