Ghost of Yōtei

[Aragorn]

Beat it last night. Overall still a great improvement over the original, even if the story doesn't entirely stick the landing with the third act. There is some missed potential there - but overall Yotei has taken a franchise i'v been lukewarm on to one i'm actively on the lookout for.

Spoiler:

The story is by the books and well told, so i'm cognizant that this criticism is more preference than objective per se - but I think I would have liked the game to end up being a Shakespearean tragedy which Atsu outlines at the very start: kill the Yotei Six, and join her family in the afterlife. I think it would have been refreshing to see a protagonist actively reject their chances at redemption to chase a single minded, blood thirsty goal - but there is nothing inherently strong with the story of healing and moving forward that we have now.

Act 3 was a little half baked and we could have spent more time with the dragon/spider respectively.

Where I do strongly think the game missed the mark is with Saito. He is a vast improvement on the cartoonish Khan of the first game; but what made him interesting to me is if you take the time to read the scrolls and hear what he says - he is kind of a progressive leader. He actively rejects the strict caste system of Feudal Japan, he lets anyone join up (peasants and women) and gives them rank. I would have liked if the game turned him into a Colonel Kurtz like figure - a charismatic leader who's a net good for Ezo and maybe even more benevolent than the Matsumae; so the player will have to balance their personal grievances with him and Atsu's desire for vengeance against his impact as a leader.

How long did it take you Gorny? I'm heavily contemplating getting this at some stage in the next few months. Didn't like the look of Tsushima enough to get it as I thought it looked a bit underwhelming regarding the world and combat (and it seems like a lot agreed at least in part after playing it) but this looks and sounds like it has fixed a lot of that.

The PS App says 69 hours - and this is with me finishing most side content before the ending. I think when you remove idle time where I have the game on pause and i'm dozing off or fucking around with my cat, it's probably a 40-50 hour experience for completionists.