Ghost of Yōtei – 14 Incredible Details You Need to Check Out

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Players who have started *Ghost of Yōtei* have likely already spent many hours exploring its beautiful landscapes. While the story can be challenging, and it’s easy to get sidetracked by optional activities, the world of Ezo is filled with incredible details.

You’ll quickly notice some details while exploring the environments – like grass, snow, and flowers. Others become apparent when you adjust the game’s settings. Whether you’re enjoying the beautiful graphics or uncovering the hidden lore of Ezo, there’s a lot to find.

Here are 14 stunning details you should notice and discover for the full Ghost of Yōtei experience.

Raindrops Keep Falling on My Map

It’s always a nice touch when a video game treats its map as a real, in-world item. For example, if it’s raining in the game, checking your map will show raindrops falling on it, and even leaving temporary water stains. Don’t worry, though – it won’t actually damage the map, though it would be amusing if you had to keep getting new ones!

Trampling Glass, Flowers, and More Underfoot

Okay, so it seems simple, but it’s really cool how the game handles things like fields and flowers. You’ll be riding through a *lot* of open areas, and the flowers actually get flattened when you gallop through them – you leave trails! But honestly, the wind effects are amazing. Seeing cherry blossoms fall or leaves blow around to show you hidden paths? That’s what really makes the world feel alive.

Naturally Parting Snow

Similarly, when traveling through snowy areas like Teshio Ridge and Mount Yōtei, the snow naturally falls away. While this can be a disadvantage in fights, as it hides enemy footsteps, it still looks fantastic – the sight of blood against the snow is striking, and that leads us to our next observation…

Down in the Mud and Dirt

Atsu’s clothes (and face) will get covered in dirt and blood during battles, which looks really neat, especially while fighting. Other characters show similar wear and tear, too. And don’t worry, that rescued NPC covered in blood is just fine. If you want even more intense action, you can turn on Miike Mode, named after director Takashi Miike, for extra-stylish combat and increased blood effects.

Wind-Cutting Strike

Besides the natural movement of wind, Atsu’s powerful sword swings are strong enough to bend grass and flowers. While you won’t be cutting the grass like in some games, it’s a good indication of how much force she’s putting into each attack, and the slashes themselves look visually appealing.

Pick a Card, Any Card

As you explore Ezo, you’ll collect various cards, each linked to a specific type of activity. To easily identify what each card does, remember their colors: Gold Cards advance the main story (look for the gold gingko leaf on objective markers), Red Cards involve conflicts with enemy groups, and so on. Plus, the cards have a great design, so take a moment to enjoy the artwork!

From Onryo to Ghost of Yōtei

Atsu is a bounty hunter in Ezo, but she’s also being hunted herself. As the story unfolds, the details about her character become clearer. This makes sense because as the Yōtei Six realize how dangerous she is, they share more information about her. You’ll notice this in the game when some ronin recognize you instantly, while others take a moment – it reflects how far you’ve come in the story and feels like those wanted posters are spreading around.

Weathered Spyglass

Atsu will be using her spyglass a lot while exploring Ezo, both to find interesting places from afar and to check out enemy camps. If you examine it closely, you’ll see it’s well-used, which adds to its character and shows how much she depends on it.

Decked Out Kitchens

When you visit an inn or teahouse, take a look around at the tables and the food they offer. Even better, peek into the kitchen to see how things are organized – maybe they have vegetables hanging up or other ingredients neatly arranged. Some places are especially immersive, even growing their own vegetables on a small farm.

Campsites for Fast Traveling and Triggering Events

Camping is really helpful in the game, giving you temporary bonuses and resources, and letting you meet merchants. It also works as a quick way to travel around. While it becomes less useful as you unlock more areas and create fast travel points by completing activities, it’s fantastic when you’re first starting out. Don’t forget to check out old campsites too – they can sometimes lead to cool discoveries, like a merchant selling rare crimson dye in the Ishikari Plain.

A Change of Perspective

While horseback riding offers stunning views, some players might not like the black bars at the top and bottom of the screen. You can get rid of them by pressing the R3 button while you’re riding. Pressing R3 again will move the camera closer to Atsu, which is great if you’d rather focus on the character than the scenery.

The Great Outdoors Experience

In *Ghost of Yōtei*, you have a lot of control over how realistic you want your camping experience to be, and that includes building a fire. You can use the R2 button to simulate blowing on embers, or, for a more immersive experience, you can actually blow into the DualSense controller’s microphone to start a flame. You can set this up in the game’s settings.

Ghost of New Marais

Like all Sucker Punch games, Ghost of Tsushima includes nods to their previous titles. You can find plenty of references to Sly Cooper, and a particularly cool one at Yubari Lake in the Tokachi Range. There, you’ll discover a mural that’s actually a tribute to *inFamous 2* – it depicts a scene with Cole McGrath battling The Beast, but painted in the style of art from the 1600s.

Manually Cleaning and Sheathing Weapons

One of my favorite things to do in *Ghost of Tsushima* after a fight was carefully cleaning and putting away my weapons, and I’m happy to see it return in *Ghost of Yōtei*. The special animations that play, particularly with different weapon combinations like dual swords, are really satisfying. It doesn’t make you stronger, but it looks fantastic, and sometimes that’s all the reward you need.

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2025-10-07 14:15