Ghost of Yotei: The Revenge Story Assassin's Creed Shadows Missed

Ghost of Tsushima’s open world from Sucker Punch was exactly what I wanted. The combat was tough deep and let me experience being a samurai. It also balanced exciting story missions with fun side activities making it a great mix of both. While it didn't change the game industry it was still a lot of fun to play.

When Ghost of Tsushima was released in 2020 people couldn’t help but compare it to Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed series especially since it was set in a historical Japanese world. While the game took some creative liberties like using katanas even though they weren’t invented at the time it was still easy to overlook thanks to its beautiful and immersive experience.

When Assassin’s Creed Shadows was announced it seemed like the game Ubisoft was talking about already existed.

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Ghost of Yotei: Already Outshining Assassin's Creed Shadows

Ghost of Yotei has much less pressure than Assassin’s Creed Shadows. It’s the first sequel to a popular open-world game not a last-ditch effort to revive an old franchise. Unlike Assassin’s Creed Shadows which faced backlash from some gamers who thought it was too political Ghost of Yotei hasn’t had to deal with that kind of negativity. It became a target for many unfair reasons.

Ghost of Yotei has faced criticism for having a female protagonist and casting queer and genderfluid actor Erika Ishii as Atsu. However most people are just happy that Sony is focusing on a single-player game instead of another failed live-service title. This is a welcome change in today’s gaming world.

What stood out to me in the Ghost of Yotei release date trailer this week was how excited I am for a game I didn’t pay much attention to before. Like the previous game it doesn’t do anything groundbreaking. The story takes place hundreds of years after Tsushima and follows Atsu on a quest for revenge against a small group of people introduced in the trailer. Our goal is to find and kill them and it looks like it’ll be a lot of fun. The story is simple but it’s done perfectly.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows follows a familiar story where Naoe seeks revenge on many people after her father is killed. However there are too many characters with little depth making it hard to care about taking them down. The quests for these assassinations feel repetitive and unoriginal. After playing for 20 hours I struggled to care about Naoe's journey especially with a more interesting character like Yasuke. But with Atsu it only took three minutes for me to get hooked.

Ghost of Yotei: Proving That Bigger Isn’t Always Better

Her journey feels more personal and thoughtful with fewer people to take revenge on. While some characters fit familiar roles like The Spider The Kitsune and The Dragon the story does a great job showing why they deserve to be targeted making Atsu’s quest feel important. Simple revenge stories can be effective when done right but in Assassin’s Creed Shadows the journey felt too big and empty lacking real impact. It was boring.

Having one main character with unique traits, beliefs, flaws and motivations makes the journey of revenge more satisfying. It is not just about looking cool or exploring a beautiful open world but also about caring for the people involved whether I’m meant to hate them or feel sympathy for them. A story that explores these characters deeply makes the experience even more powerful.