What Ghost of Yotei's Setting and Year Could Mean for It

Countless rumors and leaks later, the sequel to Sucker Punch’s surprise hit Ghost of Tsushima has finally been revealed in PlayStation’s most recent State of Play show. While the sequel has been expected for quite some time now, its new anthological direction has proven to be quite a divisive surprise. Titled “Ghost of Yotei,” the sequel stars Atsu, not Jin Sakai, as she travels to a new land for an original story.

Not much is known about Ghost of Yotei‘s story, but Sucker Punch has generously divulged details about its time period and setting in the game’s trailer and conversations with various publications. With the little information given, it’s possible to speculate on where Ghost of Yotei might take players.

What Ghost of Yotei’s Setting and Period Could Mean for Its Story

Ghost of Yotei Is Set in the Year 1603 in the Land of Ezo, Far Outside Japan’s Rule

Unlike Ghost of Tsushima, which is set in the year 1274 during the first Mongol invasion of Japan, Ghost of Yotei takes place in 1603, right at the end of Japan’s Sengoku period and the beginning of the Edo period — otherwise known as the Tokugawa period. During the Edo period, Japan was ruled by the Tokugawa shogunate and 300 powerful daimyo, feudal lords, throughout the country. However, during the first fifty years of Tokugawa rule, sixty-one daimyo lost their domains from failing to meet the shogunate’s standards, turning around 150,000 samurai into ronin.

Ghost of Yotei is set in the land of Ezo — known today as Hokkaido — and judging by the game’s trailer, it is a land where many ronin have fled to “disappear.” It’s possible these ronin are the product of the Tokugawa shogunate’s oppressive rule on the samurai, and fleeing to Ezo has allowed them to live in freedom and on their own terms.

Sucker Punch Has Confirmed That Atsu Has Traveled to Ezo on a Quest for Revenge

Sucker Punch has already confirmed that Ghost of Yotei is a story of “underdog vengeance” that follows Atsu on her journey north, beyond the edge of Japan, to Ezo. While the Tokugawa shogunate eventually gained control of Ezo, it did not have control of the land in 1603. As such, it might have been that Atsu fled to Ezo in an effort to escape the shogunate. However, since Atsu’s story revolves around vengeance, the person (or people) whose life she is seeking to end is ultimately what has drawn her to Ezo. It is possible that Atsu is a descendant of Jin Sakai, which would make sense considering she bears the mantle of the Ghost, and she is traveling to Ezo to enact revenge on those who have slandered her family’s name for generations.

In the trailer for Ghost of Yotei, Atsu can be seen wiping blood onto a scroll that could potentially have the names of her targets written on it, so this could very well be the case. However, Sucker Punch doesn’t seem too concerned with ensuring Ghost of Yotei is directly connected to Ghost of Tsushima, as it has decided to move the franchise forward with the idea of the Ghost, rather than the Ghost of Tsushima himself, Jin Sakai. There’s also the timeline to consider, which puts Ghost of Yotei 300 years after Ghost of Tsushima, so it wouldn’t necessarily make sense why someone from Jin’s family would only just now be seeking revenge.

Another theory suggests Atsu is an Ainu, an ethnic minority native to the Japanese islands. During the Edo period, the Ainu gradually began losing power to the Japanese, meaning Atsu’s journey could see her on a quest for vengeance against the Japanese. This angle might be a bit more far-fetched than others, however, but there will be no way of knowing for sure until Sucker Punch reveals more about the game in the coming months, as it has committed to doing.