‘Ghost Of Yotei’: A Beary Good Time

InnovationGaming‘Ghost Of Yotei’: A Beary Good TimeByMitch Wallace,Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. I write about video games, technology and pop culture.Follow AuthorMay 08, 2026, 05:50pm EDT--:-- / --:--This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.Ghost of YoteiCredit: PlayStationThere are a surprising amount of digital bears in PlayStation’s truly excellent first-party samurai adventure, Ghost of Yotei, which released back in October of 2025. You’ve got wild bears, pet bears, orphaned bear cubs—hell, even a demon bear that yearns for sweet release from its seemingly immortal prison of rotting flesh and tortured misery. There are so many bears, in fact, that I bearly had time to focus on the game’s main resentment-fueled, blood-soaked campaign. I’m being intentionally facetious, of course, as the copious sidequests in Sucker Punch’s sprawling open-world offering don’t only star forest-dwelling omnivores. On the contrary, they span a vast RPG spectrum, requiring you to do everything from liberate raider-infested farms, to tracking down murderous bounties, to investigating tall tales while gambling away your life savings and taking baths in luxurious hot springs.For context, Ghost of Yotei is the ridiculously refined sequel to 2020’s similarly great Ghost of Tsushima, and during the 50 hours I’ve now spent with it, I’ve often found myself completely ignoring protagonist Atsu’s hellbent journey toward ultimate revenge in favor of these well-written tangents. Joyous distractions, you could call them; happy excursions apparently custom-crafted for wayward explorers like myself. Honestly, I think that’s why I haven’t fully completed the game just yet, even after 50 hours, as I’ve been taking my sweet time simply getting lost.Ghost of YoteiCredit: PlayStationGhost of Yotei is quite good at fostering this sense of happenstance discovery, and almost to a fault. For...