Ghost of Yotei Makes Atsu Twice as Powerful as Jin With Highly Requested Feature

Key Takeaways

• Ghost of Yotei introduces a new protagonist, Atsu, leaving Jin out.
• Atsu’s dual-wielding ability gives her a fresh combat advantage over Jin.
• The gameplay trailer hints at a potentially less stealth-focused approach in Ghost of Yotei.

Ghost of Tsushima‘s sequel has finally been revealed as Ghost of Yotei, which, to the surprise of many, has chosen to leave Jin Sakai out of the picture — at least, judging by what has been shown of the game. Rather than continuing Jin’s story in Ghost of Yotei, players will control Atsu, who has traveled far north on the path of revenge. Only small bits of what Ghost of Yotei will bring to the table have been revealed so far, but Sucker Punch has promised much more to come.

There has already been plenty of controversy stirred up about Jin’s absence in Ghost of Yotei, but the game’s new protagonist, Atsu, seems like she may be a worthy successor. The trailer for Ghost of Yotei revealed several things about Atsu as the new Ghost, including one unique ability that will give her a leg up on Jin.

Atsu’s Dual-Wielding Ability Gives Her a Leg Up on Jin

Dual-Wielding Was a Highly Requested Feature in Ghost of Tsushima

While there is plenty to love about Ghost of Tsushima‘s combat, Jin Sakai was never given the ability to dual-wield weapons in the game. Dual-wielding has long been a fascinating concept in gaming, even from the days of Halo 2 until now, and that concept simply never found its way into Ghost of Tsushima. Of course, this was an intentional move by Sucker Punch, as the developer did its best to stay true to history in Ghost of Tsushima‘s bones while simultaneously creating a memorable work of fiction for players to enjoy that would separate them from the real world.

By and large, dual-wielding isn’t really necessary for Jin Sakai, especially as his identity centers around being a ghost that strikes from the shadows at every opportunity. The idea of dual-wielding almost brings with it a need for frequent direct combat engagements, and while that is more than possible in Ghost of Tsushima, it robs the game of its core intentions, which are to portray a character who is dishonorably breaking the samurai code for the sake of his family. Furthermore, according to history, the technique of dual-wielding wasn’t even put into practice until around 300 years after the Mongol invasion that took place in Ghost of Tsushima. However, this is where Ghost of Yotei comes in, as it is set three centuries after the events of Ghost of Tsushima.

Ghost of Yotei’s Trailer Confirms That Atsu Can Dual-Wield

Judging by what is shown in the announcement trailer for Ghost of Yotei, and assuming that what the trailer shows is an accurate representation of gameplay, Atsu will be able to dual-wield blades in Ghost of Yotei. Since dual-wielding was such a highly requested feature in Ghost of Tsushima, this gives Ghost of Yotei a bit of an advantage, regardless of any controversy that has already attempted to surround the game’s debut. It’s unclear yet how this will impact gameplay in Ghost of Yotei, but it can be assumed that dual-wielding will be one of Atsu’s stances, as that ultimately separated Jin’s combat styles against various enemy types in Ghost of Tsushima.

One thing Atsu’s confirmed dual-wielding does suggest, however, is that Ghost of Yotei could be taking a much less stealth-focused road than Ghost of Tsushima. Nowhere in the trailer is Atsu really seen trying to evade notice, and her dual-wielded blades suggest a more direct combat approach. Then again, if Sucker Punch truly wants to iterate on the concept of the Ghost to make it a fully-fledged franchise as opposed to a limited series, then stealth would still need to be prioritized in some way to maintain the idea of the Ghost. Perhaps players will get to see Atsu perform some unique stealth assassinations with both of her blades in hand. If nothing else, it will certainly change her fighting style in direct combat compared to Jin.