If you want better marketing accuracy
Choose Phantom Blade Zero. It scores 5.0 vs 2.5 for marketing accuracy, with a 4.1 overall score.
Ghost of Yotei: Echoes of Sekigahara Review
Content guidance
Bloody sword combat includes dismemberment and executions, alongside animal cruelty and a revenge story involving family murder and betrayal. These graphic and distressing elements make it best suited to older teens.
Official rating
M
Bottom Line
Atsu’s richer backstory, rewarding side quests and beautiful foothills make this a strong return for existing fans. Familiar encounters and an uneven Most Wanted progression curve limit the sense of a major new adventure.
Returning players invested in Atsu’s story and single-player campaign fans who want meaningful character context and side quests. Roguelike fans already comfortable with the combat can also enjoy Most Wanted’s repeated runs and unlocks.
Players seeking a substantial stealth overhaul or an adventure driven by surprising plot twists. The familiar encounters and predictable story direction offer less for those priorities.
Verdict
Echoes of Sekigahara makes its strongest case through Atsu’s personal history and the consequences of her revenge. The compact Ashoro Foothills rewards exploration with meaningful side stories, attractive equipment and visible changes to the local settlement. Its scenery remains exceptional, and heavy weapons and new arrow mechanics give familiar combat a useful refresh. Most Wanted adds replayable solo battles, four hunters and satisfying perk combinations, although its slow opening, repeated encounters and uneven unlock pacing divide opinion. The story can be predictable, stealth changes are modest, and some players want a larger expansion. For returning fans invested in Atsu and the swordplay, this is usually a worthwhile addition; players seeking substantial reinvention or surprising plot turns have less reason to return.
Feature Scorecards
Summary
104 reviewed features-
Very positive 4.5-5.042 (40%)
-
Positive 3.5-4.440 (38%)
-
Neutral 2.5-3.418 (17%)
-
Negative 1.5-2.44 (4%)
Pros highlights
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The overall response is strongly favorable, led by character development, scenery and satisfying action. A smaller group finds the expansion too safe or too dependent on the base game's existing strengths.
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Most consider the campaign and bundled combat mode a worthwhile return, often excellent value at the stated upgrade price. The weakest endorsements come from players who wanted a larger creative leap or found Most Wanted underwhelming.
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The campaign's strongest contribution is a personal story that gives Atsu's past and the consequences of revenge more weight. Predictability and a few underdeveloped turns limit its impact for some, with one strongly disappointed account finding the new narrative inconsequential.
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Flashbacks reveal a more vulnerable Atsu and give her journey valuable personal context. This added dimension is one of the expansion's most consistent strengths.
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Landscapes remain an exceptional visual attraction, with many describing the expansion as among the PS5's best-looking experiences. Reused, dated NPC models are a smaller blemish in an otherwise impressive presentation.
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Permanent upgrades and character unlocks give Most Wanted a strong sense of progress. Early earnings and the need to repurchase basic abilities frustrate some players before the mode opens up.
Cons highlights
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New arrows, armored enemies and demanding duels restore danger for experienced players. Others find the aggression and tight timing unfair, while heavy weapons can make certain bosses too easy.
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The expansion refines an established formula more than it reinvents one. That conservatism is the most consistent reservation even among positive accounts.
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Traps make sneaking more deliberate, but opinions split on whether that creates useful tension or merely slows things down. Several critics wanted stronger stealth layouts and more substantial changes.
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Weapon counters can encourage preparation and creative tool use, but they also constrain specialized builds. Heavy weapons draw separate criticism for overpowering some encounters.
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The campaign's optional stories often remix familiar mechanics meaningfully. Most Wanted draws more criticism for repeated bosses and predictable ordering, and the campaign still relies heavily on outpost encounters.
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Heavy weapons breaking after a few attacks is a recurring frustration for players who want a permanent new weapon class. Another account approves of the limit because the weapons are so destructive and plentiful.
Use Cases
Best for
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Existing fans have a strong reason to return for Atsu's history, scenery and more combat. The recommendation is less decisive for players who already exhausted the formula and want substantial reinvention.
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The campaign is the package's strongest fit for players invested in Atsu's story. It adds personal context and rewarding side stories without requiring a completely new adventure.
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New players are frequently encouraged to start with the Complete Edition for its broad package of content. Most Wanted also offers immediate access to the combat without first completing the story.
Not ideal for
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Plot-twist seekersA player hoping for an exciting adventure full of twists finds the campaign disappointing. The expansion is a weaker match for surprise-driven storytelling than for character context.
Compared With Category Average
Compared with other Video Games, this product is above average in HUD clarity, user interface design, bug frequency, near average in weapon variety, overall quality, below average in weapon customization, innovation, Enemy design.
Comparison summary
98 compared features-
Above average 0.4+ pts higher54 (55%)
-
Same as average within 0.3 pts33 (34%)
-
Below average 0.4+ pts lower11 (11%)
Largest category differences
| Attribute | This product | Category average | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| weapon customization | 2.0 | 4.2 | -2.2 |
| HUD clarity | 5.0 | 3.1 | +1.9 |
| user interface design | 5.0 | 3.3 | +1.7 |
| innovation | 2.5 | 3.9 | -1.4 |
| bug frequency | 4.5 | 2.9 | +1.6 |
| Enemy design | 2.5 | 4.1 | -1.6 |
| polish | 5.0 | 3.5 | +1.5 |
| graphics settings | 4.8 | 3.3 | +1.5 |
Consider This Instead
If you want better combat system
Choose Dragon’s Dogma 2: Dark Arisen. It scores 4.7 vs 4.0 for combat system, with a 4.0 overall score.
If you want better innovation
Choose Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. It scores 4.8 vs 2.5 for innovation, with a 4.5 overall score.
If you want better upgrade system
Choose Tales of Eternia Remastered. It scores 5.0 vs 4.1 for upgrade system, with a 3.8 overall score.
Compared in Reviews
Products reviewers directly compared with this model, grouped into quick takeaways.
- Compared: Visual benchmark The reviewer includes Black Flag Resynced among comparable visual highlights.
- Compared: Release pricing model The tiered Complete Edition is contrasted with Minecraft Dungeons II’s simpler new-release price structure.
Ghost of Tsushima: Iki Island (2021)
- Compared: Regional distinctiveness Iki Island felt more different from its base game than the new foothills do.
- Better: Scale, engagement and duration Iki Island felt larger, longer and more engaging to this reviewer.
- Compared: Expansion size Echoes is smaller than Iki Island, although its story is especially rich.
FAQ
What does the story expansion add?
It opens the Ashoro Foothills and explores Atsu’s history with Nagato through present-day missions and playable flashbacks. The side stories also explore the consequences of the Snake’s death.
Do I need to finish the main game first?
No. The expansion unlocks partway through the campaign after required story quests, including the Oni and Kitsune arcs, and can be played before the ending.
How long does it take?
The main story is often estimated at around five hours. Exploring the region and completing optional content commonly takes roughly eight to twelve hours, depending on pace.
What is Most Wanted?
It is a separate single-player roguelike combat mode built around enemy waves and bounty bosses. Permanent upgrades and four playable hunters, including Jin Sakai, add replay incentives.
Can heavy weapons become permanent equipment?
No. They are powerful temporary pickups that break after use; upgrades can improve their durability and attacks, but do not turn them into permanent weapons.
Does it substantially improve stealth?
The changes are modest. Traps make sneaking more deliberate, but several assessments find the hiding options and encounter layouts too familiar for a major stealth refresh.
Is it suitable for younger players?
It is best suited to ages 17 and up because of bloody combat, dismemberment, executions and animal cruelty. Its personal story also includes family murder, betrayal and loss.
Sample Expert Reviews We Analyzed
These are a few of the reviews included in our analysis.
Video Reviews
YouTube - JRPG Samurai
- Review score
- 4.3
YouTube - Cutscene Collective
- Review score
- 3.3
Article Reviews
thesixthaxis.com
Ghost of Yotei: Echoes of Sekigahara Review - a year after launch, is it worth returning to Sony's PS5 exclusive to play this new expansion?
- Review score
- 4.3
gamesradar.com
Echoes of Sekigahara is too stuck in the past to make any meaningful contribution
- Review score
- 3.4
retconmagazine.com
Echoes of Sekigahara is an excellent, natural extension of Atsu' revenge quest in Ghost of Yotei. Check out our review here.
- Review score
- 4.3
cogconnected.com
We gave the original Ghost of Yotei a perfect score, and that game just got bigger. If you haven't taken the plunge, now's the time.
- Review score
- 4.3
gametyrant.com
Reviewed on: PS5 Code was provided by the publisher.
- Review score
- 4.5
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