Ghost of Ramos developer reflects on revenge, healing and the emotional core of the story

The Ghost of Mount Yotei No time wasted to attract you. Set in the beautiful feudal city of Ezo, its tale of revenge is quickly replaced by something deeper – protagonist Atsu’s journey of healing and reflection.

Revenge and grief remain powerful motivators in the game, and these are grim themes that PlayStation players may be familiar with thanks to games like The Last of Us Part II and God of War Ragnarok. So what is it about cycles of violence and pain that so fascinates developers, who all put their own stamp on these ideas?

In an interview with GameSpot, Yoshitomo lead writer Ian Ryan and creative director Jason Connell explained that Atsu's mission may have started with revenge in mind, but over the course of the game, it evolved into something greater.

“It's about healing – revenge just triggers it”

“I feel like there are a lot of different types of games — even within Sony — that aren't about revenge at all, but there are some that are,” Cornell said. “I can't really say why they did it, but I would say some of the reasons why we chose it, and I think some of them will overlap, and I bet some of them won't have any overlap at all. So, for example, it's hard to imagine any other Sony game that has looked at a bunch of samurai movies with revenge (themes) and decided that was their inspiration. But I can imagine the second reason, we're going to make a very challenging game. It's open, there's a lot of freedom.”

“I've seen people play for 40 or 50 hours and not meet a second member of the Yotei Six. That's by design. Like we designed the game to be like that, but what it really means is that we need a very simple narrative hook that allows you to get into Atsu's journey, and some people just do it and find out that it's much more than that. It's about healing – revenge for just the person who triggered it. No, like, at least you understand it's not like a super complicated thing that needs to be understood early on.

“I do think it might appeal to storytellers because storytelling is difficult enough on its own, but you put it in a giant video game. Progression, open-world exploration, and all the other competitive elements can be very challenging. So the simplicity of it is really beautiful, and I think that might be very attractive to creators.”

“We want to put fire inside players”

Ryan added that revenge themes are useful because they immediately engage players, keeping them engaged from the start of the game. “It's similar to when we were approaching the story in that we knew it was going to be so broad, and we just wanted players to remember that, track it in their minds, and not lose sight of that overwhelming purpose and emotional core of what Az was going through, even though she was following the golden bird and doing a lot of side stories,” Ryan said.

“We also wanted to have a smaller open space overall so players could engage with the game and get into the open world early. That also meant we wanted players to be able to lock in and connect with the core overarching purpose. It's just a visceral human desire that has deep roots everywhere.”

“Everyone can relate to it – just to varying degrees – so we want to plant a passion and connection with Atsu in the player's heart so that even if they decide not to participate in the revenge mission for 30 hours, they can take it into the open world because ultimately leaving and doing other things is a form of therapy rather than falling into that obsession.”

Cornell and Ryan had a lot more to say about the game, and if you're interested in exploring how the roster of memorable villains (the Yotei Six, led by Lord Saito) helped shape the game, you can watch the video above for a fascinating insight into the development of Ghost of Yotei.

Richard Wakeling wrote in GameSpot's GameSpot: “In Ghost of Yotei, featuring new protagonist Atsu, you will embark on a gripping story of revenge set against the contrasting beauty and violence of feudal Japan.” Review of Soul of the Goat.