Hands On: Ghost of Yotei Legends Is Big Enough and Good Enough to Be Its Own Game

It's almost impossible to knock Ghost of Yotei's Legends update. It's free to everyone who owns the game, adding an entire online co-op mode, complete with a large number of missions, four playable classes, and loads of unlockable cosmetics.

Sucker Punch has gone above and beyond here, and it wouldn't be for the first time. Those already familiar with Ghost of Tsushima's Legends update will largely know what to expect — but Yotei's weapon-switching combat system, together with a host of new gameplay mechanics, make this second incarnation of Legends a more in-depth offering.

You start off by tackling a series of two-player campaign missions, which are themed around four big bad bosses. There's something of a narrative thread tying these quests together, but it basically just boils down to you playing as vengeful 'Ghosts' — warrior spirits tasked with taking on fearsome demons.

The campaign missions are fairly brief, and — at least initially — surprisingly tricky. It's not just Yotei's central combat system you need to reacquaint yourself with; as alluded, you'll also need to wrap your head around additional threats that often promote teamwork.

For example, in the Spider's campaign, you'll come up against corrupted trees that spread evil tendrils towards your position. To deal with them efficiently, you'll need to concentrate ranged attacks on their bulbous weak spots — which sounds straightforward, until you're having to deal with a horde of demonic soldiers at the same time.

The mechanics quickly add up, and it only gets more frantic as the campaigns continue. In truth, we're not totally sold on some of this stuff; Yotei's combat is often so slick and satisfying that the new mechanics can feel like they actually get in the way of the action, rather than expand upon it.

Still, this is part of the newfound depth that we mentioned earlier, and we can see plenty of players learning to love the overall difficulty curve.

Speaking of which, there are four difficulty tiers to overcome: Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum — a nice nod to PlayStation Trophies. We haven't been playing long enough to test out the latter ranks, but we can easily see how they spiral into relative madness.

But the campaigns are only one part of Legends — and they're the least replayable part, at that. Most players will find themselves gravitating towards the wave-based survival offering sooner rather than later, as that's where the action is at its most dynamic.

Four players, one big map, 12 waves of enemies, and three locations that you need to defend. This is a returning (and winning) formula from Tsushima, but greater enemy variety gives it some extra spice.

It's often total chaos, in a good way, and standing back-to-back with three other players as the hoards descend is what Legends is ultimately all about. A well-oiled team remains a thing of beauty, as special class abilities pop off and you hold your ground at all costs.

Success in any mode nets you increasingly powerful equipment. New weapons and charms come with better gear scores, bolstering your overall power level and paving the way to the higher difficulties. It's a simple progression system — again, something that's been carried over from Tsushima — but why fix what isn't broken?

The grind is clearly there for those who want it; you'll get to a point where your overall goal is to acquire the ideal equipment for your style of play, praying for that one randomised drop with perfect passive perks.

To be clear, this ain't Diablo, but there's always something to work towards, and that includes a range of gorgeous cosmetics, which are unlocked through the completion of preset challenges.

If it wasn't already clear, Legends is meaty — and we haven't even mentioned the fact that there's now a lobby space, where you can play your pals at Zeni Hajiki (the coin-based minigame from the main release) and bamboo strikes.

Legends is the kind of content that you could charge money for. Hell, it's the kind of content that could exist as its own game. But no, it's a free update to an already fantastic PS5 exclusive.

Sucker Punch has pulled this off not once, but twice now — and we think that's something that should absolutely be celebrated.

Have you tried Ghost of Yotei's Legends mode for yourself? How are you liking it so far? Stick together in the comments section below.