Period Drama Meets Roguelike—It's Hot! Take Down the Yōtei Six Again in “Ghost of Yōtei Complete Edition”'s DLC “Most Wanted / Tales of the Swordsmen” [Play Report]

It has been about a year since the release of *Ghost of Yōtei*. On October 1, 2026, *Ghost of Yōtei Complete Edition*—which includes the major DLC that many fans have been eagerly awaiting—will be released.

Alongside the additional story “Echoes of Sekigahara / A Tale of Longing,” which explores the past and present of the protagonist Atsushi, another highlight is the new single-player mode “Most Wanted / Tales of Swordsmen,” which will be available after the patch is released on October 2.

“Most Wanted / Tales of the Swordsman” is a new roguelike-style mode featuring fields and enemies from the main game. By combining gameplay where you build your strategy around randomly appearing skills with the main game’s battle system, it successfully delivers a brilliant “change of pace.”Thanks to exhilarating action, a fast-paced progression cycle, and the presence of “that character,” the mode delivers an addictive experience that keeps you coming back for more.

In this article, I’ll share a play report on some elements of “Most Wanted / Swordsman’s Tale.” For this hands-on session, I received a code from SIE. Please note that this article contains some spoilers for the main story, so those who haven’t played the game yet should proceed with caution.

“Most Wanted / Swordsman’s Tale” is a stage-clearing survival mode that incorporates roguelike elements, based on the world and battle system of the main story of *Ghost of Yōtei*.

Players can choose their favorite character from among four hunters, each with their own unique skills.

The roster includes Atsushi, the protagonist of the main game; Oyuki, formerly known as “Fox” from the Yōtei Six; Nagato, a new character from the DLC story; and Jin Sakai, the protagonist of the previous title, *Ghost of Tsushima*.

Start the game by selecting a bounty target from the Yotei Six who appeared in the main story. Clear stages to acquire Swordsman Skills (Perks) and aim to defeat the boss while building your own unique character build.

The “Mon” (money) earned from combat and defeating bounty hunters can be used for permanent upgrades—such as acquiring basic battle skills and increasing Health and Stamina—so the more you play, the stronger you become, allowing you to take on challenges again and again.

First, I challenged the bounty hunter “Spider” using Atsushi, who was available from the start. I thought, “With my experience from the main story and the ability to boost my skills, this should be a breeze”—but I was way off…Even on “Normal” difficulty, the enemy launched fierce attacks—and on top of that, I’d completely forgotten which weapons were effective against which opponents.While I was switching weapons, a yellow “Weapon Drop” attack hit Atsushi head-on. As I was frantically trying to retrieve my dropped weapon, I got pierced by arrows and blasted away by explosions—I ended up looking just like a dad who gets too enthusiastic at a school sports day and ends up getting hurt.

Slightly shocked by how pathetic I’d been, I briefly reviewed the basics of combat and gave it another try. Preparation is key in everything—overconfidence is a no-no. Somehow, my combat instincts started coming back—"Use a kusarigama against a shield!" "Use a sword against a sword!"—and I gradually got more and more into the battle.

Once again, I realized just how simply fun the combat in *Ghost of Yōtei* is. The sensation of the sword slashing into the enemy’s flesh, and the grating sound of weapons clashing violently. There’s a satisfying sense of urgency as you switch to a weapon effective against your opponent’s, land powerful blows, and break through their defenses while launching your own attacks.You keep an eye on enemies approaching from all directions while blocking, parrying, attacking, and cutting them down.

By adding roguelike elements to this already enjoyable sword-fighting action, the game now offers a fantastical sense of exhilaration distinct from the main story.

For example, the new character Nagato specializes in ranged weapons like bows and guns. Once he acquires a skill that causes a lightning strike with a certain probability when his starting weapon—a short-barreled pistol (essentially a handgun)—hits a target, he can unleash fierce bolts of lightning along with his gunfire.Since ammunition is easy to come by, the fast-paced rhythm of mowing down enemies with gunfire feels incredibly satisfying. Furthermore, Nagato possesses a powerful technique that consumes stamina to shoot up to three enemies simultaneously with his bow, offering a unique sense of exhilaration as he dominates the battlefield with sheer firepower.

With “Throwing Weapons” causing nearby enemies to become paralyzed or “Attack Power of Specific Weapons Doubled on a Chance Basis,” you select Swordsman Skills through a random draw after clearing each stage. Depending on the combination, you might struggle or breeze through enemies—this ever-changing experience with every playthrough is incredibly fun.The gameplay feel also changes significantly depending on whether you specialize in melee or ranged weapons, and that grin you get when rare skills like “Fine Quality” or “Masterpiece” appear greatly adds to the game’s addictive appeal.As someone who loves swordplay and tends to build around close-range combat, I think it would be fun to deliberately build a build centered around throwing weapons like kunai and fireballs!

Additionally, the mechanic where you can permanently boost your character’s base stats using the “Mon” you earn is another reason you’ll want to keep coming back. Since you start with almost none of the skills you acquired while visiting the Jizo statues in the main story, learning essential techniques like “Mastery of Parrying” and “Arrow Deflection” becomes your initial motivation.

Just like I was earlier, no matter how badly you get beaten up by enemies, as long as you keep playing, you’ll be able to improve your base stats and weapon performance, so even on stages that gave you a hard time, you’ll eventually be able to fight like a demon god.

Furthermore, as you spend coins on character growth, options to purchase talismans and meals will unlock. Setting up Stamina bonuses and special effects in advance will give you a significant advantage in battle. Since your initial Stamina is low, I personally used money to compensate for that weakness.

Above all, unlocking Jin Sakii was my biggest motivation. He’s like an oasis visible in the distance across the desert—a reward that’s simply too enticing to pass up.Aside from Atsushi, who is unlocked from the start, characters are unlocked in stages based on how much “Buns” you spend, so you’ll need to spend a fair amount of money before you can use Jin—which is why I was actively grinding through the game cycle. Unfortunately, I didn’t reach the point where Jin was unlocked during this demo, but I can’t wait to experience the roguelike gameplay with him.

In any case, the time spent casually enjoying swordplay combined with roguelike battles within the main game’s world can be summed up in one word: “awesome.”

In the main game, the Yotei Six were scattered across various areas of the vast map, but in “Most Wanted / Swordsman’s Tale,” battle stages are selected based on the area of the bounty hunter you choose, so there’s a wide variety of locations.To give a simple example, if you select “Fox,” you’ll mainly fight in beautiful, snowy fields.

Furthermore, characters who appeared as bounty hunters in the main game—such as “Ippei the Gunpowder Man”—show up as mid-bosses, which might make you feel a little nostalgic, thinking, “Oh yeah, I beat that guy up.”

During combat, enemy soldiers approach the player from a distance, so there’s no need to go searching for them, and the battle pace is smooth and snappy. The game is designed to let you experience the fast-paced cycle of battle and progression that is the charm of roguelike titles.

The boss of the Yotei Six, who awaits at the end of the consecutive stages, offers a battle with a different kind of tension compared to the main story—one where you can put all the enhancements you’ve prepared and selected to the test.The thought of “If you lose, you have to start the stage over from the beginning” versus “If you win, you’ll get a huge reward…!” made my nerves razor-sharp as I was utterly determined to avoid defeat.

I was also surprised to find that special lines had been prepared for when facing the Six of Yotei in characters like Nagato. When Nagato reached the “Oni” battle, she declared, “The bigger the weapon, the less guts the guy has.”

It seems each character has their own unique lines prepared—for example, when Oyuki faces a spider, she taunts it by saying, “Aren’t you just a disgrace to the Six.” While playing, I even found myself wondering, “I wonder what Jin would say if he saw the Six?”While the volume of additional dialogue doesn’t seem particularly large, each line is a sharp one-liner that really captures the character’s personality, leaving me impressed by how well thought out it is. Beyond the thrill of character growth and combat, the excitement of wondering, “What would this character say if they faced the Six Warriors?” also felt like a mechanism that effectively motivates players to take on battles.

After finishing the roughly two-hour demo, I came to the conclusion that “the base white rice (the battles in this game) is just so delicious to begin with that it’s bound to taste great no matter what side dishes you pair it with.”The battles in this game really are just too much fun. Not only is the ease of jumping right into combat appealing, but it’s also fun to control characters other than Atsushi, and the fact that Jin is waiting for me as I progress further is just too exciting!

To unlock him, it looks like I’ll need to wipe out the Six again—one by one—with my own blood.

*Ghost of Yōtei Complete Edition* is scheduled for release on PS5 on October 1, 2026. If you own the standard edition, you can purchase the *Complete Edition Upgrade*.

【PS5】Ghost of Yōtei Complete Edition 【CEROレーティング「Z」】
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