How 'Ghost of Yotei' Weaponized Cinema and Showed the Future of Gaming

"A lone samurai summons a pale steed, galloping into view as if conjured by air. The armored swordswoman, an onna-musha in medieval Japan, saddles on. Click the left stick, and feel the PlayStation controller rumble as the horse tramples over verdant fields that lie under menacing purple skies. A storm is brewing over yonder. The camera pulls back. The frame widens. The black bars of anamorphic widescreen close in on the top and bottom of the screen, squishing Mount Yotei on the horizon."

"If this video game isn't "cinematic" enough for you already, pause the game. In the settings menu, flip on "Kurosawa Mode" and watch the golden rays of the sun and bright pinks of sakura trees turn black and white. The drawing of katana swords and verbal dialogue (either English or Japanese) become compressed, as if heard through an old machine. Where there had been 4K clarity, there is now the noise of film grain."

"Picking up a video game in 2025 is a real commitment. Nowadays, players demand deeper stories, immersive experiences, and digital worlds that they can lose themselves in for hundreds of hours. Even people who enjoy video games, but wouldn't necessarily call themselves a gamer, find it impossible to finish more than one major studio release a year. So, Esquire is breaking down the absolute best the medium had to offer in 2025 throughout this week, in a special package called The Year in Gaming."

Gaming in 2025 demands major time investment, deeper stories, and highly immersive worlds that can occupy players for hundreds of hours. Many casual players cannot finish more than one major studio release per year. Sucker Punch Productions studied legendary Japanese filmmakers to craft Ghost of Yotei as a cinematic samurai experience. Gameplay features include a lone samurai and an onna-musha, haptic horse travel, anamorphic widescreen presentation, and atmospheric weather. A settings toggle labeled Kurosawa Mode converts color to black-and-white, compresses dialogue, and adds film grain to recreate classic cinematic aesthetics. Ghost of Yotei stands as a strong game-of-the-year contender.

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