Ghost of Yotei ending explained

Ghost of Yotei has only one ending, and explaining it is no easy feat despite the overall plot being incredibly linear. Atsu is another revenge-driven protagonist who is out to hunt the Yotei Six, a group that mercilessly slaughtered her family 16 years ago. Unfortunately, the game does not have branching decisions which could lead to multiple outcomes, but rather a single path of action that concludes her journey.

Understanding the ending of Ghost of Yotei requires you to look into the backstory of some of the key characters in the game, especially Atsu and Lord Saito. This article explains the ending of Ghost of Yotei in details, as Atsu finally finds her family and learns not to be alone after all.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers regarding the plot of Ghost of Yotei. Proceed with caution.

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Ghost of Yotei ending: From a Little Wolf to an Onryo

A young Atsu at the beginning, the night her family was massacred (Image via Sucker Punch || Sportskeeda)

At the very beginning of Ghost of Yotei's prologue, you see a young Atsu face-to-face against the Yotei Six, without any backstory. Saito, their leader, wanted to "make an example" of her, and he directly told our protagonist:

"I'm sorry it came to this, Little Wolf."

With that, he struck Atsu with a katana that had a twin-wolves hilt (this becomes important later). The katana pierced her left shoulder, and as the screen fades to black and the scenes change, Atsu can be heard saying:

"Before she died, my mother told me stories of onryō. Ruthless spirits who wander the land, seeking vengeance. The night my family was massacred, I became such a spirit."

The scenes shift to Atsu's backstory, and how she survived for 16 years before eventually returning to Ezo to exact her revenge on the outlaws. Ghost of Yotei's entire plot revolves around these outlaws, the Yotei Six, who murdered Atsu's family. This brings up one of the most important plot-questions of the game - what did Atsu's family do to deserve the wrath of the Yotei Six?

Atsu as she arrives at Ezo after 16 years (Image via Sucker Punch || Sportskeeda)

Before delving into a deeper explanation, one other key character needs to be acknowledged. As Atsu finally heads back to Ezo, a lone wolf is seen in the backdrop. From the dialogues, it is clear that this wolf has been following Atsu for quite some time:

"You're still with me?"

The wolf emerges, bares its teeth, before the scene changes once again and Atsu heads off to face the first of the Yotei Six, The Snake, in the wee hours of the game. That said, the wolf is a key part of the story, and Atsu will also unlock some wolf abilities later in the game.

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Atsu's family: Why did Lord Saito and the Yotei Six massacre them?

The Yotei Six on the Night of the Burning Tree (Image via Sucker Punch || Sportskeeda)

In simple words, Lord Saito wanted to make an example of Atsu's family for "betraying" him. In reality, the exact matter was far more complex to justify it with the term betrayal. One of Lord Saito's missives where he himself wrote about the incident explains this in detail. An excerpt from this entry mentions:

"So when he deserted me as my wife and children were starving... and convinced so many others to leave... I took no pleasure in the Night of the Burning Tree, but I don't lose sleep over it."

Atsu's father, swordsmith Master Kengo, seems to have been Lord Saito's friend. In fact, he had forged Saito's sword and was one of the first people to welcome him after his return. When the starvation finally hit, which resulted from Lord Saito's oppression, Kengo seems to have rallied the others to flee the land instead of staying.

The missive with Lord Saito's perspective (Image via Sucker Punch || Sportskeeda)

According to Lord Saito, this was a blatant betrayal. He writes about how Master Kengo abandoned his family, including his wife and children. To punish him and make an example out of this betrayal, Lord Saito caused the Night of The Burning Tree, or the massacre of Atsu's family.

Kengo and his wife Yone, Atsu's father and mother, died that night at the hands of the Yotei Six. While Atsu thought that her brother, Jubei, also died that night, he was actually saved by the Matsumae clan.

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Atsu's journey in Ezo and a fated reunion

Atsu reunites with her brother Jubei (Image via Sucker Punch || Sportskeeda)

Very early into the game, Atsu will also meet her brother, Jubei, who goes by the moniker of Lord Kitamori, fighting under the Matsumae clan's tag. For the rest of the game, they will work together, although with some brief squabbles here and there.

You will not have to wait till the ending of Ghost of Yotei to meet Lord Saito. In fact, Atsu will encounter him for the first time during the early hours of the game, just after taking down the Oni (Atsu's second target of the Yotei Six). After a failed assassination attempt, Lord Saito will immediately recognize you because of your Twin Wolves katana.

Lord Saito will recognize Atsu owing to her katana's hilt (Image via Sucker Punch || Sportskeeda)

He will try to manipulate Atsu into joining his side, and even offered to make her a Samurai. Unfortunately, Atsu's hunger for revenge against him was stronger than any form of offer that Saito could make. As Lord Saito is almost out of health, the Matsumae clan will attack, causing the fight to end abruptly.

From here on out, Atsu will form an unlikely partnership with Oyuki, who is later revealed to be the former Kitsune of the Yotei Six. On the Night of the Burning Tree, Oyuki, or the then-Kitsune, was the one who had actually saved Atsu. Oyuki eventually becomes one of the most important allies of Atsu and Jubei in their fight against the Yotei Six.

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The final battle with Lord Saito at the end of Ghost of Yotei

The final battle with Lord Saito at the end (Image via Sucker Punch || Sportskeeda)

During the boss fight with the Dragon, both Jubei and Oyuki end up being captured. By this time, you will also come to know that the Dragon and the Spider are brothers, both sons of Lord Saito. However, it is clear that the Spider was the "less favored" of these two. Atsu ends up sparing the Spider, and he eventually abandons and betrays his father by leading Atsu to Jubei and Oyuki.

It is important to note that Jubei also has a daughter, named Kiku, one whom Lord Saito uses as a bargaining chip to isolate Atsu and fight her alone. As Atsu, Jubei, and Oyuki approach Lord Saito at the former Kengo, he can be seen playing Zeni Hajiki with Kiku, saying:

"I used to play something similar with my children when they were young, and I thought they would outlive me. All my children are gone now."

Interestingly, Lord Saito does not seem to know that Spider defected of his own free will, and was not dead. The cutscenes earlier showed him with both the Spider and Dragon's masks only, without any blood on either. Either way, Lord Saito did not mean any harm to Kiku, and he willingly let her go once Jubei and Oyuki decided to let him face Atsu one-on-one.

Saito does not actually harm Kiku (Image via Sucker Punch || Sportskeeda)

In the final moments before the fight, Atsu asks Saito if it was all worth it, referring to his killing off her family and losing his family in the process. To this, Lord Saito puts forward a very simple answer:

"Your father betrayed me. Creatures such as you and I cannot resist the call of revenge.

With this, the final showdown at the end of Ghost of Yotei began. If you had played Ghost of Tsushima, the final showdown with Lord Shimura had the red leaves on the ground. It was also in the marking of Clan Sakai, and was the central color-theme of the game. Similarly, the finale in Ghost of Yotei featured yellow leaves, the central color and theme of this title.

"We will protect this family"

Once you complete the first phase of Lord Saito's fight, he will finally unsheath and wield his katana, one made by Atsu's father Master Kengo. He managed to push Atsu back, and was about to finish her off when Jubei stepped in.

Jubei comes to save Atsu (Image via Sucker Punch || Sportskeeda)

Jubei refuses to let his sister take the fight alone, and joins the fight after ensuring Kiku's safety. Jubei bares his sword at Saito, shouting:

"I am a samurai. A brother. And a father."

As both siblings overwhelmed Saito, he separated them and managed to put his katana through Jubei. Enraged, Atsu re-engaged, this time managing to best him and pinned him to the the tree with a katana, the same way that Lord Saito had in the Night of the Burning Tree.

Kiku and Oyuki arrive to see Jubei on his deathbed, and Atsu promises her brother that Kiku will never be alone. Atsu embraces Kiku as Jubei takes his final breath, and both burst out in tears. With that, the main story of Ghost of Yotei finally comes to an end.

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Ghost of Yotei ending explained

Lord Saito's end (Image via Sucker Punch || Sportskeeda)

Ghost of Yotei's ending marks the end of Atsu's life as a lone wolf. As Lord Saito took his final breath while being pinned to the tree, one of his last statements to Atsu was:

"You are alone."

On the contrary, Atsu's promise to her brother was the following:

"She will never be alone."

These two statements paint an interesting picture at the end of the game. On the one hand, we have Atsu, who has lived her life alone, without parents or any family. Kiku, whose father died in front of her eyes, has only one blood-relative left - Atsu.

Atsu embracing Kiku as a lifeless Jubei and Lord Saito lay (Image via Sucker Punch || Sportskeeda)

It's difficult to say whether Atsu chose to stay with Kiku because she did not want her to go through whatever Atsu herself did, or if she did it because her mission was over. With the death of Lord Saito, Atsu had no more motive to remain the Ghost, or the Onryo. Either way, she chose to stay with Kiku, leaving behind her lonesome life, and proving Lord Saito's final words wrong.

The Lone Wolf no more

Atsu can finally pet the wolf at the ending (Image via Sucker Punch || Sportskeeda)

In the epilogue, we see Oyuki and Kiku playing the shamisen as Atsu places a yellow flower on her brother's grave. The wolf, which has been following Atsu all this time, faces her yet again. Atsu finally approaches the wolf, and for the first time, pets the creature, and says:

"My hunt is over."

The wolf, almost as if it understood Atsu's emotions, whimpered softly and turned back to leave. Atsu watched as the beast wandered off, and turned towards Kiku and Oyuki, who were still playing music. The Ghost of Yotei ending seems to have finally brought out Atsu's biggest smile in the game, one she had while looking at her new family.

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What can the wolf signify in Ghost of Yotei's ending?

The wolf at the beginning of the game (Image via Sucker Punch || Sportskeeda)

It is difficult to come up with a single answer for what the wolf's significance is in Ghost of Yotei. To start off with, Master Kengo used to call Atsu as his "little wolf". Even Lord Saito called her by this name many times, including on his last breath. A wolf accompanying Atsu on her journey could be a constant reminder of her father.

The wolf is a lonely animal and often prefers to hunt alone. To that extent, it can be a reflection of Atsu herself, a one-woman warrior isolating her prey and hunting, like a wolf. Fierce, righteous, and does not deviate from her mission in hand. The wolf refusing to let anyone get close to it, can be a direct representation of Atsu's mind with respect to her mission.

The wolf and Atsu parting ways at the end (Image via Sucker Punch || Sportskeeda)

At the ending of Ghost of Yotei, Atsu embracing her family also means she let go of her own self as the lone wolf. The wolf also let Atsu touch it for the first time, a sign of how the creature has also mellowed down. Atsu tells the wolf that her hunt is over, but she also meant to say that she is no longer alone.

The wolf and Atsu parting ways could also show Atsu's own growth. It signifies that Atsu is no longer all alone in the world, and that she has truly come to accept this idea.

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