Ghost of Yotei offers players multiple difficulty settings from the very onset of the game, allowing them to experience Atsu’s adventure as they see fit. The choice to pick a difficulty setting is presented at the very start of this journey, but this can be changed later on at any time.
Players interested in knowing how the difficulty settings change the experience will want to know the ins and outs of these settings, especially those who have not played Ghost of Tsushima before Ghost of Yotei. Making an informed decision about which option suits them the best requires understanding the changes being made in the first place. Here’s the breakdown.
All Difficulty Settings in Ghost of Yotei
There are five main difficulty settings in Ghost of Yotei.
Difficulty
In-Game Description
Effect
Casual
Enjoy Atsu’s story and explore Ezo with the lowest combat challenge.
Atsu takes very little damage and deals a lot of damage. Enemy aggression is lowered to the minimum level, which means there is a lot of downtime between attacks, even when surrounded by a group. They very rarely block or parry attacks or use special moves. Stagger threshold is lowered, allowing even regular attacks to break the enemy’s poise meter in one hit.
Easy
Experience Atsu’s story and explore Ezo with minimal challenge.
Enemies occasionally use blue glint and red glint attacks, have increased stagger, and are more aggressive. The damage Atsu receives is slightly increased as well. Parry and dodge timing is very generous. Perfect for beginners to Ghost of Yotei.
Medium
A well-rounded gameplay experience with moderate challenge.
The most balanced game mode. Atsu deals and receives roughly the same amount of damage. Enemy aggression is moderate, and they use all special moves at their disposal. Parries require precise timing.
Hard
For those unafraid of death and brave enough to face considerable challenge.
Enemies hit much harder, dealing roughly half of Atsu’s health on regular attacks and nearly 90% on special moves. Enemy aggression is very high, and parry timings are unforgiving.
Lethal
Death is always close at hand. A single sword strike is lethal.
Damage is massively increased across the board, making it so that one or two attacks are all it takes to face defeat. This holds true for both Atsu and her enemies, meaning combat encounters are decided very quickly. Works the same way as Ghost of Tsushima’s Lethal mode.
Despite what the flavor text for Lethal mode says, a single sword strike is not lethal in this setting. It only means the damage is increased by a significant margin. Increasing Atsu’s health by visiting Hot Springs will allow you to sustain more hits in fights.
Custom Difficulty Setting Options in Ghost of Yotei
Ghost of Yotei also allows players to pick a custom difficulty, picking and choosing individual elements from Easy, Medium, Hard, and Lethal modes to suit their preference. There are five adjustable settings in total:
Enemy Aggression: Modifies the frequency and speed of enemy attacks.
Timing Windows: Modifies the timing required for parries and dodges.
Enemy Damage: Scales the amount of damage inflicted by enemies.
Stealth: Scales detection time, enemy vision, and pursuit behaviors.
Hero Bonus Perks: Modifies Spirit gain rates and bonus perks from specific difficulties.
Atsu’s increased damage, as seen in Lethal difficulty, is dictated by Hero Bonus Perks.
So, for example, if a player wants to keep the lethal damage levels for both Atsu and her enemies from Lethal mode but prefers more generous parry windows, moderate enemy aggression, and easy Stealth, they’ll choose the following settings:
Enemy Aggression: Medium
Timing Windows: Medium/Hard
Enemy Damage: Lethal
Stealth: Easy
Hero Bonus Perks: Lethal
Any combination of these settings is possible, allowing players to tailor the difficulty for their own enjoyment as much as they want.
How to Change Difficulty in Ghost of Yotei
Difficulty can be changed at any time from the main menu of Ghost of Yotei.
Pause the game by pressing the “Options” button on the PS5 controller.
Select Gameplay > Difficulty, and choose your preferred option.
Custom difficulty option will be added below the Difficulty toggle if it is selected.
All changes will be applied immediately, and doing so does not require exiting or reloading the game.
Should You Choose Lethal Difficulty in Ghost of Yotei?
Lethal mode is great for immersion and role-playing as a true, blue samurai-style fighter in Ghost of Yotei. Fights tend to end quickly and feel a lot more cinematic as a result. As a downside, however, it requires players to get very good at timing their parries and dodges, punishing mistakes in brutal fashion.
Luckily, since Ghost of Yotei’s auto-save function is very active, you don’t lose much progress when Atsu dies. Additionally, Lethal mode is not a direct increase in difficulty. In fact, players who get the timings down will find Lethal mode easier than Hard difficulty. Since Atsu’s attacks hit harder, enemies go down quickly, meaning there is less chance of getting swarmed by groups of high-health enemies who can overwhelm you.
The only instance where this does not hold true is in boss fights. Even with Lethal mode on, it’s not possible to defeat a boss in one or two hits; you need to consistently parry, dodge, or stagger these enemies to come out victorious.
No, there is not. Sucker Punch has not implemented any difficulty-locked trophy for Ghost of Yotei on release. Completionists looking to achieve platinum status in the game can do so even with casual difficulty.
There are a total of 54 trophies in Ghost of Yotei, most of which are locked behind story and overworld progression, while some require players to perform certain special actions with Atsu.
Released
October 2, 2025
ESRB
Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Drug Reference, Intense Violence, Language, Partial Nudity, Use of Alcohol
Publisher(s)
Sony Interactive Entertainment
