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 a 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 that could lead to multiple outcomes, but rather a single path of actions 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 detail; the protagonist finally finds her family and learns not to be alone.

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. Saito, their leader, wanted to "make an example" of her, and he directly tells our protagonist:

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

He then strikes Atsu with a katana that has a twin-wolves hilt (this becomes important later). The weapon pierces her left shoulder, and as the screen fades to black and the scene changes, she 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 scene shifts 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 the protagonist's family. This raises 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 we explain the ending, 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 creature has been following her 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.

The wolf is a key part of the story, and the protagonist 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. That said, the exact matter was far more complex to justify the murders with the term "betrayal." One of Lord Saito's missives where he himself wrote about the incident addresses this in more detail. An excerpt from it reads:

"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 forged Saito's sword and was one of the first people to welcome him after his return. When the starvation, which stemmed from Lord Saito's oppression, finally hit, Kengo seemingly 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. His missive mentions how Master Kengo seemingly abandoned his family, including his wife and children. To punish him, 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 the protagonist thought that her brother, Jubei, also perished 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 meet her brother, Jubei, who goes by the moniker of Lord Kitamori, fighting under the Matsumae clan's banner. 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, right after taking down Oni (her second target of the Yotei Six). After the protagonist's failed attempt to assassinate Lord Saito, he will immediately recognize her because of her 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 offers to make her a Samurai. Unfortunately, her hunger for revenge against him is stronger than any form of offer that Saito could make. As Lord Saito is almost out of health, the Matsumae clan will attack him, 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 saved the protagonist. This character 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 point, you 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 this brother, and he eventually abandons and betrays his father by leading the protagonist 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 him 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 earlier cutscenes show him with both the Spider and Dragon's masks only without any blood on either.

Either way, Lord Saito does not mean any harm to Kiku, and he willingly lets her go once Jubei and Oyuki decide 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 killing off her family and losing his own in the process was worth it. In response, he 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 begins. If you played Ghost of Tsushima, the final showdown with Lord Shimura saw red leaves on the ground, which represented Clan Sakai. Moreover, the color red was central to that game. Similarly, Ghost of Yotei's final fight features yellow leaves, the main color used in 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, which was made by Atsu's father, Master Kengo. He manages to push Atsu back and is about to finish her off when Jubei steps in. Atsu asks why he returned. Jubei responds, emphasizing how much family matters to him:

"We will protect this family."

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

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

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

As both siblings overwhelm Saito, he separates them and manages to put his katana through Jubei. Enraged, Atsu re-engages him, this time managing to best her foe and pin him to the a tree with a katana. This was what Lord Saito did to her on 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. The protagonist embraces Kiku as her brother takes his final breath, and both burst into 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 takes his final breath while being pinned to the tree, one of his last statements for the protagonist was:

"You are alone."

Hinting at the contrary, Atsu makes a promise to her brother, indicating she and Kiku will always be together:

"She will never be alone."

These two statements paint an interesting picture at the end of the game. On one hand, we have our protagonist, 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 the protagonist chose to stay with Kiku because she did not want her to go through everything she had to endure, 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. She finally approaches the creature. For the first time, she pets it before saying:

"My hunt is over."

The wolf, almost as if it understands Atsu's emotions, whimperes softly and turns away to leave her. The protagonist watches as the beast wanders off and turns towards Kiku and Oyuki, who are still playing music.

The Ghost of Yotei ending seems to bring out Atsu's biggest smile in the game as she looks 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." Lord Saito is seen referring to her by this name many times as well, even as he's taking his last breath. The wolf accompanying Atsu on her journey could be a constant reminder of her father.

A lone wolf often prefers to hunt alone. To that extent, the creature can be a reflection of Atsu herself, a one-woman warrior isolating her prey before hunting it. Fierce and righteous, she doesn't deviate from her mission.

The wolf refusing to let anyone get close to it can be a reflection of Atsu's disposition and how she always has her guards up.

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 means she let go of her own self as the lone wolf. The wolf also allowed her to touch it for the first time, a sign of how the creature has also mellowed down. When Atsu tells the animal that her hunt is over, she also means that she is no longer alone. This scene signifies her own growth.

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