Along with a load of fixes, the Ghost of Yotei day one patch addresses three of the funniest glitchy things I saw when reviewing the game

Developer Sucker Punch Productions has detailed Ghost of Yotei's day one patch, and, among a host of improvements and enhancements, it also addresses some of the funniest and most annoying things I glimpsed when reviewing the game.

I should say here, though, that broadly speaking, my nearly-60 hours spent with the game for review were basically flawless when it came to bugs, glitches, or performance issues. The game ran like a dream on PS5 Pro and never really hiccupped.

However, I did get glimpses of funniness, which the day one patch is addressing.

The first of which was when my horse became a bit too much of a free spirit and got in the way of me during missions. My horse didn't go full Roach a la The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, but it was still eyebrow-raising and laugh-inducing to see a horse casually trot in front of me during mission objectives, or come into view in the back of the cutscene.

The 'Prevent the horse from interrupting certain missions objectives or cutscenes.' patch note looks to have put an end to such equine tomfoolery, though.

Another one of my favorites was being ambushed by baddies when I was simply chasing a fox to complete its activity and reach the shrine it leads you to. Nothing like following a cute critter to then be absolutely nailed by a bunch of badmen out of the blue...

The 'Prevent systemic enemies from appearing when the player is following foxes.' fix should take care of this problem, though, and let you follow some of Ezo's wildlife at peace.

The 'Fixes a bug causing Standoff to select far away enemies.' patch note is my third favorite to pick out, and definitely does make sense. I definitely, frequently, thought that I could engage in a Standoff from a pretty long distance during review - the equivalent of Atsu shouting to enemies from a soccer field and in the blink of an eye meeting them face-to-face in the center circle. But it was never too weird for me.

And I never had a scenario during a Standoff scene, where - and I'm imagining here - where an enemy would run like Forrest Gump from either off camera or right from the back of a group of lads, but that would have been extra funny.

Away from fixing the funny annoyances, I've put the full patch notes below for full reference, and you can see that it's a full set of fixes and enhancements. Ghost of Yotei is out now on PS5, and I implore you to get it and jump in!

Performance and Stability

• Multiple improvements to environmental rendering performance.
• Fixed issues affecting Ray Tracing Mode lighting consistency and performance.
• Changes to improve performance and stability while in photo mode.
• Various improvements to performance in missions with high character counts.
• Resolved uncommon crashes when playing or idling for long periods of time.
• Fixed rare crashes related to loading certain saves.

Gameplay

• Audio fixes to allow impact sound effects to correctly match surface types.
• Fixes several bugs in mini games like bamboo chop and Zeni Hajiki.
• Fixed an occasional long delay when starting buddy grapple pull.
• Fixed pumpkins appearing transparent during the kunai training mission.
• Fixed interrogation camera transitions to avoid popping between angles.
• General camera improvements for world navigation and when using tools in combat.
• Improvements camera behaviour while engaged in combat, especially in optional camera modes.
• Fixes various bugs and exploits during duels.
• Various balance adjustments to weapons and charms, especially related to late game content.
• Various balance adjustments and bug fixes related to Lethal difficulty.
• Fixed bugs related to picking and throwing dropped weapons.
• Balance adjustments and bug fixes to stealth kills with weapons other than the katana.
• Fixed bugs with mission dialogue being cut short due to player or NPC actions.
• Fixed several bugs in missions that players could perceive as blocking progress.
• Various mission area improvements to help with mission flow and easier navigation.
• Limit puzzle clues in some difficulty levels.
• Prevent the horse from interrupting certain missions objectives or cutscenes. 
• Removed the ability to decapitate bounty capture targets.
• Fixes a bug causing Standoff to select far away enemies.
• Various adjustments and balance changes to wolf abilities, such as when fighting enemy leaders.
• Prevent systemic enemies from appearing when the player is following foxes.
• Added the ability for the player to open photo mode (via R1) during certain stages when camping.
• Various economy and loot balance changes to common metals.
• Improved enemy responses to player actions in combat scenarios.
• Reduced the occurrence of tutorials when camping.
• Improved behaviour of Saito's men hunting for Atsu in the open world. 

Animation

• Improved intro and exit transitions for some cinematics to present a better and more emotional experience.
• Fixed multiple instances of armour blocking camera shots during cutscenes.
• Fixes to prevent geometry fading or popping at incorrect times in cutscenes.
• Fixes for cutscene animation artifacts.
• Fixes multiple instances of weapons appearing incorrectly during cutscenes.
• Fixes characters improperly appearing in some cutscenes.
• Improvements to character expressions and emotions during some cutscenes.
• Updated various NPC animations and voice lines to make characters behave more naturally.
• Updated the intro and exit animations for katana attacks so they feel more natural.
• Updating foot matching across animations to better match characters’ feet to the ground.
• Added new into and exit animations to improve transitions smoothness in foot matching and posture.
• Improved animations for the coal throwing game used in weapon training.
• Fixed a bug that allowed dogs and other animals to play incorrect hunt animations.
• Fixed various NPC animations that would play incorrectly during missions.
• Improved the animation for the Brute enemy grabbing Atsu and throwing her down on the ground.
• Improving various weapon draw and stow animations to reduce clipping.

Environment

• Improved onsen environmental assets, layout, set dressing and world interaction to provide more unique experiences for each onsen.
• Improving appearance and performance of some flower types.
• Improved the look of erosion and details in mountain ranges seen across the world.
• Improved various textures in caves to bring up level of detail and eliminate seams and some artifacting.
• Updated lower levels of detail on various tree assets around the world to prevent visual popping when the player is navigating around locations.
• Updated deep snow blending to better conceal characters and also improve the look of snow on other assets.
• Improvements and optimization across many assets throughout the game to improve performance.
• Improved textures and assets within various caves and dens across the game for general quality polish. 
• Tweaked assets across the entire game to fix issues with objects floating above the ground.

UI/UX

• Fixed photomode flashes and bright glow when rapidly changing the time of day.
• General improvements to the photomode menu UI and navigation.
• Fixed bugs in mini games related to alternative controller schemes.
• Fixed various bugs in spyglass.
• Fixed conflicting UI elements in various menus and the map.
• Fixed text overflowing in Large Text mode in various languages.
• Fixed text overlap with the Key Items list and objective cards with multiple rewards.
• Adjusted the position of certain UI elements, such as the Charm Level icon.
• Fixed or improved icons for multiple cosmetics and skills.
• Updated skill videos and allow colored glints for clearer instruction.
• Fixed UI elements to avoid overlapping in various cases like duels.
• Fixed a bug with items on the travelers map appearing incorrectly.
• Updated the UI marker shaders, animation and size to improve legibility.
• Fixed a bug where the loadout trainer inappropriately.
• Modified bloom in the spyglass to improve visibility in bright scenes.
• Reduced the number of pop-ups at the start of the game for a smoother experience for players with bonus content.
• Improved various UI elements at vendors.
• Fixed bugs related to loading and popping in menus.
• Updated trophy and activity art.
• Improved the appearance of some elements on the map.
• Fixed the naming of some inventory items.
• Added options to photo mode.

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