Just finished the game. Here are my thoughts...
I clocked in about 48hrs total. This was a fantastic sequel to Tsushima. I won't say which is better - I thoroughly enjoyed both. In terms of story, I will say Tsushima had a better flow and character development with the main protagonist. But I will not say it's a detriment to Atsu, she was molded different due to her childhood trauma so her personality is understandably quite rigid compared to Jin who was fortunate to be more mature and sophisticated due to his family's status and privilege. What Atsu lacked, I felt the support characters were imperative to her story as they provided the different perspectives and layers to her growth. Tsushima made Jin realized that Samurai code was total bullshyt and that you can't be dignified in war. In Yotei, Atsu was hellbent on revenge for her past losses not realizing her choices would dictate and effect the very relationships that helped her along the way. I enjoyed Tsushima's and Jins journey a bit more, but I definitely felt the npc's in Yotei are more memorable.
Gameplay is amazing. It was a bit more challenging than Tsushima but I appreciated the variety each area provided, I definitley feel the map/world of Yotei is superior than Tsushima. My only issue was it provided way too many options in terms of weapon playstyle. I never used the damn spear, rifle and only did the odachi sparingly. The swords, kuruwatevathefukk and bows were good enough for me. I understand others might enjoy those items, but I feel that they should have let the players choose two main weapons and expand more on it's utilization and techniques. The camps, bounties, wolf dens, tales and randam side missions are great. I love the fact you can really develop your characters skills without really delving into the main story.
It's a straight 9/10 for me. Definitely must buy and my GOTY so far.