How to remove the black bars in Ghost of Yotei

Atsu riding her horse in Ghost of Yotei with the black bars disabled — (Image credit: Sony Interactive Entertainment)

If you want to disable the black bars in Ghost of Yotei, it's much easier than it seems. The feature is intended to make horse rides more cinematic, framing Atsu nicely against the gorgeous backdrop of Japan, but it can feel restrictive for those of us who want to enjoy riding in fullscreen. Especially after you've specifically chosen a Ghost of Yotei horse.

How to remove black bars in Ghost of Yotei

While you would assume it would be a setting under display, the answer is actually way more straightforward: it's not in any of the settings menus, because you simply have to press your right analog stick while on horseback. The black bars should disappear immediately, but you may have to press down on the right analog stick once or twice more to settle on your preferred level of zoom.

It's also worth noting that at certain points during Atsu's story, those black bars will return – even while you're on foot – but those are mandatory and will disappear automatically when their relevant moment has passed.

Learn the Yotei basics

If you need some basic Ghost of Yotei tips then we've a range of useful pointers and advice from completing the game for you.

While you're tweaking your visuals to perfection, you can find more in-depth customization options under the 'Display' menu. You can play around with brightness, contrast, and HUD settings there, as well as enable Ghost of Yotei's Kurosawa, Miike, and Watanabe modes respectively. However, in a slightly confusing choice, settings for the camera's auto-lock and framing are found under 'Gameplay'.

Lastly, the 'Accessibility' menu covers more practical settings – including text size and colour, improved wind visibility and projectile indicators. While all of the above should cover Ghost of Yotei's most important settings, feel free to play around until everything feels right. A lot of helpful gameplay features disabled by default to make the RPG feel more immersive, but you can always toggle them back on if you find yourself struggling with Ghost of Yotei's more hands-off direction.