She appears as a typical white wolf to outside observers, but her true form, visible to the player and those with strong spiritual beliefs, depicts her with red markings and fur curlicues, as well as her weapon, typically depicted as the Divine Retribution Reflector, one of a class of weapons based on ancient bronze mirrors.

Together with Issun, a loudmouth Poncle found within Sakuya's robe, Amaterasu sets off to revive the Guardian Saplings scattered across Nippon and restore the lands to their original beauty and rid them from evil's hold.

With the aid of Issun, who takes up his role as the Celestial Envoy, and all the people she met, who send her praise and prayers, her power is fully restored and she is able to vanquish the evil demon once and for all.

[7] A costume in Capcom's Monster Hunter Generations based on Amaterasu was offered as part of the game's downloadable content.

[8] Similarly, a Palamute costume based on Amaterasu was added to Monster Hunter Rise as part of a crossover event in July 2021.

In 2010, readers of the Japanese magazine Famitsu voted Amaterasu into eighth place in a poll for the best video game character of all time.

[18] In a review, IGN's Cam Shea wrote that the game deals with traditional Japanese culture playfully, giving Amaterasu a "delightful duality".

While she is a powerful goddess, capable of making vast changes to the world, she is also prone to digging for treasure in the manner of a typical wolf pup.

[19] Brittany Vincent of Syfy Wire expressed a similar opinion, explaining that while Amaterasu is "the embodiment of grace and wisdom", she is "still very much a hound that we love to watch do her thing".

[20] GamesRadar+ noted that Amaterasu gained a dedicated following despite Ōkami's low sales, saying that her average appearance to most humans played into the game's theme of finding beauty in the mundane.

[21] Louise Grann of 100 Greatest Video Game Characters compared Amaterasu to "a benevolent heroine of an epic fairy tale", noting she helped subtly educate players about the Shinto religion's beliefs and rituals.

Stating that it was crucial for the player and NPCs to perceive Amaterasu differently in order to make her actions appear spontaneous to outside observers, he noted that "by casting the player as an animal", the game "wisely circumvents the silent protagonist conundrum", saying that Amaterasu's "one-sided conversations" nevertheless felt natural due to her non-human nature.