Ghostwire-Tokyo

Ghostwire: Tokyo Game Review

Ghostwire: Tokyo is a significant shift from Tango Gameworks' previous two games. While the studio made its name with two fantastic survival horror games, The Evil Within and its sequel, Ghostwire, Tokyo is a very different animal.

For starters, the viewpoint has shifted from third to first person, and while Ghostwire: Tokyo is eerily atmospheric, it's far from a horror game. The most significant shift, though, is that Ghostwire: Tokyo continually strengthens you. Players are offered a wide range of paranormal powers to experiment with right away.

Ghostwire: Tokyo, set in a beautiful replica of the Japanese capital, have a refreshingly small scope. There has already been a slew of open-world games released this year. Players must invest dozens of hours to see everything in games like Dying Light 2: Stay Human, Horizon: Forbidden West, and Elden Ring, although Ghostwire: Tokyo is smaller in scale.

There's a lot to enjoy about Ghostwire: Tokyo, and while it falls short in a few important areas, the overall package is simple to recommend, especially to those looking for a game that doesn't take months to complete. Continue reading for our complete Ghostwire: Tokyo review.

Story

Ghostwire: Tokyo plops you right into the middle of the action. The game's introductory cutscene's rapid tempo is nearly unsettling. It does, however, do a decent job of setting the stakes. Tokyo's population has inexplicably departed, and the city has been overtaken by evil spirits. To make matters worse, the city is shrouded in a dense, lethal fog.

As Akito, a man possessed by the ghost of a former cop known as KK, you must go on a quest to discover the truth behind these unusual paranormal occurrences. You're also on the lookout for a suspicious group wearing traditional Hannya masks who appear to be involved in the proceedings.

Hence, Akito's sister is involved in the events; hence, there are personal stakes in the plot. Furthermore, KK's past is more intricate than he initially reveals. On the other hand, none of these puzzles seems particularly intriguing. Perhaps it's because Akito seems unconcerned about the strange happenings in his hometown.

The interaction between Akito and KK (who share the former's body and communicate frequently) is similarly wooden. They rapidly create a buddy-cop relationship, but neither character is very engaging, and it's difficult to believe their trajectories.

The story of the game also comes to a surprising conclusion. Just as I thought the tale was beginning to take a turn for the better, I was warned that I was approaching a point of no return and needed to complete any outstanding side tasks before continuing.

Gameplay

Akito's major weapon against his enemies is his ability to cast elemental spells with a single button click; you can blast wind, fire, and ice from your fingertips, and holding the cast button performs a more powerful assault that can cause severe damage.

Fighting in the colourful "karate meets magic" world is surprisingly simple, as your arsenal scarcely changes throughout the game. You gain all of your elemental skills within the first hour or two of the game, which makes enemy confrontations feel a little repetitive near the end of the main campaign. Casting spells, on the other hand, is unique enough that combat manages to keep your attention almost the entire time.

You're up against frightening invading spirits known as “visitors” as your foes. These adversaries may be rather aggressive, and while Ghostwire: Tokyo isn't particularly difficult in the Elden Rings sense, the sheer quantity of them can overwhelm you. To come out of conflicts alive, you must play intelligently and preserve your distance. A stealthy approach is also possible, but due to easy-to-exploit enemy detection AI, being sneaky isn't particularly entertaining.

Another important aspect of fighting is the power to take an enemy's core out of their body, but only after softening them up. There's little variation in how this sequence plays out each time, but it's always really enjoyable, thanks in part to the haptic stimulation provided by the DualSense controller, which adds to the immersion.

When you're not fighting spectral spirits, you can wander about the game's scaled-down Tokyo. That's a good idea, because the setting is the game's actual star, providing a densely packed environment that's fun to stroll around freely. For narrative reasons, the city is empty of other humans, which provides a beautifully spooky atmosphere. After a brief prologue, you are free to explore Tokyo as you like, and there is plenty to keep you busy.

Your map will be packed with icons and sites of interest within minutes, asking to be explored. Some of these distractions resemble the normal open-world fluff you've certainly seen in dozens of other games. For example, you'll spend a lot of time clearing gates to defog the map and absorbing lost spirits for XP and currency; both activities feel like ticking boxes.

The game's various side quests, on the other hand, sparkle. You'll come across lost souls with unfinished business that plead for your help throughout the planet. These extra missions don't try to compete with the main campaign for your attention, but instead provide satisfying, bite-sized experiences. Some of these may be done in under five minutes, and even the most difficult one I encountered took less than 20 minutes.

The most ordinary of these vocations entails battling a slew of typical foes, but others convey heartfelt tales. The greatest ones put you in the role of a paranormal investigator tasked with searching meticulously detailed landscapes for hidden mysteries.

Ghostwire: Tokyo's tightness is refreshing in a sea of open-world games that seem to be striving for the longest completion time possible. The main story can be completed in under 15 hours, and even if you do all of the optional activities, you'll be done in under 30 hours.

Ghostwire: Tokyo fits the bill nicely if you're looking for an open-world game that doesn't completely overwhelm you with more content than you could ever hope to complete.

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