Ghostwire: Tokyo has been on my radar ever since its first reveal. The combination of a desolated Tokyo with a highly mysterious and dark story got me interested in the game at first. When I learned the team over at Tango Gameworks is creating this game, I got more excited. How would the new game from the team behind The Evil Within play like? Is this the horror experience fans of the genre were waiting for or does it fall flat on its face instead? Let’s find out!
Tokyo
For this preview, I was able to play through the first two chapters of the game and I must say I like what I’ve seen this far. I won’t go into heavy spoiler territory as the story is clearly one of the game’s biggest stars. In Ghostwire you take control over Akito, who’s already dead. It all started when a mysterious deadly mist came out of nowhere, killing everyone that came in its path. Thousands of people died in Tokyo that day, leaving only a pile of clothes behind. Akito was in an accident that day but thanks to a visit of the spirit called KK, Akito came back to life. He’s on a mission to save his sister, but KK has other plans for his host. The dialogues between Akito and KK are truly brilliantly written and offer a rather clever exposure tool to jump into the story. From what I’ve played until now, I can guarantee that you’ll never truly know what to expect from the story.
It seems like the mist opened some sort of portal or bridge between worlds, allowing evil spirits, called Visitors, to enter Tokyo. As Akito, it’s your job to silence these deadly spirits and save the spirits that are currently trapped in the city. Who’s behind this mysterious attack? Hannya, a masked villain operates as the self-proclaimed mastermind but is this really the case? Solving the mysteries in Ghostwire won’t come easy as you’ll have to maneuver through a city filled with ghosts. Luckily, you have some powerful tools to help you out.
Take them down with magic
Thanks to the mysterious story, you’ll be hooked to the game in no time. After playing the first couple of minutes, I wanted to find out more about this dark and mysterious world. The game itself is played in a first-person perspective and this certainly elevates the immersion. Since you’re playing in first-person, you’re really close to the action, which is both a blessing and a curse. It’s a blessing because Tokyo never looked this good before in a videogame, wandering around in the narrow streets and enjoying those bright neon lights while puddles of water reflect that light onto other buildings and vehicles is just breathtaking. The team really managed to recreate Tokyo and everything about it feels extremely realistic. And that’s where the “downside’ comes into play. Ghostwire: Tokyo certainly isn’t a game for the faith of heart. Since you’re so close on top of the action, you’ll often jump from your chair when a monster suddenly appears from behind the corner. It’s not your typical popcorn horror experience. Ghostwire offers pure Japanese horror, which means it combines a lot of supernatural presence with desolated and empty locations. During my time with the game, I was rather surprised by how well this almost clinical version of Tokyo translated into a true horror experience. The streets aren’t bursting with life and the indoor locations are all as empty as the streets. There are piles of clothing everywhere, reminding you of what happened but besides that, there’s nothing, or at least, you hope there’s nothing. If there’s something else in the room with you, it often isn’t good news and it often means you better prepare for a fight.
In combat, you’ll fall back to magic and some classic weapons like a bow and arrow. During the first minutes of the game, you’ll be able to blast your enemies with a gust of wind. The more I advanced, the more variation in attacks I unlocked. After more than an hour with the game, I was able to perform air, water, fire attacks all while I could still use my bow and arrow and even use special items to stun my enemies. I love how the combat of the game quickly evolved from performing the same attack over and over again to combining my different abilities in order to stay alive when a pack of Visitors attacked. The combat feels very natural and even has a skill tree and leveling system to keep you entertained. The higher your level, the better and more powerful your attacks will eventually become. I like the combat a lot and love the fact that you’re able to run around freely and block attacks all while preparing your own set of attacks. If you manage to weaken your enemies, you can rip out their cores, which will lead to their permanent death. Again, it all starts pretty easy with the same type of enemy you’ll have to face over and over, but the game introduces different and more challenging enemies at a steady pace. I like how the game throws different types of enemies at you without further explanation. If you want to defeat the more challenging boss-like Visitors you’ll need to time your attacks and block perfectly if you come out of the confrontation alive. After clearing the first two chapters of the game it feels like I only scratched the surface of what the combat can really become in Ghostwire, I can’t wait to see how powerful I can become with some extra hours in the game.
More than just combat
Although the combat is extremely immersive and addictive, the game offers far more than just that. It’s a bit harder to tell while watching trailers, but Ghostwire offers a lot of room for exploration and secrets. Tokyo is an open world to discover but your movement is limited due to the deadly mist. Since you can’t enter the fog without dying, exploring Tokyo is limited to a couple of streets at first. The more you explore and the more temple arcs you clear from corruption, the more of the map you’ll eventually unlock. If you unlock bigger segments of the city, you’ll quickly notice the world has tons of secrets waiting to be discovered. Everywhere you’ll look, you’ll find extra information or small notes and text messages, showcasing what it was like for the people of the city moments before they disappeared. The game offers a lot of detective-esque mechanics where you’ll need to find certain items before you advance, especially during side-quests. These side-quests are super fun to play and often absurd since you’re not only helping out humans and spirits, you’re also helping out animals, which you can communicate with thanks to the power of KK. It’s clear to see that the developers created a deep and rich world that’s filled with secrets and extra lore for those willing to go look for it. It’s still too soon to grasp the story and the mysteries but one thing’s for sure, the atmosphere and general vibe of the game will keep pushing you to eventually find out the truth. I love the way how the corruption of the evil spirits affects the normal world and twists it all around to make it harder to navigate. Ghostwire is filled with these special moments where nothing is what it seems and it certainly nails that ominous atmosphere.
Early conclusion:
Ghostwire: Tokyo is a very unique game that got me wanting a lot more. I’m a huge fan of the mysterious and dark story in combination with the first-person combat and exploration. It’s clear that the world of Ghostwire has a lot more secrets that I’m yet to discover and I simply can’t wait to spend more time with this unique horror experience. Be sure to add this one to your list as I’m pretty certain it won’t disappoint at all.
