In a sea of oversaturated battle royale games, remasters, sequels and ports, it is hard to find a video game that steps out of the box. Thankfully, in March players will be able to experience something refreshingly new as Ghostwire Tokyo transports you to the abandoned streets of Tokyo to fight off Yokai and survive the haunted alleys of the city.
From what I have seen of Ghostwire Tokyo, the game is trying to merge the horror genre with a more action approach. So instead of sneaking around and avoiding the ghosts that roam the streets, you play as Akito who is empowered with supernatural abilities called Ethereal Weaving. In order to vanquish these ghosts called Visitors, Akito needs to use these abilities. Using Akito’s growing arsenal of attacks, players will combine them together to damage these Visitors in order to yank a “core” out of their spiritual bodies.
Ghostwire: Tokyo is also pushing a feature called “Weaving” where Akito can use these Ethereal Weaving attacks in a variety of ways. Holding down an ability results in a different end attack so you can use the wind as a burst of bullet-like shots or channel it into a larger gust. The same goes for water. Here, it can be shot like a bubble or Akito can power it up and shoot a slice of water out in front of him. It all depends on how many visitors you are up against and how you prefer to take them out.
Ghostwire: Tokyo is an open-world game from what I gathered while watching a closed press briefing. Players can explore various hubs while sealing Tori gates which act as portals between the world. The main goal is to gather as many spirits across the city and deposit them into a strange telephone booth. You can also use these Tori gates to fast travel between different locations throughout the city.
Spirits are exchanged for currency but this telephone booth also plays a bigger role in the overarching story of the game. What this is is unclear at the moment. However, these telephones have clearly been built in preparation for whatever horrific event has led to the vanishing of the population in the city. So I am keen to see how this is all tied together.
These spirits also grant Akito XP which he can then use to level up and enhance his Ethereal Weaving abilities. Currency, on the other hand, is used to purchase equipment such as quivers for your bow and talismans. Certain abilities require talismans and Akito can use his bow to shoot enemies from a distance.
So while you’re exploring the city, gathering cores from Visitors you defeat, collecting new spirits, cleaning Tori gates and shopping, you will also take on some interesting missions. These missions seem to be tied to spirits and their endeavours in the city. They also touch on the theme of the afterlife and Yokai so expect them to give you a good understanding of not only Japanese lore but also the game’s backstory.
Akito is also versatile when it comes to his gameplay approach. Players can craft him into a stealth build or even an all-out action build. You can sneak around and take out enemies from a distance or you channel your focus into the abilities and create some cool-looking combination attacks.
My biggest takeaway from the Ghostwire: Tokyo demo I saw was how Tango Gameworks has managed to bring this dark and sinister city to life almost as if the buildings and objects themselves are possessed by the Yokai. As the player explores the city, it moves about with trolleys rolling away, doors opening and closing and even window shutters rapidly flying around. There is clearly a disturbance in the undead here and the city is a sign of this.
Ghostwire: Tokyo is looking great so far. Somehow, the game has managed to do something so refreshingly new that I am quite excited to see how it ends up in March. It looks like it is going to be an exciting blend of first-person action with some horror gameplay tacked onto it. You should definitely keep your eyes on it. Watch some extended gameplay down below ahead of the release date on 25 March 2022 for PS5 and PC.
