When Shinji Mikami decided he wanted to go back to a time when horror games made players feel claustrophobic, powerless, and downright scared to move to the next section, he struck out on his own by leaving Capcom and the series he had become greatly known for, “Resident Evil”. From his move beyond Capcom came the rise of a new horror franchise – the greatly underrated “The Evil Within”.
Instead of giving gamers a third installment, Mikami opted to leave his comfort zone with the announcement of something otherworldly in Tokyo where the player takes control of a typical adult embedded with special powers when the gates of Hell open up – no, this isn’t “Doom”. The trailer for “Ghostwire Tokyo” seemed like a spooky adventure rooted in Japanese lore that would leave me both impressed and horrified; though I worried if it would be another lengthy, somewhat shallow open-world adventure.
Did I Complete “Ghostwire Tokyo”?
In the heart of Shibuya there’s a thickening fog enveloping the area and beyond. From this environmental occurrence comes a phenomenon where citizens’ spirits are separated from their physical bodies and mostly faceless demons known as “Visitors” arrive in Tokyo. For some reason, a lone man known as Akito is possessed by another human spirit during the rapture with the intent of solving the mystery as to why Tokyo is now cursed and how they can potentially save the world.
For the player, completing “Ghostwire” is overcoming the same types of obstacles seen across dozens of open-world games for the past two console generations. Beyond the main story missions are forty-two side quests with one solely connected to collecting twenty-five shape-shifting raccoons scattered across the city. The raccoons aren’t the only collectibles including fifty-two Jizo statues that, when found and prayed to, can extend the amount of “ammo” Akito’s powers has.
Torii Gates and Shrines play like fortresses or camps needing to be cleansed after the player clears the area of enemies to open up more of the map that is covered in fog. But nothing in terms of collectibles compares to the amount of spirits hovering in various areas throughout Tokyo, locked in entities such as corrupted trees sporting exploitable weak spots, and being apart of randomized events like “Corruption Cubes” and “Hyakki Yako” demon marches-turned-mini-marathon battles.
After fifty-seven hours (probably less as time away from the controller without actually pausing the game left the clock ticking), I finished the main story’s six chapters on “Normal” difficulty, all the side quests before the point-of-no-return moment in chapter four (though the game does allow players to create a “Clear Save” after finishing to story that places them back in the game before that moment), upgraded Akito’s skills to max via the skill tree and various collectibles like the aforementioned Jizo statues, completed all the relic hunts for the vendor-running Yokai cat spirits, cleansed the thirty-one gates, exorcised all 200,000-plus spirits (thankfully most spirits are clustered in groups of ninety to 600 at a time), and fed so many coin-finding dogs Akito should have enough money to live off of for the rest of his life after I attained another platinum trophy.
Did “Ghostwire Tokyo” Live Up to the Hype?
While not necessarily explained, the possession of Akito via the man who only goes by “KK” provides him the ability to turn three elemental forms – wind, water, and fire – into blistering attacks dubbed “Ethereal Weaving” in this first-person pseudo-shooter. Wind is the initial attack Akito is gifted, producing a long-range option that acts rapidly in execution, but doesn’t do as much damage with it working best as a way to stagger incoming adversaries. Water is for up-close matters with a much wider area of effect that, usually, knocks down enemies when hit. Fire is, easily, the most powerful attack of the three where the fireball Akito throws out explodes upon impact.
As noted, Jizo statues are the only way to increase the maximum amount of “ammo” each elemental attack has with wind sporting the most and fire having the least so players will have to rely on what brought them to the dance initially and save the fire attacks for tougher enemies or hordes. All of these attacks can be charged up for greater effect, but if Akito is struck, the charging is interrupted and the player will have to start all over again while enemy forces are potentially mounting.
Though Akito’s base attacks are elementally focused, they don’t have elemental effects on enemies. Not a single “Visitor” has an elemental property such as the red-faced “Rage Visitor” being invulnerable to fire, but weak to water. The only way to overcome every enemy is by ripping out their core – a spot that forms in the middle of a “Visitor’s” body after being hit enough times. When a “Visitor’s” core is fully exposed they become stunned and prone to both melee attacks where Akito can crush the core up-close, or, most likely, using KK’s wire tether to destroy the core from afar. Unfortunately ending these foes does take a little time and if an enemy hits Akito in mid-tether, it stops the core destruction animation and the once-stunned “Visitor” is able to move again; though the previously immobile enemy does become weaker to subsequent attacks.
Connected to all the combat mechanics mentioned is the “Wire In” ability. About a third into the story, Akito is given the “Wire In”, meter-centric ability that, when activated, slows down time while improving Akito’s “Ethereal Weaving” attack powers. While in “Wire In” mode, normal wind attacks can expose a “Visitor’s” core in two to three hits depending on the demon (some of the larger, more dangerous creatures such as the gigantic scissors-carrying woman in white or red aren’t as vulnerable even when “Wire In” mode is active).
While killing enemies normally is fine for refilling the “Wire In” meter once emptied, nothing compares to the stealth options when a player is attempting to get the meter back to max. Actually nothing really compares to the effectiveness of stealth in general in “Ghostwire”. Players can creep behind their foes, use “Spectral Vision” (the game’s version of “Detective Mode”), and perform a “Quick Purge” stealth attack that, once again, depending on the foe, will result in a one-hit-kill. These “Quick Purge” maneuvers are complemented by the compound bow. Though introduced as a tool to hit the tight weak spot of a corruption tree, the bow & arrow is great for stealth attacks or hitting a floating, kamikaze ghost that, when it gets tired of shooting energy balls at Akito, blazes forward in a blast of glory & copious damage.
Similar to “Wire In” being an effective tool in obliterating enemies alongside “Ethereal Weaving”, Talisman projectiles too help both when active in combat or trying to be stealthy. Three of the four Talismans options are great for stealth attacks including a sound decoy, a bush that blinds “Visitors” stuck inside, and one that temporally electrocutes & stuns foes; the latter also working well in battle. The last Talisman can prove overpowered by temporarily exposing a “Visitor’s” core to varying degrees as long as that enemy is in the area the Talisman was thrown. Like fire “ammo” being fewer compared to its counterparts, Talismans have inventory limits reaching the high single digits and can only be purchased at exorbitant prices from shops; making them tools best used when necessary or if Akito is flush with money.
There are some cosmetic items collected either through relic hunting or cleansing Torii Gates. Clothing items do nothing other than give Akito a distinct look in most cutscenes as a player can’t see Akito’s outfit in action due to this game being in first-person. The most important equippable items are the “Prayer Beads”. These beads that automatically upgrade when more than one is gained provide boosted damage for “Ethereal Weaving” attacks, make it easier to identify spirits, and shroud Akito in a layer of external haze so enemies have a harder time seeing him. Switching these “Prayer Beads” in and out for whatever situation Akito is in makes the gameplay much better and leaves one wondering why clothes could not have had a similar feature.
Though Akito has all these various tools to overcome “Visitors”, the amount of adversaries thrown at him aren’t that varied or complicated to defeat. A majority of the foes Akito will come across are the umbrella-carrying businessmen who look like “Slenderman” &“The Slenderman who ate all the other Slendermen and got heartburn”, headless teenagers who were gymnasts in their prior lives, stereotypical ghosts who look like bedsheets, and the corruption-inducing gigantic women sporting scissors or spider-like bodies. The most disappointing aspect in regards to enemies are the boss battles. These arena battles usually have Akito running around, spamming attacks while guarding infrequently. The bosses themselves are few due to the limited number of main story chapters.
In regards to defensive measures, Akito can block attacks with the use of a guard button. By spending skill points attained by both leveling up via experience points gained when defeating enemies, completing missions, or discovering KK’s intel notes scattered throughout the city, Akito’s abilities are upgraded. Not only will certain elemental powers become more efficient like throwing out an additional wind attack when fully charged, but inventory slots for Talisman and arrows will also increase.
The skill tree also provides the ability to “Perfect Block” and parry incoming attacks, though the timing in regards to how effective “Perfect Block” varies without much reason including distance or the attack animation. Healing can come from destroying enemy core’s, but the amount is miniscule. The best and worst option in regards to restoring Akito’s health is ingesting food either found on the street or purchased. The animation length of Akito eating and how long the player has to hold down the button to start the gorging session makes it difficult to effectively heal when surrounded and actually leaves Akito prone to potential game-ending strikes before the healing can take effect.
KK and Akito can be separated thanks to various enemies or during particular main story moments. It’s actually during these times when the player has to rely on the compound bow, “Quick Purge” attacks, and watching enemies without “Spectral Vision” that makes for the most harrowing and, at times, scariest moments the gameplay has to offer.
Gamers who want to see everything and improve Akito so much that, by the game’s end, will make him almost god-like by the final chapters even on “Hard” difficulty should have a great time with this experience due to how much there is to collect and complete. Sadly, a majority of everything in terms of completion is so mundane and rudimentary usually boiling down to going to an area, collecting the item of interest or overcoming a few enemies to, then, attain the item of interest. Side missions don’t leave a lasting impression in regards to execution as well as most of the narratives. While there are some emotional side missions such as an old samurai lord’s spirit still struggling to understand the betrayal that caused his downfall, most don’t do well providing something remarkable or not seen in other games in the genre including helping a spirit move on by assisting them on the toilet.
Thanks to the relatively small map and Akito’s upgradable ability to glide and use Tengu creatures for propelling, journeying throughout Tokyo is quite fun. And, thanks to the quick loading times, fast traveling via shrines and Yokai shops makes zipping around the city while hunting down those collectibles a breeze. Some of the best collectibles are the ones tied to Japanese lore that provide “Magatama” items that further unlock paths on the skill tree.
With a relatively short main story, there’s actually not much to cover in regards to the plot without spoiling some major moments or, more noticeably, bringing up issues with the primary narrative. After Akito goes to the hospital housing his sister following a house fire that injured her, he begins a journey in an attempt to save her from the “Hannya Man” who, for some reason, loves doing speeches to the masses via hijacked screens only Akito can see because everyone else is gone and the floating spirits don’t hear him. The somewhat buddy comedy that comes from Akito and KK’s relationship is more profound than a majority of what happens in the main story, including the lacking development of “Hannya Man” or the promise of collecting or not collecting the spirits meaning anything to the narrative as promised when the collectible is introduced.
In a lot of ways, Tokyo itself is the best part of both the story and “Ghostwire” in general. The bright lights reflecting off rain-soaked streets makes everything around Akito feel alive even if there aren’t any other humans left to interact with; though the Yokai cats and abandoned dogs do add some temporary companionship. Shiny objects housing money or “ammo”-refilling ether are around almost every corner even in the oddest places (a rocking chair now floating above someone’s roof). With random events and various enemies actually appearing during unexpected moments like picking up a collectible, only for Akito’s adversary radar to go off is what makes exploring so interesting in the few environments open for said exploration.
“Ghostwire” not only looks great, it also sounds fantastic. The pitter-patter of Akito’s feet when running can suddenly be joined by groaning via the PS5’s DualSense controller’s speaker that means an enemy is nearby. The deafening roar of a “Visitor” “Quick Purged” never gets old or any less creepy. KK also speaks through the controller; adding to the effect of KK being inside of Akito. “Ghostwire’s” native voice cast works very well, but the English dub, as per the norm, leaves something to be desired.
The controller’s haptic feedback triggers are put to the test with the amount of shooting both regular and charged up the player will do. There are some technical limitations including the oddly slow camera speed when moving Akito in any direction. This lacking camera speed is joined by the fact the field of view cannot be adjusted and may prove too tight for some players. Frame rate drops were surprisingly frequent when atop buildings even in the less cluttered areas of the city. Thankfully, overall stability including a lack of game-breaking bugs or hard crashes is commendable. There’s also an adjustable auto-save system to complement the hard save method players can use any time they aren’t in combat – an implementation all open-world games should have.
“Ghostwire Tokyo” represents all that’s great and worrisome about open-world experiences. An impressive and detailed setting sporting way too many collectibles is not helped by its unremarkable and criminally short story, surprisingly shallow combat options, and forgettable side quests.
Should You Play “Ghostwire Tokyo”?
The original trailers didn’t necessarily explain what type of game “Ghostwire” could be, but the setting and combat trailers definitely left one to expect more than the ordinary when it comes to open-world experiences. Instead of focusing on what makes this game interesting – the setting and its potential characters – “Ghostwire” is focused on quantity over quality with a bunch of stuff littering the relatively impressive map. The combat is also rather uninspired considering what they could’ve done with “Ethereal Weaving’s” elemental properties.
“Ghostwire Tokyo” isn’t a bad or even disappointing game, but just woefully average that won’t leave a lasting impression other than the belief there’s so much more they could’ve done with the game beyond sticking to the open-world tropes players have grown to either loathe or love in this genre. There’s no real reason someone can’t wait for this to go on sale before purchasing it if they aren’t sick of the typical open-world game standards set in the early 2010s. For Xbox gamers, simply let the year pass and download it via Gamepass when it’s no longer a PS5 & PC exclusive. There are just as many hits as there are misses in regards to “Ghostwire Tokyo”, but the overall feeling is like being the grand marshal in a demonic parade – something that should be fun that turns against your expectations rather quickly.
