This Ghostwire: Tokyo review may contain minor spoilers.
Ghostwire: Tokyo was something of an enigma when it arrived on PS5 and PC late last month. Before actually playing the game, I’d struggle to tell you what it was about based on trailers alone. Coming from Bethesda and being a regular feature of Sony’s PlayStation Showcases, there was certainly some anticipation for its release. Although, after the recent launches of Sifu, Horizon Forbidden West, Elden Ring, and Gran Turismo 7, it had hardly positioned itself as “must buy”. After playing the game to completion, I’m still not entirely sure what Bethesda and developer Tango Gameworks wanted Ghostwire: Tokyo to be. And its confused premise – as well as its run-of-the-mill open world and repetitive gameplay – cements it as a somewhat fun if skippable affair.
Ghostwire: Tokyo review – Premise & Story
Ghostwire: Tokyo is set in – you guessed it – Tokyo, after its entire population mysteriously disappears. In their place are Yokai spirits, known as Visitors, who have infested every corner of the city. You take control of Akito, a young man who narrowly survives a motorbike accident after he is possessed by a spirit named KK. Once possessed by KK, Akito is granted supernatural powers that he can use to defeat the Visitors.
A mysterious man known as Hannya appears at the same time as the Visitors. He’s the hannya mask wearing fellow you’ll have seen on all the Ghostwire: Tokyo promotional art. And he’s also the game’s main antagonist. Things become personal for Akito when Hannya kidnaps his sister from the hospital in an attempt to use her to summon the world of the dead.
Besides his memorable appearance, Hannya is a pretty standard villain with a generic motivation and backstory. While Ghostwire‘s story is not overtly bad – you won’t find anything unique.
Perhaps the most striking thing about Ghostwire: Tokyo‘s premise is just how much of it seems to have been borrowed from other games. Silent Hill and Death Stranding are the most evident – but Ghostwire does nothing like as good of a job with these borrowed concepts. Despite early levels evoking a sense of horror, that theme is quickly dismissed in favour of all out action. And it’s this confusion that curtails Ghostwire‘s enigmatic concept before it even gets going. This is the Deathloop version of Silent Hill.
Ghostwire: Tokyo review – Gameplay
With Ghostwire‘s story and premise offering nothing unique, it’s not surprising that its gameplay is similarly uninspiring. Games don’t need to innovate to be good. But a mediocre open-world combined with tedious gameplay means Ghostwire: Tokyo is stuck being just OK. So, while it’s harmless fun for a time, by the end of its 10~ hour main story I found myself frustratingly bored.
Ethereal Weaving
The main culprit here is the one-note combat. Thanks to KK, Akito is blessed with supernatural powers that allow him to shoot elemental energy from his hands. This is known as “Ethereal Weaving” and is undeniably fun and flashy at first (thanks, in part, to the excellent DualSense effects). Soon, however, it becomes apparent that Ghostwire has no intention of ever developing past it. You start out with Wind attacks and later unlock Water and Fire. Each purports to offer a different advantage in combat. For example, Wind is relatively weak but can be fired rapidly. Whereas, Water and Fire take longer to charge up but are more effective at taking out groups. Despite this, I never got the impression the different elemental attacks made any actual difference. Whatever elemental you go with, simply smash your opponent with as many attacks as you can before ripping out their exposed “core”.
Bow and Talismans
Completing Akito’s arsenal is a bow and a set of magic talismans.
The bow is a bow. It isn’t satisfying to use and offers no real advantage over the fast firing Wind attacks. You can’t craft arrows, either. So, you have to be sure to constantly visit one of Ghostwire‘s many magical floating cat merchants to buy more. If it wasn’t for the mystical kitties, this process would become particularly laborious if you favoured the bow in combat.
The talismans are clearly an attempt to mix things up by adding a layer of strategy. But they don’t.
There’s four to collect: the Thicket Talisman (for stealth), the Stun Talisman (that freezes Visitors), the Exposure Talisman (to expose Visitors’ cores), and the Decoy Talisman (for distraction). The problem is that there’s no real strategy required to Ghostwire‘s gameplay. As mentioned, it simply comes down to mashing enemies with R2. So, the Talismans only serve as a needless complexity. For example, stealth consists of crouching behind an enemy and pressing L2 to destroy their core. It’s slow, boring and as basic as stealth can be in a video game. This makes using the Thicket Talisman less attractive than just attacking head on.
Open-world and missions
Ghostwire‘s interpretation of Tokyo is disappointing. It serves its purpose as an open-world to run around in. But there’s nothing memorable about it. Somehow, every corner looks the same. I can’t recall one area that stuck out to me as different. It’s a real shame. But it’s not helped by the fact it’s constantly nighttime in Ghostwire: Tokyo. Wherever you are, it’s always dark and dreary.
The extensive catalogue of missions do little to encourage exploration of the game’s open-world, either. They almost always consist of talking to a spirit before heading to a nearby location and following a set of given instructions. It’s modern game design at its most mind numbing. While some were more enjoyable than others, none amounted to anything more than a shopping list of tasks.
Ghostwire: Tokyo Review – Graphics and Performance
Ghostwire: Tokyo looks decent on PS5. It won’t blow you away and is below the bar set by many PS4 games. But it’s not bad.
The game offers six – yes, SIX – graphics modes. They are: Quality Mode, “a high-fidelity rendering mode with ray tracing enabled” capped at 30 fps. Performance Mode, “a high-framerate [sic] mode designed for the smoothest gameplay” capped at 60fps. High Framerate Quality and Performance modes with “an uncapped framerate and tweaks to graphic quality”. And finally High Framerate Vsync Quality and Performance modes to accommodate for screen tearing.
Playing on a 4K 60hz monitor, I only tried the game on the Performance and Quality modes. Visually, there seemed to be very little obvious difference. It still didn’t look particularly “next-gen” on Quality mode. So, I opted for the 60fps Performance mode which complimented the game’s fast paced action.
Thankfully, Ghostwire: Tokyo had no significant bugs that couldn’t be fixed with a simple reboot which, in this day and age, is a plus.
Ghostwire: Tokyo Review – Verdict
Ghostwire: Tokyo is a somewhat fun way to kill some time. It doesn’t innovate or try anything new, but it’s competently put together and just about sustained my interest throughout its short main story. At times, it felt like there were glimmers of a great game. Particularly in the moments where it dabbled with horror. But in the end, its confused tone and over-reliance on action over atmosphere meant it fell short of the mark.
Ghostwire: Tokyo‘s biggest flaw is its one-dimensional gameplay. I cannot stress enough how simplistic and repetitive it is. And that diminishes any replay-ability once the main story is over. Unfortunately, this makes Ghostwire: Tokyo a largely forgettable experience and one I’m in no hurry to revisit. This is a game best left until it receives a substantial discount.
Overall Rating: 6/10
Reviewed on: PS5
Do you agree with our Ghostwire: Tokyo review? Let us know in the comment section below and don’t forget to check out our other gaming articles…
