Ghostwire: Tokyo PS5 Review – Evil Resident
Ghostwire: Tokyo has an interesting premise but lacks something unique to keep players coming back
What’s Good with Ghostwire: Tokyo
⊕ Fascinating premise and setting
⊕ Photo mode
⊕ You can pet cats and dogs
⊗ Repetitive gameplay
⊗ Supernatural stuff gets old
Verdict: Ghostwire: Tokyo is fun while it lasts, but won’t leave any lasting impression on those looking for the same experience as The Evil Within.
Ghostwire: Tokyo Review
Two things to know about me:
- I love Japan with its deep and fascinating culture, people, gorgeous cities, landscapes, and food.
- I am the biggest wuss on this side of the planet.
When Nick (Hi, that’s me – editor) asked if I would like to review Ghostwire: Tokyo, I can’t say that I was aware that there was much marketing to the game, or… there was but because I avoid horror like the plague, I didn’t see any.
I said yes, loaded the game up and went in blind. Needless to say, when the first slenderman started advancing on me out of nowhere, I pushed back so hard on my chair I almost toppled over.
“Who you gonna call?”
The game takes place in Shibuya, a well known ward of Tokyo, Japan; akin to an area like Manhattan, all lit up at all hours of the day, with throngs of people moving to and fro.
In Ghostwire: Tokyo, all the spirits of these people have been stolen (think the click of the Infinity Gauntlet) and you, a real-live human named Akiro, survived the reckoning. You are not alone though, and meet up with KK, a spirit with only vengeance on his mind. You agree to allow him to share your body, and by doing so, gain ethereal powers themed around the elements.
The map starts off as most open world games do, with most of the map fogged over. You need to reach and cleanse Torii shrines to clear the fog (which can kill you if you run into it). This cleansing of shrines forms part of the core gameplay loop, as you can’t really advance in the main story without cleaning quite a few of them.
Collectibles and lost souls are also part of this loop, and it really does get old fast.
“Don’t. Cross. The. Streams. It would be bad.”
Combat takes the form of some kind of hand karate/dancing. You shoot wind, water and fire out of your fingertips, to expose the cores of enemies and spots of corruption. Killing or cleansing them rewards money, XP, SP (charges for your finger magic). You are the Ghostbuster.
The Ethereal magic is only granted to you when KK is part of your body. Without the magic, all you have is a bow and a useless melee attack. The combat is repetitive and stops being a challenge very early in. Once you have encountered at least all of the creepy monstrosities once, the horror or supernatural vibe starts to fade away and leaves one with a sense of rinse and repeat.
“We came! We saw! We kicked its ass!”
The story is short, and without touching a side mission, could be completed in around 10 hours. Some of the side missions are worth your time, and for completionists, they’re needed for the trophy. There are cats and dogs around town whom you can pet, as well as beautifully crafted environments to enjoy and photograph (photo mode, yay!) to your heart’s content.
