Tokyo on test – charming, beautiful and damn fun

Ghostwire: Tokyo is the best game I had the chance to touch in 2022 – which has to be a pretty subjective opinion, because the game definitely has small flaws. Actually, it’s nothing more than a beautiful and personable open-world Tokyo, with thousands of cats, dogs and ingenious monsters that you let satisfyingly shatter with crazy attacks. It’s Jujutsu Kaisen in game form, and perhaps the best game for Japan fans after Ghost of Tsushima.

Wanna have some fun? Then you should keep an eye out Ghostwire: Tokyo that throws you into a semi-realistic (huge!) Tokyo, lets you save people all day and even has animals for you to pet. You will help an old man save his cherry trees, reunite lovers and give tips to CEOs on how to treat their employees better. Every quest is a ghost story, but most ghosts have feelings too So it won’t get too dark, because Ghostwire: Tokyo isn’t a horror game. Though the awesomely animated monsters look creepy, no question. But then what is it?

Ghostwire: Tokyo not only looks fun, it is:

Ghostwire: Tokyo is fast, immersive, and completely insane

Your name is Akito and you are completely alone in the gigantic metropolis of Tokyo. But no! You’re not that alone, because the spirit of KK speaks in your head, which is to thank for the fact that you didn’t disappear like everyone else. Reason to celebrate? Not really, because KK thinks he can just take over your body and save the world. But not with you – Akito makes it clear who owns those arms and legs and soon you’re working together to save the world. Somebody has to do it.

Ghostwire: Tokyo’s story is so wacky that after a while you’ll accept just about anything. Hannya, a masked guy with evil intentions, has unleashed the spirit world on the big city. While all people have disappeared and are only hovering around somewhere in the form of ghosts, Japanese legendary figures are walking through the metropolis and want to take over. Luckily, Akito has KK, because through him you can also use supernatural attacks and finish off Slenderman and headless schoolgirls. Your goal: defeat Hannya and rescue your sister who somehow got caught up in the whole mess.

Deliver ghosts to phone booths and negotiate with cats

I’ll say it: crazy. Almost all gameplay mechanics in the game are completely wacky. You collect flying, whispering ghost clusters with paper dolls called Katashiro, only to then deliver them to phone booths by the hundreds. How it works? Who cares! You are a ghost hunter who climbs through the city with threads of light, a bow and flying powers and speaks with his hand called KK!

Unless you’re looking for talking tanuki (raccoon dog spirits) that transform into objects with bushy tails (?), you talk to flying catswho sell you coke. You can feed dogs, which is nice and brings you money, which they dig up for you. KK complains that you don’t buy him cigarettes and if you fall off a skyscraper, ghost power will send you to the ground unharmed.

Think The Evil Within – Tango Games’ previous game – was insane? Well, try Ghostwire: Tokyo, brazenly original mechanics tried it out and let his spooky imagination run free. But there is no need to apologize for this explosion of creativity, because there is just so much behind it all fun and addictive potentialthat you can overlook some repetitive tasks.

Level up, fight and choose an outfit

With ghost searches and completed main and side quests, you collect experience points that you use to level up various skills. Praying at hidden statues in Tokyo will also give you more power in battle, and prayer beads can boost you further. It doesn’t take long to get the hang of it – both in leveling and in combat.

It’s certainly a matter of opinion how much fun you have fighting. But the fact is that Ghostwire: Tokyo turned out to be a Action Adventure called and lives up to this title. Hastily switching between multiple attacks, ripping out the ghost hearts of monsters, and performing a combo attack with Ghost Thread not only looks awesome, but also gives you a shot of adrenaline. Always more, always stronger, always crazy: That could be a good motto for Ghostwire: Tokyo.

By the way, you can also customize your character individually, at least via outfits and masks. Yes cooler, the better!

It’s stunning, and with PS5 controllers you can even feel the rain

This game is urban porn at its best. The graphics are crystal clear and puddles glisten in the glow of the giant billboards. In the weather report you can choose between fog, rain or a silent blood moon night. Also worth mentioning is the immersive integration of the PS5 controllerwhich makes every single drop of rain felt with a haptic impact.

The fine tuned ones Vibration and haptic functions are so well integrated into the game that it was only after more than ten hours in the game that I noticed how the controller translates Akito’s actions down to the smallest detail. What resembles a satisfying firework in combat is a gentle one knock vibrationwhen you hang up the phone. It’s just a shame that PC gamers will probably have to do without this feel.

Yes, it can get repetitive – and you should feel like collecting

Ghostwire: Tokyo is so quirky it’s impossible to please everyone. But if, like me, you find most mainstream blockbusters too boring, the Japan blockbuster is a welcome and lovingly programmed change. Provided you like collecting things, like exploring, love rooftop parkour and enjoy the first person perspective. Oh, and most importantly, if you love Japan, ghost stories, and Japanese culture, this game is a real feast. After all, you can hardly save yourself from Japanese mythology here.

Unfortunately, the side tasks can still be repetitive. Although each of these quests is tied to an interesting story in which you help a deceased person, it often accumulates in the same gameplay loops. Longer side quests that visit more varied places would have been nicer here.

Finally, you can also leave the side quests and concentrate on the main story: it is usually more sophisticated and sends you into it fascinating intermediate worlds, where the graphics explode and you lose track of up and down (but in a good way). In addition, she welds you more and more together with KK, who really grows on you after a short time.

Strengths and weaknesses of Ghostwire: Tokyo

• Graphically a feast for the eyes.
• Huge open-world Tokyo that you can explore horizontally and vertically.
• Fantastic monster design.
• Story and gameplay are wacky and quite fun.
• You get points and rewards for almost everything.
• PS5 functions are used super – PS5 controller haptics!
• Japanese culture and folklore in excess.
• Ghost stories around every corner, told with heart.
• Side quests and gathering tasks can become repetitive.
• Ultimately, the main quest story is less original than the Tokyo setting, which is full of possibilities.

Behind Ghostwire: Tokyo are Bethesda and Tango Gameworks, who previously gave birth to The Evil Within series. Incidentally, Tango Gameworks was founded by Shinji Mikami, the inventor of the Resident Evi series. Ghostwire: Tokyo will be released on March 25, 2022 for PS5 and PC.

8.5/10

“Ghostwire: Tokyo is so wacky that you can forgive the game for a few glitches. You want to have fun, pet animals and be the coolest ghost hunter of the year? Here we go!”