Ghostwire: Tokyo: Is it worth buying?

Ghostwire: Tokyo is a paranormal first-person action game that was developed by Tango Gameworks and released on March 25, 2022. These last few months, the game got quite a lot of hype. But, is Ghostwire: Tokyo worth buying?

Plot

This game has you play as a man called Akito who gets possessed by a spirit detective KK. The overall premise of the game is pretty simple. Your goal is to find the criminal who kidnapped your sister. Sadly, the story is very lineral and very short. It’s set in a small open world with side missions. The map is artificially blockaded by fog which you push further away throughout the game.

Even though the entire gameplay is usually around 15 hours, the story is still decent. It’s mostly told through phone calls, voiceovers, and cut scenes. However, those cut scenes can sometimes be too much, with the game interrupting you every five minutes.

Characters in Ghostwire: Tokyo

With the small number of characters that Ghostwire: Tokyo has, it’s expected of the developers to try and make them memorable. But, that is not the case. Due to the shortness of the overall story, the characters don’t have enough time to develop. Additionally, after just a couple of hours of the game, all of their choices become painfully predictable.

Also, a one-dimensional villain certainly doesn’t help Ghostwire: Tokyo to stand out.

Side missions or a side issue?

Side missions in Ghostwire: Tokyo, much like the characters, are incredibly dull.

Most of the time it’s a small task given to you by ghosts. This typically means a fast fight or some sort of search mission where you are supposed to use your detective vision. For a full-priced open-world game, everyone expected more from the side quests.

Exclusiveness and exclusive features

Ghostwire: Tokyo was released as a one-year timed exclusive for Windows and Playstation 5. We must say playing it on Playstation might be the better option because it has two unique features. Firstly, the voice acting in the game is done exceptionally well. With that said, the game plays the voice through your tv, but the treble comes from the controller. Another unique feature is the wiring mechanic inside the videogame. Once you have dealt enough damage to your enemies, you can wire them in order to gain some HP back. For that, the player uses the shoulder button and it feels as if you’re truly ripping their souls apart due to the resistance of the controller.

Combat inside Ghostwire: Tokyo

Different elements, explosions, and spells are all of the pieces that could make engaging and unique combat inside a videogame. However, that is not the case. There aren’t any combos and the whole fighting process just doesn’t flow well. The player can only cast individual spells and that’s pretty much it. There aren’t any melee combinations like sliding or dodging. The only exception to this is the wiring.

Graphics

The graphics and the overall artistic style of this game are amazing. The scenery and character design are one of the best ones. Even though the spells aren’t as functional as they can be, they all look amazing and feel as if they’re really powerful. Well, all of them except water.

Conclusion

A lot of us were excited about this game. A videogame featuring a mystery, plus it’s based in Japan… It had a lot of potential. Sadly, Ghostwire: Tokyo is just a complete disappointment.