Ghostwire: Tokyo has always had an interesting hook: the citizens of Tokyo vanish and mysterious, otherworldly invaders known as Visitors begin to stalk the streets. The Best War Games was recently able to play through the first two chapters of the game, and it further develops this hook and builds the world quickly and efficiently.
In the span of Ghostwire: Tokyo's first two chapters, players are introduced to 2-3 interconnected, yet distinctly intriguing, storylines. Without diving into spoiler territory, what’s impressive is how the game manages to do this, introduce its enemies, develop the relationship between Akito and KK, and more—all without a lot of exposition dumping. Players are thrust straight into the mystery, and just as Akito has to wrap his head around sharing his body with KK and fighting off the Visitors, so too do the players.
These worldbuilding and story developments bleed into every aspect of the game, including the introduction to gameplay. Through KK, Ghostwire: Tokyo players gain access to otherworldly powers like Ethereal Weaving. Using Kuji-Kiri hand movements, further stylized for its own Ghostwire: Tokyo identity, players unleash special spiritual attacks fused with elements. One could understandably compare it to anime like Yu Yu Hakusho or to a Doctor Strange game, but the truth is that it feels distinctively its own.
At other times, as players investigate and look for hidden secrets in Ghostwire: Tokyo’s world, one could even argue it’s a Batman: Arkham game. All of these comparisons are important, to really hopefully show how the world comes together, but the thing is that none of these comparisons really showcase, or that others will be able to showcase, is the cohesiveness of the experience. Every single aspect of Ghostwire: Tokyo seems interdependent on others, so nothing feels out of place and, despite the paranormal elements, everything feels entirely alive and breathing.
All of this serves the purpose of the game well and still fits itself rooted deeply into a beautiful world. Where Ghostwire: Tokyo truly shines in its opening is the world around players. With no enemies around, it can feel like a Grand Theft Auto game set in Tokyo at night. The streets, avenues, buildings, and more all feel so realistic, and they invite players to search every nook and cranny, to complete the various side quests in Ghostwire: Tokyo. Hooking onto a Yokai to get on top of a building or simply taking the stairs, it’s a world ripe for exploration.
Toss in the paranormal, and it really takes the atmosphere to the next level. Striking the balance between such a realistic depiction of the city, with paranormal enemies, hooks, and elements seems very difficult. We asked Tango Gameworks’ game director of Ghostwire: Tokyo Kenji Kimura and producer Masato Kimura how they went about finding this balance, and both discussed how they walked around the city, recreating it and using their imagination for the tops of buildings, Torii gates, and more, and having one designer apply the paranormal aspects. On this, producer Kimura commented,
“From there goes a lot of iteration that needed to happen because we had one of our designers that was purely focused on applying paranormal effects in the city. We would try different things out, he would show it to the director, and we'd have a lot of discussions back and forth in regards to like, "This looks too much. We've gone too far."
Indeed, this recreation of the city, applied with the paranormal, shines through every level of Ghostwire: Tokyo. The paranormal adds the chilling atmosphere and effects, while the realism keeps the players rooted combined with the story, gameplay, and enemies of the game. Players may be fighting enemies from another world, but they feel very natural in the game’s version of Tokyo.
Tango described its approach as these enemies feeling normal or natural prior to the approach—from afar, some Yokai look like businessmen. Up close, they have no face, and it really uses that fine balance between paranormal and realism too.
This creates a unique, chilling atmosphere befitting of a horror game—even if Ghostwire: Tokyo is not a horror game. It’s an action-adventure game, but it pushes the line between action, adventure, and horror all the same. Some fans of past Tango Gameworks titles, namely The Evil Within and The Evil Within 2, were understandably upset that this moved away from horror. Yet, Ghostwire: Tokyo was originally pitched as The Evil Within 3, and it shows.
One important aspect of any horror game is the atmosphere it creates, and those elements shine through Ghostwire: Tokyo. In fact, the game is all the better for them. It may not be horror, but it is chilling, disturbing, and—at times—downright scary. It is this chilling atmosphere that brings urgency to the action and intensity to the exploration. Indeed, Ghostwire: Tokyo’s atmosphere is self-evident throughout the first two chapters, and it’s hard to see how the rest of the game doesn’t utilize these same elements.
Ghostwire: Tokyo releases March 25 for PC and PS5.