Ghostwire: Tokyo Reviews
While it still has room to grow, Ghostwire: Tokyo is truly a one-of-a-kind experience thanks to its breathtaking atmosphere, gorgeous open world, impressive stories, and exhilarating combat.
Most potent of all, there is a strain of urban fear running through its design—not of monsters but of the city itself as an isolating entity, rendering you unreachable.
I will repeat: Ghostwire: Tokyo is not a bad game. I was interested enough to stick with it and engage with as much of it as possible. If you have more patience for open-world exploration and tedious collectable-finding than I do, then you might get more out of it. I didn’t go into detail about this, but the story is decent and well-told, and that counts for something. This game is also bursting with visual flavor and interest, the kind of which you won’t find elsewhere.
Ghostwire: Tokyo offers a varied arsenal of paranormal powers, and a well-realized deception of the Japanese capital. However, it does fall into some familiar open-world grooves.
Open world Tokyo hosts ghost-fighting, soul-collecting and a little too much flimsy busywork in between.
The wait was definitely worth it for this one! Overall, Ghostwire: Tokyo impresses me with fun and satisfying gameplay, an intriguing story, and beautiful visuals. I never had any issues with performance or pop-in, everything ran as smooth as a hot sake. The new mode, The Spider’s Thread, presents a fun challenge for those craving more Thread Weaving action that doesn’t get stale, even after multiple rounds (or deaths).
Tango Gameworks' Ghostwire: Tokyo builds a paranormal mystery in a grounded setting but loses some of its shine in its pacing and combat.
Ghostwire: Tokyo is a unique blend of FPS, RPG, and horror with a creative twist on how we approach fighting in an FPS. Despite a few grievances about the length and ambition of the project, it is still a good game, but unfortunately it merely toes the line between good and great, never quite finding its footing. Still, Ghostwire: Tokyo is well worth picking up.
Ghostwire: Tokyo is an atmospheric and somewhat ambitious game, with a vertical semi-open world gameplay arena dotted with ghoulish nasties and side-quests steeped in folklore, atop a supernatural thriller plot. The game's combat is sluggish initially, but it becomes increasingly satisfying as you unlock more powers. Weaving elemental magic sprinkled with some stealth elements for good measure. Sadly, everything new and fresh Ghostwire: Tokyo brings to the table is hamstrung by the game's awful performance on Xbox, which makes the game a true slog.
Ghostwire: Tokyo is a shooter unlike anything I’ve ever played before. Its depiction of Japan is frighteningly lifelike in its execution, begging for us to explore its abandoned streets and dimly lit alleyways in search of wayward spirits that all have stories to tell. Whether you’re bounding across rooftops or doing battle in construction sites, it is constantly surprising in ways that few games in recent memory have managed to. It is fresh, exciting, and a demonstration of what a major studio is capable of when they’re given the freedom to tackle a new universe without compromise. It isn’t perfect, but it’s so different, and that should be more than enough for people to take notice.
Survival horror maestros Tango Gameworks return with an altogether more spiritual adventure
If the idea of yet another 50+ hour open-world game sounds exhausting, then Ghostwire: Tokyo might be for you. Even if you aren’t a fan of horror games, then don’t be dissuaded. While it leans heavily into the iconography and some of its enemy designs can be unsettling, it’s firmly rooted in the action genre and rarely deviates beyond the very occasional jump scare.
Anyone who played and enjoyed Ghostwire: Tokyo the first time, and has Xbox Game Pass, will certainly want to make another run at it and check out the improvements and new content. For those who missed it at release, it’s maybe even easier to recommend Ghostwire: Tokyo now. Be warned that the first few hours ramp up fairly slowly and the supernatural combat is both creative and a little unpolished. Still, the narrative, world-building, lore, and unique approach to the first-person action game help make Ghostwire: Tokyo both successful and a bit different.
Listen, I really liked Ghostwire Tokyo quite a bit; the story of Akito trying to save his sister and KK’s need for revenge made a good pairing. As I said above both men grew over the course of the adventure and ended it differently than they began and that is what I love to see from any story…. growth. The spooky bits here aren’t as intense as Tango is usually known for and that may be due to the FPS nature of the action in the game but nonetheless Ghostwire Tokyo is a game that should be played and since its finally come home to Xbox the barrier of entry is even lower and if you like ghosts and things this one won’t disappoint.
Ghostwire: Tokyo is a strange but exciting adventure that blends action, horror and Japanese traditions. Exploring a deserted Tokyo is just the right amount of intimidating, while the battles against twisted demons are both intense and decently original. Some repetitive moments, petty control and a limping story lower the experience a couple of notches, but in the end the positive parts weigh most heavily.
Review in Swedish | Read full review
The unique setting really helps to lift Ghostwire: Tokyo from myriad of problems such as a plain open-world design and lackluster combat. If you love Japan and mystical powers, then Ghostwire can be just the game you're looking for.
Review in Russian | Read full review
GhostWire: Tokyo is a soft apart, less mainstream than most representatives of the genre, but is not reserved for a pro-Japanese elite, since it is also an OPEN WORLD FPS that is based on very classic bases, although it depicts a very atypical vision.
Review in French | Read full review
The atmosphere and world-building in Ghostwire: Tokyo are easily the strongest elements of the game. It's unique and weird showing fantastic creativity as well as highlighting some of japans most interesting folklore and culture while paying homage to the city itself. The game looks stunning with its wet, neon-lit streets rendered in superb detail and just buzzing with atmosphere. The Visitors are creepy and fun and while I wish there was a few more in the mix, the ones here are awesome.
Captivating and highly entertaining despite how limited and aggravating the combat can be, Ghostwire: Tokyo is stays appealing thanks to its strong open world and dedication to spirit exorcism.
Where Ghostwire: Tokyo loses some love is in the overall imprecision of its movement and mechanics, and a few elements that seem arbitrary or unexplained. Ghostwire: Tokyo’s combat is engaging and its environments are impressive, but that same combat can also frustrate and the environments are balanced against less impressive character models. As a new IP or franchise, Ghostwire: Tokyo is a great, but rough-around-the-edges step in a really interesting new direction.