Ghostwire: Tokyo Reviews
'Ghostwire: Tokyo' is an exciting action game with unique depiction of scary urban legends and an exorcism. The combination of creepy ambience and stylish exorcism-action give us a good reason to love this game. However, sloppy boss fight and lack of variety on monsters can be a bit of demerit for those who wish to deep dive into this neon-covered streets of Tokyo.
Review in Korean | Read full review
Level design is perhaps too restrained when it comes to eclectic set pieces, but the open world packs itself full of secrets while pacing its main content out appropriately. Ghostwire: Tokyo is a worthy entry in Tango Gameworks' catalogue.
A compelling concept and a beautifully realised world, Ghostwire: Tokyo leverages Japanese folklore and a unique combat system to provide a unique open-world experience. While some aspects of the combat feel underdeveloped and the game structure has been done-to-death, Ghostwire: Tokyo's uniqueness helps it stand well above where you'd expect it to.
Ghostwire: Tokyo is, first and foremost, beautiful. Its realistic city elements blended with the ethereal and supernatural create a cornucopia of amazing visuals and sound. Even when the hardware struggles to keep up sometimes, it’s never so much so that the game loses that sense of mystery and awe. Just as well, a big part of that is Tango Gameworks’ creative adaptation of Japanese mythology and lore. Their takes on monsters, demons, ghost stories, and various legends come to life in a massive variety of fascinating ways, whether it’s the situations you encounter, the ways you fight against them, or the elements that aid you.
'Ghostwire: Tokyo’s vision of Shibuya is eccentric and captivating. Exploring every nook and cranny to learn more about the Japanese myths and legends that inspired the game makes for a compelling gameplay hook. It’s a shame that despite some interesting ideas, parts of the story campaign feel like they were left on the cutting room floor.
If being screamed at by giant crows appeals to you, then boy howdy here’s a videogame for you specifically.
Ghostwire: Tokyo offers a lot of good but it’s hidden behind even more tedium. I'm left wishing that the team had more time to polish their ideas. It's hard for me to recommend Ghostwire: Tokyo. That isn’t to say I didn’t have fun with what's made well. What doesn’t, though, feels like it patches and ultimately bogged down my experience.
Ghostwire: Tokyo is, heartbreakingly, not spooky. It's also not particularly interesting, and I certainly didn't find it very fun to play. I'm sure genre-fanatics will find something to latch on to, but nothing ever quite hooked me enough to make the journey feel compelling.
A fun, supernatural romp in a wonderfully recreated depiction of one of the most recognisable cities on the planet, Ghostwire: Tokyo is let down somewhat by combat that feels simplistic in places, and borderline clunky at worst. The location, unsettling atmosphere and story are by far the stars here, with a really fun plotline that will do more than enough to convince most people to see it through. A true example of next-gen visual flair, Ghostwire: Tokyo is a curiosity that will allow you to pet, rather than kill, the cat.
Despite my perceived flaws of Ghostwire: Tokyo, I'd still recommend it as something to experience to players of all levels, simply for the fact that I did enjoy playing it and learning from it. Also, I wanted to give respect to Tango Gameworks for heading in a somewhat different design avenue. It's a ghostbusting romp through Tokyo, and if someone asks if you want to play it, say yes.
Ghostwire Tokyo is a great supernatural finger blasting psychological thriller filled with wild action and the odd dog petting.
In a world that's already saturated with open-world games, it's disappointing that Ghostwire Tokyo doesn't do much to distinguish itself and instead relies on tired tropes. Add simplistic combat and annoying mechanics to that mix, and the game doesn't have much to stand on. The only saving graces are the flashy visuals and aesthetics, as well as attention to detail in other areas such as environments and creepy monster designs.
While its leading pair and open world design stumble at times, Ghostwire’s wonderfully weird side stories and engrossing combat, more than pick up any slack and work in harmony with the game's more zany and offbeat elements to create a world that hasn't just got looks, but one hell of a spirit, too.
Ghostwire: Tokyo may be the best game yet from developer Tango Gameworks. It's a great and meaty action/adventure game featuring an enticing universe, solid combat, and excellent exploration of the wonderfully designed Tokyo.
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 a thrilling paranormal rollercoaster with ups and downs. Exploring the city of Tokyo is fun and defeating your first few enemies is a blast, its flaws also become apparent very quickly. The game lacks enemy variety and the same goes for Akito's weapon arsenal. Ghostwire gets a little repetitive and sadly doesn't find a way to fix that problem before the credits roll.
Review in Dutch | Read full review
Overall, Ghostwire: Tokyo is a decent game that provides a surprisingly fun time with its open world and intriguing side quests, but it may not be a game for everybody as the action and open-world mechanics will expect some effort from its audience. Despite that, the game deserves a playthrough for its unique immersion and thematic elements, and I hope Tango Gameworks takes this groundwork and improves on it for future titles.
Ghostwire: Tokyo invites players on an unearthly walk through a wonderfully realised city, and captures our imagination at almost every turn when it comes to humans, relationships, loss, and the paranormal, even if there are stumbles along the way.
Overall, I would say I enjoyed playing through Ghostwire: Tokyo. Some of this might just be my love of the setting and overall culture, though it’s unique and often fascinating. It’s just a shame a wide variety of choices hold it back. Turning an open-world game into a long series of checkboxes is rarely good, with combat following an odd curve. It starts fun, then feels unsatisfying, followed by it slowly building back to being fun. Given it eventually becomes a satisfying experience I would say it’s worth considering, though it is absolutely not an experience I’d say is for everyone.