Ghostwire: Tokyo Devs Discuss 'Slit-Mouthed Woman' Urban Legends

gamerant.com:

Ghostwire: Tokyo’s release is fast approaching, and soon players will step into the shoes of Akito as he battles with strange, otherworldly Visitors in Tokyo. There are some standard enemies, but “standard” is perhaps not the right word. Players will find enemies who appear to be businessmen under an umbrella or a young girl playing, but all of that changes as they approach.

In a recent interview with Game Rant, Ghostwire: Tokyo’s game director Kenji Kimura and producer Masato Kimura discussed Tango Gameworks’ approach to the Visitors' design. It was intentional, in short, to create enemies who may look normal from afar, but became more terrifying, chilling, or disturbing as players approached. Not only does this happen multiple times in the game, but one enemy stood out even more to us—when we played the first two chapters ofGhostwire: Tokyo.

Ghostwire: Tokyo — What Happens in the Prelude Visual Novel

After obtaining the second Ethereal Weaving power, it seemed too easy, and that’s when a gigantic woman with a hat attacked. It was unsettling and caused us to spam attack our new Ghostwire: Tokyo power out of fear.

This encounter was immediately memorable, and so we asked about some of the in-game lore and urban legends surrounding this Visitor. As game director Kimura said,

“That's the Slit-Mouthed Woman, so that's an urban legend. You're like walking down the street, and there's a lady on the other side of the crosswalk. You're walking past her, and she's wearing what looked like a mask on her face. She's got her face covered. And as you walk by, she asks you if she looks pretty. And you say yes, you look pretty good. And then she takes off her mask and you find out that her mouth has been slit open from cheek to cheek like