Review: Ghostwire: Tokyo

destructoid.com:

For a long while I wasn’t sure what to think of Ghostwire: Tokyo. The marketing made it look like it lacked personality, and it wasn’t until I actually got to play it for myself that I started to see its potential and what it was going for.

Having finished it I’m still a bit torn, but I think a lot of people are going to dig it: especially if you can get past some of the traditional open world design and peel back the layers within.

Ghostwire: Tokyo (PC, PS5) [timed exclusive for one year] Developer: Tango Gameworks Publisher: Bethesda Released: March 25, 2022 MSRP: $59.99

Leading up to Ghostwire, most of the marketing was bent on the “mystery” angle, but a lot of that gets dispelled quickly: in a good way.

Our hero Akito (possessed in part by a spirit named KK) shows a lot of emotion right out of the gate, and has a purpose beyond the general “what is going on” macro-narrative. While the simple fact that nearly everyone in Tokyo is missing due to some apparent supernatural cataclysmic event is kind of important, we do get to go on a personal journey as well. The adversarial relationship between Akito and KK reminds me of War and The Watcher from Darksiders, and gets really catty at times. It’s great.

Developer Tango Gameworks recommends playing Ghostwire with Japanese audio, and I have to agree. While the English dub is fine (and available day one baked into the game), the Japanese voice cast is clearly the focal point, and it helps augment the unique feel of Ghostwire. Just like the Yakuza series, it’s refreshing to see a game about Japan made by a Japanese game studio. While there are Tengus to grapple on and fling yourself into the air (and other fantastical elements), Ghostwire‘s architecture and foundation is