Sometimes the game just has a good vibe. Maybe it’s one aspect of the game – the art style or the game world – that really elevates it above everything else, or maybe it’s just a really enjoyable time tying everything together.exist Ghost Line: TokyoThe vibes are perfect.
It all starts with the Shibuya Scramble, one of the busiest pedestrian crossings in the world. Creepy things make everyone disappear into the thick fog, leaving only their clothes behind, and an army of ghosts descends on the Tokyo district. It’s up to late protagonist Akito and still-deceased but not-true sidekick KK to merge into one body – almost mastering the spell-weaving ability – and get to the bottom of Shibuya’s troubles.
There’s no better word to sum up the game than the late creative director Ikumi Nakamura affectionately described Ghostwire: Tokyo as a “ghost” during a memorable E3 presentation. As you wander around Shibuya, the shutters of the store are closed for no reason, the interior of the building rearranges like the guts they are being played with, the flying shadows linger on the rooftops, and the whole thing is watched over by an ominous red moon. Ghostwire: So, Tokyo is really weird.
Making a world without other real humans feel alive is no easy task. Ghostwire: Tokyo manages to animate the desolate streets of Shibuya thanks to fleeting events, like a swarm of ghosts descending upon the spiritual remains of humans to drag them into the afterlife, prompting you to run around and run around in all directions Save people before they’re dragged into hell. There’s also a horde of demons that roam Shibuya on a regular basis, and if they find you, you’ll need to fight like hell without your ethereal abilities.
Ghostwire: Tokyo’s vertical open world is a new adventure for developer Tango Gameworks, and the growing pains are palpable. Located around Shibuya are the Torii Gates, which act as beacons, absorbing the surrounding fog when activated, revealing new parts of the map. The presence of so many towers around Shibuya can sometimes feel a bit contrived, as if Tango is borrowing from a decade-old open-world design without a fresh perspective or unique spin. If even Ubisoft can grow from it, you’d expect other studios to do the same.
The saving grace of Torii Gates is that they open up some excellent eclectic stories. Usually started by interacting with the spiritual remains of humans conquered by the mist, side quests may take you on an unforgettable subway trip to check out local lore and rescue a tanuki and his crew as they spend the day in Shibuya Travel and get separated, or save someone from being treated like a real dog by a brother. Ghostwire: The Tokyo side story is very unpredictable, which is fine.
Writing often leaves something to be desired, though. Akito and KK quickly struck up a partnership, toying with each other with sarcastic remarks and wit, and you don’t usually get more than a minute in Ghostwire without a comment of the pair. However, Tango’s main lads work because they’re playing with each other, and you get the feeling that either of them will feel relatively monophonic without the other. Still, Akito never has KK in his Shibuya hijinx, so there’s always this interplay that underpins the game’s otherwise creepy tone. This pair is available, but that’s about it.
Shibuya is free of human noise pollution, paving the way for otherworldly sounds from demonic yokai. This is the best because the sound design with Ghostwire: Tokyo is exemplary. You’ll hear wicked giggles, and turn the corner to find headless schoolchildren wandering around, or scratching like fingernails on a blackboard, heralding a majestic monster dragging scissors, with sword-sized ones behind them. blade. It all blends into the sinister spooky vibe promised for the game years ago — and the creature sounds like a perfect fit with the PlayStation 5’s 3D audio capabilities, too. As a result, a clever combination of sound and technology like this is an eerie paranoia that often manifests; you can look at an empty street but hear the shutters slamming or the groaning of demons anywhere around you, to be precise Point out which direction it hits your ear.
Ghostwire: Tokyo is very different from anything Tango Gameworks makes. Gone are the third-person shooters in studio head Shinji Mikami’s Resident Evil 4, and it’s a good take on The Evil Within that lends itself naturally to the drearyness of the aforementioned survival horror games , dark art style and creature designs are also gone. Set in Tokyo, this caper feels like tango kicking off a training wheel and striding forward, with a dazzling display of brilliant lights and colors that contrasts sharply with the terrifying creatures that permeate Shibuya.
The transition from survival horror to action horror is most evident in Ghostwire’s frenetic combat. You’ll dodge and pass through outstretched arms and gnashing blades, pressing the block button at the last second before an attack hits the ground to parry it and gain valuable spectral ammo. Then your hands roar with the energy of wind, fire, or water, and strike your attackers with long-range strikes until their spiritual core is exposed in their belly, and you can rip it from them, making them scream back to the original place.
It’s all brilliant and the cherry on top of Ghostwire’s mesmerizing Shibuya entertainment. The action is usually limited to the narrow areas of Tokyo’s backstreets, but it never feels overwhelming or too head-on, a good testament to Ghostwire: Tokyo’s combat design. Tango often throws a bunch of menacing enemies at you, but also gives you a lot of interesting tools—a delicate and interesting act of balancing. The final act of grabbing the yokai’s spiritual core from within range and pulling it out is a great way to end each instance of combat, as the DualSense controller squeaks and whines as you hold down the left trigger.
Ghostwire: Tokyo is a bold step for the new director at Tango Gameworks, and it pays off handsomely. Tango’s artists and designers work wonders with hilarious and dangerous creatures against the wonderful backdrop of colorful Shibuya. While its leading composition and open-world design can sometimes go awry, Ghostwire’s fantastically spooky side stories and engaging combat more than make up for any slack and live in harmony with the game’s more hilarious and offbeat elements, creating a not only Only a world of appearances, but also a spirit.
