Preview | Ghostwire: Tokyo – First look

Do strange things happen around you? Shadows rolling around the corners of your eyes, strange noises in the middle of the night, or disembodied voices whispering strange instructions to you? Then who are you looking for? Ghost hunters, of course. Or – if you live in Tokyo – KK and his gang of mischievous ghostbusters who unexpectedly wipe out any ghosts and demons that stand in their way. We were already able to take a closer look at the first two parts of the game and share our first impressions below.

Tokyo

If New York is the city that never sleeps, Tokyo is the opposite in this game. A mysterious fog is swirling in the streets of the city. There is no longer a living soul in the streets; there are a few empty piles of crumpled clothes here, and there are the only witnesses to how millions of Japanese once roamed the apartments. By the way, do not perceive the lack of living souls as a lack of vitality. After all, Tokyo has been overrun by ghosts and yokai or demons that have their origins in Japanese folklore. That said, we await our review for further narrative context.

Let’s just say that Tokyo is an extremely interesting setting and offers a welcome change from western cities – read: New York, something similar to New York and New York – we find in most open world games. The city has a surplus of atmosphere, reflected in hundreds of puddles of rainwater, illuminated by a blood-red moon glowing among clouds and neon signs. Yokai twitter is like overactive budgerigars, and the cries of oppressed souls bring a dose of melancholy. The result is a world that encourages exploration, full of secrets and surprising enemies.

Visitor

The previously mentioned ghosts are referred to as “visitors” in Ghostwire: Tokyo and are one of the main draws of the game. They literally come in all shapes and sizes. So you have a kind of Slenderman (read: a tall, slender man with no face, in a tailored suit). Or how about the headless schoolgirls running towards you, giggling happily? Not to mention the game’s more bizarre foes, like a flying sheet that suffocates its victims’ heads, or a colorless one-eyed bully who parks in front of doors as a motionless barrier.

Dr. Strange in the Land of the Rising Sun

These visitors should be eliminated or expelled, and for this you have a range of possibilities at your disposal. You have a bow and arrow with which you can send evil spirits to the afterlife for good. More interesting, however, is juggling with elemental powers like wind, fire, and water, which you can access early in the game. In essence, firing such spells is like spitting a bullet in a First-Person Shooter, but the elaborate hand gestures and flashy colors that accompany it make combat feel very fresh at first. Think of Doctor Strange in an eastern context.

Preview Result

The result is a title that we can describe as quite unique in terms of setting, combat and resistance. In the first two episodes of Ghostwire: Tokyo, we are presented with a city waiting to be explored. While the battles we participate in are played very fluidly, the magical powers at your disposal are unlike those of countless assault rifles. The question now is whether Ghostwire: Tokyo can tell a fascinating story from start to finish. And whether both the open world and the combat system have been deepened enough to keep players glued to the screen for several dozen hours. You’ll soon get answers to these and more questions in our comprehensive review. Until that time!

You can access the game’s Steam page here.