Ghostwire: Tokyo is a fascinating game. The latest release from Tango Gameworks, a studio founded by Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami, veers wildly from Mikami’s horror roots to make way for an open-world experience touched by spooky ideas, though not entirely defined by them. In the process, the game strikes a truly unique tone, but it gets a bit lost in the bog standard open-world formula.
The opening of Ghostwire: Tokyo features KK, the ghost of a police officer with a mysterious connection to the paranormal, possessing the body of Akito, a regular young adult killed in an accident. KK’s presence alludes to some troubling supernatural happenings in Tokyo, and the disappearance of Akito’s sister (along with nearly everyone else in the city) certainly enhances the eeriness.
Wandering the mostly empty streets of a recently-bustling Tokyo is breathtaking. The team at Tango Gameworks has spun a genuinely beautiful and haunting setting from the real world city, replacing convenience store clerks with cat-like yokai and regular pedestrians with horrifying, headless schoolgirls. The few people left in Tokyo have been separated from their bodies and are left in huddled clumps, calling out for help. It’s spooky, but it’s also incredible.
The issues start when you try to actually play Ghostwire: Tokyo. Where the setting is artful and unique, the gameplay is frustratingly recognizable. The core loop consists of Akito utilizing KK’s powers to blast beams of energy from his fingers into enemies. Sometimes Akito stops to absorb spirits, and, in extremely rare cases, he sneaks around stealthily to avoid combat. Beyond that, there’s… well… nothing. That’s all the game has to offer. The magic, although flashy and entertaining, is not fundamentally different from gunplay in any first person shooter, and collecting spirits is interesting but not ultimately dissimilar from collecting anything else – korok seeds in Breath of the Wild or cigarette cards in Red Dead Redemption 2 – we’ve seen it all before.
Ghostwire: Tokyo’s gameplay is not bad. Firing magic blasts into the game’s array of brilliantly rendered baddies is fun and there’s something satisfying about collecting hundreds of spirits from the streets. It’s fun, but it’s all been done before. When the surrounding environment and atmosphere feel so fresh and incredible, it’s frustrating to see the game part of the game adopt every single been-there-done-that mechanic from the last decade of open world games.
Maybe the inconsistency is thanks to the mid-development departure of creative director Ikumi Nakamura, or the studio’s lack of experience operating in an open-world format. Whatever the issue, there’s a massive divide between Ghostwire: Tokyo’s world and the actual actions that can be taken within that world. The most recognizable elements do a disservice to the incredible newness of it all, and make for a great game that simply can’t escape being a good game.
Sorrel Kerr-Jung is a freshman studying games and animation at Ohio University. Please note that the views and opinions of the columnist do not reflect those of The Post. Do you agree? Tell Sorrel by tweeting her at @gendertoad.
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