The second of Bethesda's PS5 exclusives has some heavy supernatural vibes.
Ghostwire Tokyo is the second of Bethesda’s big PlayStation exclusives, developed by Tango Gameworks of Evil Within fame and following Stevivor’s Game of the Year for 2021: Arkane’s Deathloop.
We were lucky enough to spend thirty minutes or so of hands-off time with the upcoming title and, so far, are very pleased with what we’ve seen.
Apart from some quick PR speak and a message from director Kenji Kimura (who told us to “enjoy” a shell of city with thousands if not millions missing), our time with Ghostwire Tokyo was spent in-game and without external narration. Kicking off in what was surely a sequence right from the beginning of the game, we found ourselves looking through the eyes of Akito, a young Japanese man who watches in horror as a fog rolls through the mega-city, removing those in its wake.
Rather than his own departure from the mortal coil, Akito is fused with KK, an entity that Tango described as “an experienced ghost hunter who has become a spirit.” KK’s influence on Akito is represented by a black fog that is concentrated over one of his host’s eyes (though you can see him in full in the artwork above), while dialogue between the two largely takes place in Akito’s conscience.
This combination of characters proves a great player portal to the action – Akito is like us, newly experiencing the supernatural for the first time and wholly unaware of what’s going on or what to do next, while KK is quite literally our spirit guide.
Though KK, we learn the basics. An antagonist called Hannya is likely responsible for the fog, claiming that they are liberating the citizens of Tokyo by removing people from their fleshy prisons. Areas impacted by the fog are devoid of humanity; instead, creepy Slenderman-like baddies roam the streets with featureless faces and crisp black suits. They’re joined by headless enemies adorned in schoolgirl uniforms. I’m not sure which is creepier.
In his quest to save those lost to the fog, Akito has a variety of supernatural (and coloured) tools at his disposal. In combat, he can use green, tornado-like projectiles to deal damage, followed by a yellow chain of energy that rips out cores for a finishing blow. The chain can also act as a grapple, linking to winged beasts and therefore provide access to hard-to-reach areas. Akito doesn’t appear to take fall damage, either — we saw him drop from the third floor of an apartment building with little issue.
Akito also has a blue-coloured dash that lets him close distances quickly, and a red-coloured block or parry that can be used to send enemies’ projectiles back where they came from. Our hero also has a bow and arrow at his disposal; one well-aimed headshot was enough to take out low-level cannon fodder.
Supernatural abilities aren’t just for fighting and traversal. You’ll be able to use KK’s energies to cleanse torii gates, and each will reward you with a tool to aid in your journey. The first two gates we saw cleansed revealed two small paper dolls — known as Katashiro — that absorb the lost souls you come across (the first let Akiro hold ten; the second upped that to twelve). With souls in tow, Akiro can then visit a phone booth to release them from their torment, thanks to some out-of-this-world engineering by a mysterious ally named Ed.
Said powers – called Ethereal Weaving by Tango – also enable Akito with the ability to exorcise souls and assist others with unfinished business. One such soul asked us to enter her home and dispose of a greedy (soul of a) landlord who was after a quick buck, body or not. As part of the exorcism, we were first shown a seal and then, seemingly, had to use the DualSense controller to draw the shape of the glyph to lock it in.
Ghostwire Tokyo is played from a first-person perspective; little touches like an icon when you’re crouching will be of help to those unaccustomed to the view. Seeing the world through the character’s eyes means you get an up close and personal look at Tokyo, a city full of culture and character. From back alleys dotted with colourful vending machines to the once busy circus that is Shibuya, I’m looking forward to visiting Tokyo from the comfort of my couch (and the lack of an N95 mask on a 15+ hour trip otherwise).
While we stuck to the beaten story path in the preview, a quick look at a portion of the map showed that there’s a lot on offer — represented in the mini-map by a series of icons, love them or hate them — within Tokyo.
You can find Yokai and trade for items, search for spirits who need assistance, or cleanse corruption from Tokyo’s streets. When Akito was depositing souls into a phone booth, an on-screen tooltip advised that there were a total of 240,050 spirits that needed assistance; whether or not that represented the entirety of Tokyo or merely a specific precinct is anyone’s guess at this point.
Expect Ghostwire Tokyo on Windows PC and PS5 from 25 March 2022. An Xbox release will likely follow one year afterward.
 |
Ghostwire Tokyo25 March 2022, 12 April 2023PC PS5 Xbox Series S & X |
This article may contain affiliate links, meaning we could earn a small commission if you click-through and make a purchase. Stevivor is an independent outlet and our journalism is in no way influenced by any advertiser or commercial initiative.
