Ghostwire: Tokyo PC early review impressions: Sensory overload
One of the more mysterious studios within Microsoft’s ZeniMax stable is Tango Gameworks. The developer is known primarily for The Evil Within series, which in my view, contains underrated classics and some of my favorite horror works of the past generation. The studio has been fairly quiet since The Evil Within 2 wrapped up, and while their next game isn’t The Evil Within 3, it does retain some of that horror DNA.
Ghostwire: Tokyo is a first-person thriller set in the titular Japanese city. A mysterious mist has descended over an area of Japan’s capital, disembodying everyone caught in its wake. You play as one of these unlucky individuals, Akito, who finds himself uniquely skilled in traversing this world between worlds. Joining up with a spectral government agent, KK, you commit to unravelling the twisted machinations of occultist Hannya, on a quest to rescue your sister.
Ghostwire: Tokyo launches on March 25, 2022, and we’ve been able to go hands-on with the PC version. Here are some early impressions ahead of our full review.
Why this isn’t quite a full review (yet)
I, unfortunately, do not have an alternative PC to test whether it’s the game specifically at this time, nor do I have access to a PlayStation 5 build. I can’t ascertain whether it’s an issue with my PC, or something else along those lines, despite trying to reinstall drivers and the like. While we work with our team to figure out an alternative path to put together a full scored review in the future, I still wanted to put down some thoughts about the game besides its PC performance, since I have been unable to determine whether it’s my hardware’s fault, or the game’s fault.
What I’m liking so far
Source: Windows Central
Ghostwire: Tokyo follows an interesting design format. I noted that it’s open world to some degree, but it gates the player quite aggressively using its mist and fog mechanic. It essentially functions like a fog of war, albeit a deadly one. Stray into areas the game doesn’t want you to be in, and you can actually die. You unlock areas by completing side objectives to purify shrines in the area, which often come with battles and other challenges beforehand. After unlocking an area, you might also gain access to new side objectives, vendors, and other gameplay features.
Source: Windows Central
Akito unlocks various elemental powers as he progresses through the game. Wind magic, fire spells, and water blades were the first abilities I learned, some of which were rewards for battling mini-bosses or solving hide-and-seek side missions. You can upgrade these abilities using currency and other resources found in the field (and you should upgrade them quickly, since they feel a little weak to begin with), giving you incentives to explore.
Source: Windows Central
I mentioned the performance problems holding me back from getting a true Ghostwire: Tokyo experience, but there are a number of other design decisions that also heavily detracted from my early experiences, that I hope will be addressed either with early patches or future patches as a result of feedback.
What I’m not liking so far
Source: Windows Central
The game starts with little real introduction. We get right into it, with the mist blasting over Tokyo, inflicting Akito with mysterious powers. Further context emerges as you progress through the game’s tutorial phases, but the way the game tries to weave fairly complicated gameplay systems on top of explaining just what the hell is going on makes Ghostwire: Tokyo feel utterly disorienting. I have no idea exactly what is going on after a few hours of playing, and strangely, Akito doesn’t seem to care either. I have no idea why Akito isn’t a little more freaked out by the fact he’s now a disembodied spirit entity walking between two realities. He has taken to his new role very well, which makes it a little less believable.
Sure, you could take the opinion that the story doesn’t matter so much as long as it’s fun. This is a game with talking cats and dogs for example, and I suppose it doesn’t take itself too seriously as a result. There’s no problem with that. My issue emerges from how confusing it all feels, when you take into account the layering of learning gameplay systems, UI elements, on top of what is frankly a confusing story and world at large, and I feel a degree of sensory overload and general displeasure. I’m not sure how much my PC stuttering has become a factor in my sense of this, but there are other aspects of the game that contribute to this general impression of discord.
Source: Windows Central
I’m not sure exactly how they could fix the game’s pacing without a bigger rework, though. The game wants you to learn a lot of systems and features, while also throwing characters and story angles at you with a breakneck pace. It would have been nice if Tango could’ve found a way to space some of this out a bit, rather than layering it on top of each other in a haphazard way. Haphazardly really typifies my early experiences with Ghostwire: Tokyo. The strange delivery of the tutorial area, the horribly layered sound effects, and the strangely cacophonic art direction that weaves digital sparkles against occult imagery felt a tad incongruous to me at times. I suspect further into the game some of these aspects become less of an issue, and perhaps the pacing evens out a bit.
Curious to learn more
Source: Windows Central
Despite all of the quirks I’ve come to experience, I absolutely want to play more. The combat direction especially gives Ghostwire: Tokyo a great and somewhat unique hook that elevates it above any risk of being mediocre. Despite my reservations about the game’s introductory hours, I do find myself intrigued to learn more about Hannya, KK, and Akito, and just exactly what the hell is going on in Tokyo. I’m curious what other special powers I might unlock further in, and I even found the game’s side quests to be interesting experiences, with suitably spooky poltergeist setpiece moments.
As I write this, I have no idea where general reviews will fall or whether this will be one of the best PC games, but I’m looking forward to seeing how other writers feel about the game, who perhaps had a better setup than I did to experience it. In any case, since I doubt I’m going to be able to even find a PlayStation 5 to give this a try on console, I may be waiting for the inevitable Xbox version to really give Ghostwire: Tokyo a proper shake. Yet still, I wanted to offer some initial impressions for those who are curious about the PC experience.
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