Ghostwire: Tokyo (PS5) Preview

We won't be spoiling anything outside of Chapter Two for this preview of Ghostwire: Tokyo, which is about two to three hours into the game. That being said, if you want to go in completely blind, this is your last chance before discussing mechanics, story beats, and impressions.

We are introduced to Akito and KK during Chapter One and Chapter Two. I won't be spoiling how and why this seemingly unfitting pair were forced to work together to stop the forces of Hannya. The basic mechanics in Ghostwire involve exploring Tokyo after a cataclysmic event that has caused everyone in the city to die, well kind of that's a little hard to describe as some people are alive as souls.

As you walk around, there are these monsters that show up. So far in Chapter Two, we have seen a few such as a Slenderman look-alike with an umbrella, a headless school girl, a ghost-like flying one that can shoot magic at KK, and an airplane stewardess that bursts out red orbs to hone in on you until you kill her. While the Slenderman looking guy can Nightcrawler-style teleport around and block spells with his umbrella, the schoolgirl is just a lot more agile and will take an entire run to attack you. 

The combat is a little bland, not too deep, but it does look fantastic. With enough flourish in the hand movements, it seems a lot more interesting than it actually is.

Taking the Ubisoft approach to its open world, you will come across these Torii gates that need cleansing, and as you cleanse them, it opens up the world map and gets rid of the "FOG" that slowly kills KK if they walk into a covered area. 

Side quests in Ghostwire: Tokyo are a serious attempt at side quests, with the majority of quests having to deal with yōkai, which are supernatural entities of Japanese Folklore. The yōkai so far have been extremely varied, each having its own personality. That being said, shops are now run by a particular type of yōkai, a Nekomata, a cat yōkai that is just downright adorable.

Other than the Nekomata around Tokyo, you will come across different animals like dogs (who you can feed that lead you to money) and raccoons, who are just looking for their pack. Speaking of cash around Tokyo, you will find spirits floating around, and to save them, you trap them in an item that you can turn in at phone booths to gain Maka (Ghostwires version of money) and experience. 

As you level up in Ghostwire, you boost health and spirit energy as well as 10 spirit points that can be spent on various skills. The issue is that the upfront skills don't come across as all that interesting and they don’t change much in the way of the gameplay. While some later skills in the game might change my opinion on this right now, the tree just feels like a typical affair with things like “do ten percent more damage” or charge your Ethereal Weaving “fifteen percent faster.”

The voice acting is something that needs to be addressed. While the English voice acting is okay, the Japanese voice acting is outstanding. I highly suggest if you are going to play Ghostwire: Tokyo to play in Japanese with English subtitles. There is something to the passion that just comes through a lot more clearly, and for a game set in Tokyo, Japan, it's fitting.

This preview may seem all over the place, but that's because Ghostwire: Tokyo itself is all over the place. Trying to keep in line with what was available for the preview, I kept just playing that portion. I hope Ghostwire will expand the story much further as there are elements that have me fairly intrigued. The combat is what worries me the most. As fun as it is to see, it's a bit repetitive and bland as of right now. Although Ghostwire: Tokyo seems to be a good game leaning towards great, it has some hurdles to jump if it's going to get there.

Ghostwire: Tokyo comes to PC and Playstation 5 on March 25th, 2022. A preview copy of the game was provided by the publisher on the PlayStation 5. Screenshots were captured using native features of the PS5. More information can be found on the official website.