Ghostwire: Tokyo review | PC Gamer
Skip to main content
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.
Uncomplicated fun with unfinished business.
(Image: © Tango Gameworks)
Our Verdict
Fun combat and a sophisticated city burdened with the unfulfilled potential of a far scarier experience.
Why you can trust PC Gamer
Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.
Need to know
What is it? A neon-dunked action-adventure game set in Tokyo, Japan with ghost and ghouls galore
Release date March 25
Expect to pay $60/£50
Developer Tango Gameworks
Publisher Bethesda
Reviewed on Ryzen 5 3600X, 32GB RAM, RTX 2070
Multiplayer? No
Link Official site
£69. 36
View at Amazon
You may not have realised it, but Ghostwire: Tokyo, developed by Tango Gameworks, is an action-adventure game. Going back and looking at the original teaser for Ghostwire may have led you to believe that the story was going to be closer to Silent Hill or Tango’s The Evil Within series and, if that’s the game you want, Ghostwire isn’t for you. But if you want a neon Japanese adventure game where you get cool spirit powers and pet a bunch of dogs, walk right this way.
The main draw of Ghostwire: Tokyo is its combat. In 2022 we’ve seen a lot of very precise and punishing combat-driven games. The Elden Rings and Sifus of the world love to hurt you, and make you learn the rules of play in brutal ways. Ghostwire: Tokyo just wants to give you cool magic hands which shoot lights at a mess of bad guys, then watch them melt.
(Image credit: Bethesda / Tango Gameworks)
The combat is a lot of fun, and that’s just as well because you’ll do a lot of it.
It’s not overly complex or intricate. It’s a mess of neon pulses in various hues, a few talismans which act as a sort of grenade and your spirit bow—my favourite of protagonist Akito’s utilities. Eventually the game gives you enough archery buffs that you can take out most enemies with a clean headshot before they’ve even spotted you—whether that be from roof tops or down an adjacent alleyway.
Not every encounter’s so clean. Crouched behind an abandoned car I draw my bow, looking to take out some of the floating enemies above my next objective. After running out of arrows I sneak behind a ghost in a suit, quickly executing a purge and ripping out its core, drawing the attention of three other wandering ghouls who attack. I swap to my wind powers, charging bursts to hit them, but they’re getting closer and I’m ducking and diving to avoid their own magic offensive. I swap to fire and charge a blistering, blazing orb which I volley into the group. My explosion damages them all just enough to expose their cores and I use my ethereal weaving to latch onto their cores, rending them clean of their undead inhabitants.
Pretty flippin’ cool.
Tango Gameworks does an incredible job making the city feel fresh and distinct.
The city of Ghostwire: Tokyo is a marvel. It’s a detailed and intricate environment which, scattered with the clothes, bags, and phones of its inhabitants, feels truly abandoned. Though its details can get hazy as you sprint down the streets, Tango Gameworks does an incredible job making the city feel fresh and distinct across its various areas. Akito can squeeze down alleyways and vault any fence. And when the entire city is being patrolled by ghosts, hiding from them in nooks and crannies makes its layout feel pretty realistic.
(Image credit: Bethesda, Tango Gameworks)
Unfinished business
There is a lot that doesn’t work about Ghostwire, sadly. The story is, eh, fine I guess. You play Akito, a man on a mission to save his little sister. Akito is in a car accident just before Tokyo is turned to spirits and KK, the ghost of a recently deceased spirit hunter, possesses Akito’s weak body.
They need each other because KK needs a body and Akito would be dead without KK’s powers. They don’t really like each other though. Their relationship is made up of grumbling complaints about being stuck with each other. Because they’re men of action, of course they don’t talk about their feelings or their histories. Akito’s relationship with his sister Mari is told entirely through flashbacks in which he is still ashamed and avoiding his feelings. KK just doesn’t trust Akito so doesn’t want to chat about his family either. It’s just two moody dudes hanging out.
The best writing is of the bad guy Hannya, and Akito and KK’s two allies Ed and Rinko. The latter especially is explored in more detail, because the protagonists because go back and forth about trusting her—exploring why KK’s history with her is so complex. Akito and KK can’t talk about themselves, but they’re happy to talk about other people. Baddie Hannya provides the only ‘oh shit’ moment in the game, for my money, his cruelty and unhinged approach to life and death is genuinely unnerving, a contrast to the rest of the game’s atmosphere.
(Image credit: Bethesda, Tango Gameworks)
Ghostwire: Tokyo is creepy but that’s as far as it goes. It’s not horror—it’s action. Though Tango Gameworks is primarily known for The Evil Within, there isn’t much to fear about Ghostwire: Tokyo, although it’s filled with ghosts. I am a baby when it comes to horror. I’ve always had to watch any horror film from between my fingers or behind a pillow. Watching or playing anything with a horror element sets my brain ablaze with possibilities in how many different nefarious ways it could rattle me to my core. And I jumped maybe twice during Ghostwire, including a time I accidentally scared myself.
Weird things happen, and you may be unnerved by going into the home of a malicious spectre. If you’re looking for a good scare, you’re not going to get it here—even if I did say «what the fuck is that» maybe three or four times when seeing a new enemy or one of the few bosses the game contains.
There was potential to be scary though.
There is one moment where I was genuinely fearing for Akito as he was suddenly left at the bottom of an underground mine without his spirit powers. You realise as you turn to look behind you that the way you came is now littered with monsters and, for just a moment, you hold your breath as you feel suddenly alone and intimidated by the task at hand. Hannya really could win. I can’t do this.
(Image credit: Tango Gameworks)
But hey, give the game ten minutes and you can go get your powers back from a temple by running past a bunch of these spirits or using your handy dandy sneaking abilities. From then on losing your abilities is a normal part of some fights and kind of no biggie. That fear you felt the first time just vanishes. And that’s kind of the crux of the milquetoast horror of Ghostwire: Tokyo. Lots of potential but it just doesn’t follow up.
What’s unfortunate about the scope of the project is that one trailer for the game shows you almost everything you’ll see.
It’s like those action movie trailers that ruin many of the set pieces before you’ve even got the chance to enjoy them in the cinema. The game has a few cool bosses and a couple of recurring quest situations that feel fresh, but otherwise it’s very obvious about what you get.
It’s worth mentioning that my playthrough of Ghostwire lasted about 10 and a half hours. That’s with a smattering of side missions completed as well, but mostly just sprinting through the latter half of the game in an effort to finish it. With all the side missions complete it’s probably closer to 20 hours. And with collectables? Oof, goodness knows. In an age when games are always getting longer and more expansive, it was nice to be able to get through this in a couple of days.
I missed a lot of side missions, but honestly, they’re not hugely memorable. When you’re given these quests, they’re from a celestial mass of blue essence in the vague shape of a human. You can’t see that they’re sad or annoyed or really… anything at all.
You could get some cool little stories from these adventures but they’re mostly along the lines of «I died and I have a regret» or «this part of the city had something wrong with it, go fight some enemies and cleanse it of bad energy».
I also experienced occasional performance issues here and there. Heavy stuttering, in particular, would happen when a fight was getting particularly messy. Additionally when I played the game on a close to brand-new laptop there were some strange latency issues between the trackpad and the game, and even heavier stuttering and asset loading issues. On my main PC, however, neither of these problems applied.
Ghostwire: Tokyo is the best PlayStation 3 game I’ve played in years. It’s like a good Japanese interpretation of the Infamous games. It’s like you’ve got a ghost-based Watch Dogs or neon injected Bioshock. Ghostwire has the spirit of these older action games in bucketfuls and, though it’s by no means perfect, it’s like a glass of Coke after a long walk in the sun.
Water might be better for you, but you want to indulge in something sugary and sweet despite the million health warnings. Though there are better games than Ghostwire in terms of theme, horror and graphics, this is just uncomplicated fun.
Ghostwire Tokyo: Price Comparison
£69.36
View
powered by
Read our review policy
GhostWire: Tokyo
Fun combat and a sophisticated city burdened with the unfulfilled potential of a far scarier experience.
Imogen has been playing games for as long as she can remember but finally decided games were her passion when she got her hands on Portal 2. Ever since then she’s bounced between hero shooters, RPGs, and indies looking for her next fixation, searching for great puzzles or a sniper build to master. When she’s not working for PC Gamer, she’s entertaining her community live on Twitch, hosting an event like GDC, or in a field shooting her Olympic recurve bow.
PC Gamer is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site .
©
Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury,
Bath
BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.
New PC games in December 2022 – 12 upcoming releases we’re most excited for
There are plenty of games to get for Christmas!
It’s time to start saying farewell to the current year. The award season in the digital entertainment industry has already begun, but that doesn’t mean there will be no new PC games in December 2022. On the contrary! While there may not be as many as in previous months, the Christmas season will still have some fantastic options.
Whether you’re a fan of horror, racing hits, or Japanese RPGs, you are in for lots of fun. The upcoming PC games for December 2022 list has big-budget productions and smaller indie releases for everyone. Let’s see what we’ll be playing in the last month of this year.
Tropico 6 — New Frontiers DLC – December 1
If you’re a fan of construction and management simulation titles, you surely know this franchise. We have good news for you. December kicks off with the launch of the Tropico 6 — New Frontiers DLC. Expand your experience by reaching the stars. The add-on introduces the Spaceport Complex and provides an all-new Mission Mars campaign. That’s right – the series is going into space. Viva El Presidente!
Shop now
Go to ShopShop Now
Shop now
Go to ShopShop Now
Shop now
Go to ShopShop Now
See all deals
The Callisto Protocol – December 2
The Callisto Protocol is the last big AAA game of 2022. From some of the original Dead Space creators comes a horror production that can hopefully provide an atmospheric experience matching the now classic sci-fi story.
In this title, you take control of Jacob Lee, a prisoner at Black Iron colony. The place has been invaded by deadly aliens who can be lurking behind every corner. This is definitely one of the December PC games releases that has a chance to be added to our list of the top survival horror titles.
Shop now
Go to ShopShop Now
Shop now
Go to ShopShop Now
Shop now
Go to ShopShop Now
See all deals
Need for Speed Unbound – December 2
When it comes to arcade racers, the Need for Speed franchise is one of the heavy hitters. The newest installment, NFS Unbound, will let you participate in street race challenges in the Lakeshore area. As the in-game events will not be entirely legal, you will have to deal with rivals as well as the police. Sit behind the wheel of one of your fine-tuned custom cars and put the pedal to the metal in this upcoming PC games December 2022 hit.
Shop now
Go to ShopShop Now
Shop now
Go to ShopShop Now
Shop now
Go to ShopShop Now
See all deals
Marvel’s Midnight Suns – December 2
Our best superhero titles list is about to get bigger. In a couple of days, Marvel’s Midnight Suns will be the most recent among new PC games based on comic books. In this tactical RPG, you will form a team consisting of beloved characters such as Spider-Man, Wolverine, Iron Man, Ghost Rider, and others. Your mission will be to face the dark forces of Lilith. The very fabric of magic is in danger, and it’s up to you to fix it.
Shop now
Go to ShopShop Now
Shop now
Go to ShopShop Now
Shop now
Go to ShopShop Now
See all deals
Knights of Honor II: Sovereign – December 6
New PC games of December 2022 also include Knights of Honor II: Sovereign.
In this medieval real-time grand strategy, you become the King. Your ambition is to take control of Europe. Naturally, this won’t come easy, and you will have to wrestle for it. The developers aim to create a gateway game to the genre. They offer all the intricacies of diplomacy, religion, and city-building but do away with any confusing options. We’ll see if the creators are successful soon enough.
Shop now
Go to ShopShop Now
Shop now
Go to ShopShop Now
Shop now
Go to ShopShop Now
See all deals
Hello Neighbor 2 – December 6 (Included with PC Game Pass)
Next on the list of December 2022 PC game releases is Hello Neighbor 2. In this stealth horror, you will try to uncover the secrets your creepy neighbor is actively trying to hide. No one else seems interested in investigating him, so it’s all up to you.
But be careful! Your opponent is very smart. The developers gave him an advanced AI that learns from your actions and all the other players worldwide. Will you manage to outsmart your opponent?
Shop now
Go to ShopShop Now
Shop now
Go to ShopShop Now
Shop now
Go to ShopShop Now
See all deals
You should definitely at least try it, especially since HN2 is one of the PC games in December 2022 to launch on Microsoft’s subscription service from Day One. If you’re not a PC Game Pass member yet, brand-new users can access it for an entire month for a mere $1. That’s an excellent opportunity to try the service. For a low price, you can see if you want to become a long-term subscriber and try all the releases coming to XGP in 2022 and 2023.
Shop now
Go to ShopShop Now
See all deals
Shop now
Go to ShopShop Now
See all deals
IXION – December 7
One of the best new PC games to come out n the end of this year is IXION.
In this strategy title, you will take the role of the Tiqqun space station Administrator. Your primary mission is to find a new place to live for mankind. To do that, you will need to take good care of your base. Your responsibilities will be handling the infrastructure, population numbers, exploration, and resource management. Saving humanity will not be easy, so you must be ready to make tough choices.
Shop now
Go to ShopShop Now
Shop now
Go to ShopShop Now
Shop now
Go to ShopShop Now
See all deals
Chained Echoes – December 8 (Included with PC Game Pass)
If you’re up for an old-school 16-bit style JRPG, Chained Echoes is definitely for you. It’s set in a fantasy world where both encountering dragons and piloting mecha suits are very likely. Join a group of heroes on a journey through Valandis and bring about the end of the war between the continent’s three kingdoms.
This PC game December 2022 release will provide you with about 30-40 hours of story-driven, turn-based combat fun.
Shop now
Go to ShopShop Now
Shop now
Go to ShopShop Now
Shop now
Go to ShopShop Now
See all deals
Choo-Choo Charles – December 9
Does an evil spider-legged locomotive sound scary? It will once you meet Choo-Choo Charles. In this title, you navigate through an open-world island on an old train. You leave it only to gather resources, change the direction of tracks, and explore new areas. All the while, a murderous railway engine Charles is out to get you! You need to gain enough strength, skill, and firepower to be ready for the final showdown and rid the world of the deadly choo-choo.
Shop now
Go to ShopShop Now
Shop now
Go to ShopShop Now
Shop now
Go to ShopShop Now
See all deals
High on Life – December 13 (Included with PC Game Pass)
High on Life, just like some of the new PC games in December 2022, is joining XGP on Day One.
This biopunk comedy first-person shooter is developed by Rick & Morty’s co-creator, Justin Roilan. It will take you to a world where aliens enslave people and use them as drugs. Your goal is simple – save humanity! Luckily, you can count on the help of your sentient weapons. They even have faces and can talk to you!
Shop now
Go to ShopShop Now
Shop now
Go to ShopShop Now
Shop now
Go to ShopShop Now
See all deals
Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion – December 13
Describing Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion is a bit complicated. The new Square Enix game is a remastered prequel to the original Final Fantasy VII. The previous version was only released on the PlayStation Portable, so most gamers will participate in this adventure for the first time.
In this action RPG, follow a SOLDIER operative Zack Fair. Your journey will lead you to discover the secrets behind Shinra’s dark experiments.
Shop now
Go to ShopShop Now
Shop now
Go to ShopShop Now
Shop now
Go to ShopShop Now
See all deals
Blacktail – December 15
Last on the list of PC games of December 2022 is Blacktail. Discover the origins of the Slavic myth of Baba Yaga. You get to play as a 16-year-old girl accused of witchcraft and thrown out of her town. In this dark tale involving archery combat and magic, you will shape the young woman and decide if she grows up to become the protector of the woods or the nightmare young children are scared of in the middle of the night.
Shop now
Go to ShopShop Now
Shop now
Go to ShopShop Now
Shop now
Go to ShopShop Now
See all deals
That concludes our list of the best upcoming PC games for December 2022.
Do you have any favorites? Have we introduced you to any new titles? Let us know in the comments! You can also join our Discord and talk to other GG.deals users and us there.
December 2022 Game Release Dates — DTF Games
The year is coming to an end. Winter is coming into its own, and game companies are struggling to release their latest releases. As a rule, you don’t have to wait for high-profile new products in December, but who knows, maybe you will be able to find something interesting in the coming month. One way or another, choose the platform you are interested in and see for it a short list of upcoming releases. Peace to your home.
2021
views
- PC
- Swtich
PC
The ”>” before the date indicates a platform exclusive.
December 2, . The Callisto Protocol — The spiritual successor to Dead Space from a former series boss, set on a dead moon of Jupiter.
Also out on Xbox and PlayStation.
December 2, . Marvel’s Midnight Suns — THE GAME IS NOT AVAILABLE IN THE RUSSIAN REGION. Tactics from the authors of XCOM in the superhero universe of Marvel. Also coming to PS5 and Xbox Series.
November 2, . Need for Speed: Unbound — THE GAME IS NOT AVAILABLE IN THE RUSSIAN REGION. A new part of arcade racing from EA with a touch of grind and anime style.
> December 6, . Dwarf Fortress — The famous colony simulator that has been in development for twenty years. Released on Steam with a graphical interface.
December 6, . Hello Neighbor 2 is a stealth horror game in which players try to sneak into a neighbor’s house and learn his secrets. Also out on Xbox and PlayStation.
> December 6, . Knights of Honor 2: Sovereign — A global strategy game with real-time combat where the player tries to conquer Europe by taking control of one of the medieval states.
> December 7, . IXION — Strategy from the authors of Warhammer 40K: Mechanicus about the construction and maintenance of the space station.
December 8, . Chained Echoes is a 16-bit style pixelated JRPG where you have to bring peace to a war-torn land. Also released on other platforms.
> December 8, . Portal with RTX — A remaster of the first part of the Portal puzzle, adapted for ray tracing.
December 8, . Samurai Maiden — Slasher with role-playing elements, about girls opposing demons. Also out on PlayStation and Switch.
December 12 . Wavetale — An action-adventure game, formerly a Stadia exclusive, about exploring a flooded city. Also released on other platforms.
December 13 . Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 Reunion — THE GAME IS NOT AVAILABLE IN THE RUSSIAN REGION. A remaster of the prequel to the seventh part of the Final Fantasy role-playing series. Also released on other platforms.
> December 13, . Master of Magic — A remake of the 1994 fantasy turn-based strategy game in which the player takes on the role of a wizard to take control of one of the many races.
December 15, . Aka — A small game in the open world, about finding peace on the island, in which the player will control a cartoon red panda. Also coming to Switch.
December 15 . Blacktail — Action with role-playing elements, about a young girl — Baba Yaga, who has to choose her path in life. Also out on Xbox and PlayStation.
Switch
The ”>” before the date indicates a platform exclusive.
December 1, . Inscryption — Psychological horror with roguelike and card game elements. The game was previously released on PC and PlayStation.
8 December . Chained Echoes is a 16-bit style pixelated JRPG where you have to bring peace to a war-torn land. Also released on other platforms.
December 8, . Samurai Maiden — Slasher with role-playing elements, about girls opposing demons. Also out on PlayStation and PC.
> December 9, . Dragon Quest Treasures — An offshoot of the Dragon Quest role-playing series about the childhood of the characters in the eleventh part.
December 12 . Wavetale — An action-adventure game, formerly a Stadia exclusive, about exploring a flooded city. Also released on other platforms.
December 13, . Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 Reunion — Remastered prequel to the seventh installment of the Final Fantasy RPG series. Also released on other platforms.
December 15, . Aka — A small game in the open world, about finding peace on the island, in which the player will control a cartoon red panda. Also coming to PC.
Best PC (PC) Games 2022 — Top PC (PC) Games Released in 2022,
List
314
In terms of gambling rating
from high to low to low to high
on the release date of
, at first, the old
rating
from high to low to high
according to the alphabet
A-ZZ-A-ZZ-A
Stray
PC, PS4, PlayStation 5
Adventure
Total War: Warhammer III
PC
Strategy
Vampire: The Masquerade — Swansong
Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series
RPG
Victoria 3
PC
Strategy
Destiny 2: The Witch Queen
PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox One , Xbox Series
FPS, MMO
Remember.
