Ghostwire: Tokyo

I don't even know how to start this because I have a LOT of thoughts about this game and it's in a note file on my phone, in no particular order. I'm just winging it. I guess I'll start by saying I really don't enjoy open world games. Never have. I get bored easily and by the time I hit the 20 hour mark, I start wishing for the game to be over...To be fair though, this is how I feel with every video game, even the ones I enjoy. So when I say that I spent 60 hours on my first save file, exploring and collecting everything so I could platinum the game, that really means something. And if I say I then started a second playthrough so I could get to the point of no return and make a save where all the side quests were still available so I could go back and replay them whenever I want...Well, you get the point, right? Ghostwire: Tokyo is an incredible game and the lore and horror elements made it so enjoyable and interesting that I never wanted it to end.

Without going too deep into the story (because I don't want to spoil anything), you play as Akito, a young man who is searching for his sister after everyone in Tokyo vanishes. Hitching a ride (in your body) is a paranormal investigator, KK, who has his own agenda. To be completely honest, the story isn't the game's strongpoint. It isn't bad by any means, but I found myself forgetting the story while I was roaming around the game's world. There's so much to see and do that the story itself kind of takes a backseat to everything else. That doesn't mean it isn't there though. In fact, I highly recommend reading and listening to everything in the Database menu. It gives you more details on keywords, characters/Visitors/yokai, key items, landmarks, relics and even consumables. KK's Investigation Notes go more in depth into what he was researching (including the case from the free prologue episode). And the audio logs give a ton of story background, including Hannya's motive for everything he does throughout the game. 

There are a lot of things I really liked and appreciated about Ghostwire: Tokyo. The lore is fantastic and so is the art style. I really hope they release an artbook for this game at some point because it absolutely deserves one. You can pet the dogs and the cats! (Strangely enough, you can feed the dogs, but not the cats so that's actually on my list of negatives about the game, but it's a really minor, insignificant negative.) The game has some great settings in the options menu, including one that allows you to turn off time limits for any events that have them. I didn't use this during my first playthrough, but I did during my second time through the game because I just wanted to relax and have fun. Hand seals are an interesting part of the game when you're using the PS5's DualSense controller, but as it went on, I found myself "leaving it to KK," which allows the game to automatically perform the hand seal for you. This is a really nice feature because sometimes, I found it difficult to trace the seal correctly. The last thing I want to mention is something I didn't realize until I started a new playthrough. Upon completing the game, any bonuses you unlock carry over to new games, too.

Because I'm a fair person, I'll admit that this game I love so, so much has a few cons. There are some bugs. A dog's head came through the door, a cat was floating in midair near a fence. Those ones aren't a big deal, they're kind of funny. What wasn't so funny was the game-breaking glitches I encountered. There weren't a lot, there were two occasions where side missions bugged and it made it impossible to progress any further. The best advice I can offer (and it's advice I would make for any game) is to SAVE OFTEN. Make MULTIPLE SAVES. That being said, here's the other con. There are certain points in the game where you can't save. On a couple occasions, I survived a pretty difficult battle and was unable to save again before the next difficult battle. If you die, that sucks. Those are my only real complaints though.

I've tried to think of another game to compare Ghostwire: Tokyo to, but I can't. Before playing it, I thought maybe the gameplay would be similar to Bioshock, but it feels completely different. This is a totally unique game and it makes it really special. There are some genuinely terrifying moments, but overall, I wouldn't consider it a "horror" game. And I'm grateful for that! It wasn't so scary that I had to psych myself up for 5 minutes every time I entered a new room. If you're looking for something fun and atmospheric, with a stunning environment and a million things to do, this is the game for you.

Now that all of that is out of the way, I'm going to get into minor-spoiler territory. The point of no return, the best abilities to unlock and beads to use, my favorite side missions and some tips to make the game a little easier.

So, the point of no return. The game will make it pretty clear to you when you've reached it (by telling you to complete any unfinished business/side missions). "Post game" takes you back to your last save before this moment, so keep that in mind. There's a specific set of side quests the game recommends completing before progressing past the point of no return and I'm not sure if you can go back to those quests after you beat the game (because I finished everything first). It might not be worth the risk to test it out.

Here are some of the best abilities to unlock early on:

1. Takehaya 1/2/3 (Charge Attack)
2. Wakumusubi 1/2 (Core Grab - HP Restoration)
3.  Fudo 1/2 (Core Exposure - Duration Boost)
4. Kukurihime 1/2 (Core Grab - Speed Boost)
5. Omoigane 2/3 (Spectral Vision)
6. Amenotori X (Grapple/Summon Tengu - You need 7 magatama before you can upgrade to Summon Tengu, but believe me, it's worth it and you want to unlock this ASAP.)
7. Amenokagami 2/3 (Glide - This will make it easier to access hard to reach places when you combine it with Summon Tengu.)
8. ALL the Water Weaving skills (I severely underestimated just how good this attack actually is for most of the game.)

As far as which beads to equip, this is really up to personal preference and depends entirely on your play style, but these are my recommendations for a first playthrough. Equip the Gust Beads until you acquire the Aqua Beads. Once you get the Astral Beads, always wear them, they increase the amount of ether that appears. This is extremely helpful because you need ether to use your elemental attacks. The last one depends on what you're doing in the game. Self Defense Beads are helpful if you know you'll be fighting enemies, but if you're just exploring the city, exchange them for the Spirit Perception Beads, it will make it a lot easier for you to find all the spirits scattered around each area (these beads will lead you right to them). If you've completed the game 100% and you want to start a new game for fun, you should have unlocked the Tireless Beads (infinite attacks, no more worrying about ether/talismans/arrows) and Transmission Beads (transmit souls on the go, you don't need to use a phone booth). I recommend using those, as well as the Flame Beads, because now that you have infinite attacks, why not blow everything up?

I was going to make a list of my Top 5 side quests, but I couldn't narrow it down, so we're going with a Top 10. And just as a note, I really appreciate the fact that most of the side quests in this game can be completed in less than 10 minutes. Anyway, here are my Top 10 side quests, in no particular order:

Strung with a Curse - You're tasked with investigating a cursed piano school. The quest itself is nothing special, but it's pretty creepy and I enjoyed it. (Also, why is it always Moonlight Sonata?)

Art Imitates Life - A dragon has escaped from a painting and you have to chase it down and send it back to where it came from. The thing that makes this side quest so special is how artistic it is. Ghostwire: Tokyo's art style is so beautiful and unique and this quest really showcases that.

Nesting Evil - While investigating the suicide of someone's boyfriend, you learn that the spirits trapped inside the building can't rest until someone else dies and takes their place. WARNING: This is one of two side quests that glitched and prevented me from being able to complete it. Luckily, I had an earlier save I could go back to. If you purge the specters too quickly (before the barrier goes up), there's no way to remove the barrier afterwards and you're trapped. Forever.

A Passage Beyond - An urban legend claims there's a hidden basement inside a nearby building, and no one who enters it ever returns. It doesn't sound that interesting, but trust me, you'll want to make sure you're prepared for this one. WARNING: This is the other side quest that glitched on me. I have no clue what happened, but the console wouldn't activate.

Haunting Visions - After a patient has an eye transplant, she begins to see terrifying things. Ghostwire: Tokyo may have horror themes in it, but in general, it's not that scary. There are very few moments in the game that genuinely frightened me (and I scare pretty easily when it comes to games). This side quest had me creeping around though, because I was afraid of what I would find inside the hospital.

A Stop in the Void - There's a legend about a train station that doesn't exist, so of course, you and KK go check it out. The first time I played through this side quest, I was exhausted. I played it pretty early on in the game and I struggled getting through it, but I thought I survived, so I ran to catch the train back to the real world and...I died. I was so frustrated (because again, I was exhausted) that I thought, "That's it, there's no way I will ever be able to complete this side mission, it's too hard." I gave it 2 more tries and I completed it, and it's probably my favorite side quest in the game now. It reminds me of one of my favorite scary stories, Kisaragi Station.

A Full House - This side quest has you looking into a very "spiritual" apartment. Again, the quest itself isn't that special, but it's very atmospheric and I definitely recommend completing it just so you can see how unsettling the apartment is.

After the End 1/2/3 - This is a series of three side quests and they add a bit to the main story. Rinko sends you on a search to find out what happened to Erika. They're all pretty short missions and they're worth doing for a little more backstory on Erika. (When I say, "a little," I really mean that.)

This has been a lot, but I'm not done yet. I can go on forever about the things that I love. Here are some helpful tips for getting the most out of your experience with Ghostwire: Tokyo:

1. DO NOT AVOID THE PARADE. It spawns randomly and it really sucks when this is the last thing you need to complete for 100%.
2. When you see the cats at the stalls who want you to collect items for them, you can click on each item and they'll show up as yellow circles on the map so you know where to search for them. I had NO idea you could click on them, so for most of the game, I was searching every corner for relics.
3. I strongly recommend saving up your skill points/magatama for the Grapple skill. When you upgrade it the second time, you can summon Tengu almost anywhere, so you're able to reach most of the rooftops. The game doesn't tell you how to do this though, so I will. Aim at a rooftop and hit L2. If you're able to summon a Tengu there, it will appear and you can hit the X button.
4. If there are ether crystals that are out of your reach, you can "pull" them to Akito by pressing L2.
5. BE CAREFUL WHERE/WHEN YOU PET THE DOGS. It can get you killed.
6. You can fast travel to shrines, Nekomata stalls and certain other locations on the map.
7. Don't forget that Wire In exists, it restores SP, stuns Visitors and makes it easier to expose their cores.
8. And lastly, each shrine tells you how many magatama, tanuki, jizo statues, and KK's Investigation Notes are in the area, as well as the reward for cleansing it and the percentage of spirits you've collected. This is extremely helpful if you're feeling overwhelmed trying to collect everything in the game.

And that's about it. I'll wrap this up with a few shots of me acting like a tourist.

This sounds awfully familiar.