The world of action-adventure game Ghostwire: Tokyo is dark. In fact, the presence of light is non-existent in all promotional material seen thus far. While the local prefecture is bereft of life and ominous faceless men stalk the once over-populated metropolis, the game is still blinding; we can see the abandoned neonscape of Tokyo casting an eerie prismatic glow on the urban waterfront. This morning, developer Tango Gameworks released gameplay footage through IGN, showcasing more of the colorful combat.
Ghostwire: Tokyo started out as the third installment of The Evil Within, and the influence of horror veteran Shinji Mikami is loud and clear here. The game is also rich in Japanese folklore. We can spot a figure dressed in white wielding a gigantic pair of scissors rushing toward protagonist Akito, the terrible kuchisake-onna, or “Slit-Mouthed Woman,” of popular urban legend. The footage showed off how we can use a combination of stealth and our supernatural arsenal called “Ethereal weaving” to keep each encounter interesting. One specific attack would appear to resemble a game of Ayatori, a Japanese string game akin to Cat’s Cradle.
The Kappa encounter is the standout moment at the beginning of the trailer, though. The amphibious spirit is one of the most well-known in Japanese legend, and their cucumber obsession is a notable quirk. The best and worst part is this creature is known to pull shirikodama out of the rear of their victim, which is somehow worse than whatever soul-stealing tech Anders Hellman engineered in Cyberpunk 2077.
Ghostwire: Tokyo is scheduled for release on March 25 for PC and PlayStation 5. Ghostwire: Tokyo – Prelude is a visual novel delving deeper into the mass vanishing, and is available for free on Steam, PlayStation 5, and PlayStation 4.
