I really don't get why people didn't like Ghostwire Tokyo. Personally, I had a blast with it! I wasn't expecting to have as much fun as I had with it. Definitely surprised me in a positive way.
For starters, the thing that I loved the most was the setting. If the game were just purely exploring and photographing the amazing attention to detail put into Shibuya I'd still play the shit out of this. The city feels great (although dead, literally) to travel through, find collectibles and complete quests. It also looks beautiful as hell. I don't know how accurate this depiction of Tokyo is to the real one, but it felt solid enough to me.
The way they incorporated Japanese folklore and horror stories into the whole experience was amazing as well. I'm a sucker for those tales and seeing them as they are in the game was fascinating. The entire conundrum of the experience revolves around those myths in fact. It just enriches how well put together it all is. Enemy design helps a lot, too. Unfortunately, variety is scarce and their placement ends up being a bit overused.
And that leads me to the story. While the writing is just ok, I found Ghostwire's plot to be really touching and often creepy. It deals with death and closure in a sensible way, with its build up to certain events paving the way for a solid character development. It's good, not great, but packs a good punch. The ending is bittersweet, leaving me with Fatal Frame vibes.
Sidequests were also a highlight! They were all very interesting, with cool little short horror stories, filled with new mysteries and engaging/fun narratives. Try not to skip out on them.
So what prevents Ghostwire from being a better game? To be honest, its major flaw is the combat. At first, I found it quite original, but then I saw through the cracks. It is stiff and repetitive, packing some very clunky aiming and uncomfortable shooting that lacks impact, sense of proggression and, well, fun factor. Stealth is barely useful as well. Not to mention that some enemies were VERY annoying to fight. And you do fight A LOT! It is a huge bummer.
Some other things started to get stale around the final couple of chapters. Like, I love the city and its sidequests, but I don't really enjoy its 'collectathon' aspects. It brings nothing new to the campaign and it's always the same things. Acquiring spirits got old really fast, bosses were boring, enemies are overused, some story questions are left unanswered and I fucking hate having to find hidden statues and pray for them to give me, like, ONE extra ammo.
Ghostwire Tokyo was a surprise. A good one. Its traditional Japanese horror roots really got to me and this "free" trip to Shibuya definitely won't leave my head so soon.
For starters, the thing that I loved the most was the setting. If the game were just purely exploring and photographing the amazing attention to detail put into Shibuya I'd still play the shit out of this. The city feels great (although dead, literally) to travel through, find collectibles and complete quests. It also looks beautiful as hell. I don't know how accurate this depiction of Tokyo is to the real one, but it felt solid enough to me.
The way they incorporated Japanese folklore and horror stories into the whole experience was amazing as well. I'm a sucker for those tales and seeing them as they are in the game was fascinating. The entire conundrum of the experience revolves around those myths in fact. It just enriches how well put together it all is. Enemy design helps a lot, too. Unfortunately, variety is scarce and their placement ends up being a bit overused.
And that leads me to the story. While the writing is just ok, I found Ghostwire's plot to be really touching and often creepy. It deals with death and closure in a sensible way, with its build up to certain events paving the way for a solid character development. It's good, not great, but packs a good punch. The ending is bittersweet, leaving me with Fatal Frame vibes.
Sidequests were also a highlight! They were all very interesting, with cool little short horror stories, filled with new mysteries and engaging/fun narratives. Try not to skip out on them.
So what prevents Ghostwire from being a better game? To be honest, its major flaw is the combat. At first, I found it quite original, but then I saw through the cracks. It is stiff and repetitive, packing some very clunky aiming and uncomfortable shooting that lacks impact, sense of proggression and, well, fun factor. Stealth is barely useful as well. Not to mention that some enemies were VERY annoying to fight. And you do fight A LOT! It is a huge bummer.
Some other things started to get stale around the final couple of chapters. Like, I love the city and its sidequests, but I don't really enjoy its 'collectathon' aspects. It brings nothing new to the campaign and it's always the same things. Acquiring spirits got old really fast, bosses were boring, enemies are overused, some story questions are left unanswered and I fucking hate having to find hidden statues and pray for them to give me, like, ONE extra ammo.
Ghostwire Tokyo was a surprise. A good one. Its traditional Japanese horror roots really got to me and this "free" trip to Shibuya definitely won't leave my head so soon.