How Ghostwire: Tokyo Actually Works

Since Bethesda revealed Ghostwire: Tokyo in 2019, the game has remained a mystery, but a new gameplay deep-dive has now shown how the game works, including its open environment and combat mechanisms.

The Evil Within’s makers, Tango Gameworks, stated that the game is an open world set in a haunted Tokyo after “the Vanishing,” a paranormal event in which 99 percent of the population vanished.

The player must employ a combination of magical powers and regular weaponry to save the city, which has been overtaken by spirits from Japanese folklore.

Despite its unusual premise, Ghostwire: Tokyo’s open environment appears to take on more classic characteristics of the genre.

A basic menu map allows navigation of a Tokyo densely packed with primary objectives, side quests, and points of interest, all of which require fighting foes within a specific area to clear the surrounding fog.

These regions are identified by corrupted torii gates, which players must clean in order to clear the fog, and there are dozens – large and little – strewn across Tokyo.

Strange areas across the landscape that harken back to Tango Gameworks’ horror past are another open world activity. The player is required to traverse through halls “where time and space cannot be trusted,” which appear to be a scaled-down version of P.T. The deep-dive narrator explains, “The only way to achieve your mission is to power through.”

Traveling around the city is also “an vital aspect” of Ghostwire: Tokyo, and the player has access to the Tengu Ability, which is essentially a grapple-hook. The player may grab flying Tengu monsters and use them to jump onto and across roofs, and he also looks to have a glide ability.

There’s also a “Spectral Vision” pulse, which acts as a detective mode, revealing nearby opponents and points of interest.

Combat

At the centre of Ghostwire: Tokyo’s combat is a skill called “Ethereal Weaving” that’s used to fight the monsters that appeared after the Vanishing.

It fuses spiritual energy with fire, air, or water to launch close or long-range attacks at the variety of enemies that require different playstyles to defeat.

Incoming attacks can also be parried and the player’s supernatural powers can be charged up to enter “Wire-In” mode and unleash more powerful attacks.

The player will also unlock more “traditional” weapons such as a bow and arrow (the gameplay showed regular and explosive arrows) and talismans that explode with lightning.

Ghostwire: Tokyo also features stealth gameplay and has dedicated stealth sections where the player’s supernatural abilities are stripped away, forcing a reliance on “wits and traditional weapons”.

Typical RPG mechanics are also present, with earned skill points used to unlock different “abilities” and “Ethereal Weaving” power-ups.