Ghostwire: Tokyo deserves a second look now that its biggest problem's been fixed

Ghostwire: Tokyo Spider's Thread update
(Image credit: Bethesda)

Last week, Tango Gameworks' Ghostwire: Tokyo dropped its most meaningful update since launch,𓄧 and it fixed my one true gripe about an otherwise highly underrated open-world gem.

Tango Gameworks' deliciously vibe-y ghost-hunter , but any time I've been countered with criticisms around its combat, my sincerest response has been to simply say, "valid." But not anymo🗹re! Ghostwire: Tokyo's Spider's Thread update adds a bunch of new stuff, including a fully fledged roguelite mode, new locales and monsters, and by far the scariest quest in 🦄the whole game (more on that later). But the change that's driving my latest playthrough - and the reason I can now wholeheartedly recommend Ghostwire: Tokyo - is the expanded combat system.

Ghostly guns

Ghostwire: Tokyo Spider's Thread update

(Image credit: Bethesda)

In our 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Ghostwire: Tokyo review, GR's Josh West rightfully lists the game's "shallow combat" as one of its biggest faults. Even with your skill tree maxed out, fighting off hordes of monsters largely consisted of using three elemental blast-type powers, AKA Elemental Weaving, to wear them down and then ripping away their "cores" to finish them off or simply unloading one more blast into them. It was 🐓a first-person shooter with only one gun and red, blue, and green bullets.

found Ghostwire: Tokyo's Xbox version to be "a big disappointment," citing "substantially lower" frame rates on Xbox Series X and S compared to the PS5 ver🦩sion, as well as lower ray tracing quality and visual glitches. The analysis also notes issues from the PS5 launch version that have yet to be rectifiꩵed. This is something to consider if you're playing Ghostwire: Tokyo for the first time on Game Pass.

There's also a new aerial purge option to help you deal with flying phantoms - another frequent source of frustration I remember from my first playthrough. Now you can sneak up behind the suckers and quick-purge 'em before they can even think about hurling a garbage can your way. Alternatively, the new ground pound attack lets you take down clusters of ghosts with an area-of-effect attack from the sky. In the time I've played the new update, this has helped massively with clearing out big mobs efficiently, and꧋ it adds some much-needed variety to these common scenarios.

The most substantial bit of Ghostwire: Tokyo's combat overhaul is the new suite of elemental ab🎃ilities, collectively called Guard Rush in the game. The wind attack can now be charged up and used like a machine gun with rapid-fire shots, and water attacks can now freeze enemies in place just long enough for you to melt them with your new flamethrower 🐠ability. These are all best-suited for close-range combat, but boy do they make a difference when your pointer finger's tired of spamming the triggers every darn battle.

Deeper and creepier

Ghostwire: Tokyo Spider's Thread

(Image credit: Bethesda)

As I touched on earlier, these are far from the only upgrades available in the newest version of Ghostwire: Tokyo. My favorite element, aside from the deeper combat, is a side quest that takes you through a haunted school. It's easily the scariest quest in the game, with a jump scare rivaled only by the bi▨g baby in Resident Evil Village and one of the most clever and effectively realized gimmicks I've ever seen.

Together, these enhancements make Ghostwire: Tokyo an even easier recommend from me, and I was already singing its praises from the rooftops. I know I'll still get weird looks when 💧I call it my 2022 game of the year, but I challenge you now to give it another try and tell me it didn't exceed your expectations.

I'll say one thing: I'm seriously jealous of anyone getting to experience Ghostwire: Tokyo for the first time after this latest update, whether that's♍ on PS5 or on Xbox or PC via Game Pass. As much as I loved this fun-but-flawed tour through Japanese folklore at launch, it makes a much, much better i🐭mpression today than it did just over a year ago. In short, I played for the vibes at launch, but I'm playing it again now because it's just plain fun.

After earning an English degree from ASU, I worked as a corporate copy editor while freelancing for places like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. I got my big break here in 2019 with a freelance news gig, and I was hired on as GamesRadar's west coast Staff Writer in 2021. That means I'm responsible for managing the site's we♐stern regional executive branch, AKA my home office, and writing about whatever horror game I'm too afraid to finish.