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

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

I've been championing Tango Gameworks' deliciously vibe-y ghost-hunter since release, but any time I've been countered with criticisms around its combat, my sincerest response has been to simply say, "valid." But not anymore! 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

In our 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.

The different elements have always had their own advantages, be it water's ability to control mobs or fire's usefulness in up-close conflict, and some abilities add variety here and there, but combat felt rudimentary. And that can be a huge bummer when there's a horde of malevolent spirits waiting around every corner, in every building, and at the center of most side quests and main missions. Toward the end of my first playthrough, I was doing my very best to avoid combat and feeling frustrated whenever I became cornered into a fight, which happened often.

I've only played a few hours of the new Spider's Thread update, but I'm already finding combat a lot more engaging - to the point where I'm no longer sneaking around and over buildings to try to reach my objective uninterrupted.

New pew pews

For one, there's now a quick dodge button that lets you dip and duck away from incoming projectiles less clumsily. Pair that with the new counter attack you get when you execute a perfect block, and suddenly kiting mobs of enemies isn't your only option. These new features are especially useful against  spirits like the Kuchisake, who lunge at you with startling speed and range. Beware though, as certain enemies have been given their own guard break abilities that can make you unable to defend yourself for a short time.

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 abilities, 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

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 big 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 impression 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.