Armed with this set of Ghostwire Tokyo tips, you'll be able to walk the eerily deserted streets of Shibuya with confidence. The game hits you pretty hard with a barrage of information quite early on, concerning everything from your ethereal weaving powers to visitors. and spirits. Pair this with the unique storyline, and we don't blame you if it's all feeling a tad overwhelming to get to grips with.
That's where we come in. To smooth out the learning curve, we've compiled some essential Ghostwire Tokyo tips that you'll want to bear in mind before heading further into the city. Whether you're keen to know how to get more Katashiro, how to find collectible Relics, or if you're just looking for combat tips, we've got you covered.
1. Track the fog on your minimap to avoid damage
Kicking off our host of Ghostwire Tokyo tips, let's talk about fog. When you're exploring an area near the edge of the killer fog cloud, it can sometimes be tricky to judge where the almost invisible divide between safe and deadly is, especially against certain backdrops that the swirling spirits don't stand out against. This means you can easily wander into danger and take damage to your HP, and you don't want to start wasting consumables patching yourself up between fights. To avoid this, keep one eye on the minimap in the corner of the screen, as it shows exactly where the fog begins so you can ensure you're not straying into difficulty.
2. Use Spectral Vision frequently to reveal enemies and items
Your Spectral Vision power is one of the most helpful tools at your disposal, and as it doesn't cost you anything to use you should be frequently triggering it to see what's around you. It reveals nearby Visitors to fight or avoid, spirits to absorb, tengu to grapple, consumables and collectibles to pick up, and a whole lot more. If there's a significant location such as a Jizo statue or offering box close to you when you activate Spectral Vision, you'll hear a bell chime to alert you, so use it often to ensure you don't overlook anything important.
3. Always approach combat with stealth
When you detect that Visitors are nearby, crouch to go into stealth mode then observe their movement and look for a route you can take to sneak up behind them. This will allow you to perform a Quick Purge takedown, which will immediately eliminate most types of enemies and is much less risky than fighting them head on. If there are multiple Visitors in the area, see if there's a way you can work through them while avoiding their sightlines.
If it's not possible to get close enough for a Quick Purge without being spotted, you can also equip the bow and use it to quietly take down Visitors from a distance while remaining undetected. Go for a headshot to deal the most damage and have the best chance of securing a one-hit kill, remembering that arrows drop with gravity over distance so you may need to aim a little higher than your target to account for this fall while in flight.
4. Practice makes Perfect Blocking
Sometimes the stealthy approach isn't possible or doesn't work out, so if you end up going head to head with Visitors then mastering the Perfect Block move will give you a distinct edge in combat. Of course, you can hold the Block button at any point to protect yourself from enemy attacks, but this only reduces the damage you take so you'll still get hurt.
Of all the Ghostwire Tokyo tips we could give you, this one could save your life in seconds. Perform a Block just as the enemy strikes for a Perfect Block, parrying the attack to completely avoid all damage and briefly stuns the Visitor too. Most enemies have a predictable attack pattern and the timing window for a Perfect Block is reasonably generous, so practice this valuable move and you'll be successfully fending off blows in no time.
5. Pick the Skills that match your combat playstyle
There are plenty of different Skills for you to unlock and upgrade, so you should focus first on the ones that benefit your combat playstyle the most. If you prefer to get up close and personal with the Visitors you're fighting, then Ether Shakedown, Melee Core Grab, and Ground Core Grab will boost your hand-to-hand combat, whereas if you'd rather keep your distance with ranged attacks then Core Exposure Duration Boost, Core Grab Speed Boost, and Charge Attack Speed Boost will help you hold back Visitors as you pick them off. Whatever your approach, you should also look to add Speed Boost and More Shots to your most used ethereal weaving power to better deal with multiple enemies.
6. Grab ALL the consumables and equip the best ones
You'll see consumables everywhere as you're exploring, either sat in abandoned takeaway bags or hovering in the air, so grab them whenever you can as they're free supplies. Not only does using consumables recover a decent chunk of your Health, but each one also marginally increases your Max HP – so if you find food or drink you can't pick up as your inventory is full it's worth consuming one even if your health is already full, to make room and slightly increase your Max HP.
Within the Consumables section of the Inventory menu you can choose which Food, Drink, and Spectral Food is equipped to quickly use, so it's worth regularly checking here to make sure the items with the greatest benefits are equipped. You should pay particular attention to Spectral Foods, as these provide a temporary buff as well as Health recovery, so they can be particularly useful to consume in certain combat situations.
7. Checking Shrines on the map reveals all that area's objectives
You can fast travel in Ghostwire Tokyo, but only by activating shrines first. As you work your way through the story, you'll be cleansing large shrines to drive back the fog and open up new areas of Shibuya to explore. However, they also provide lots of important information after that when you highlight them on the map. Under the Area Completion heading you can see what important items are in the vicinity and how many you've found so far, while the Area Spirits Transferred count shows how you're progressing with absorbing and transferring spirits from that locale. Shrines also provide the main Fast Travel points by following the prompt, so don't forget about this option if you need to get across the map quickly.
8. Collectible Relics have actual value if you sell them to the right cat vendors
When you arrive in certain areas you'll hear a disembodied 'meow' sound, which indicates a collectible Relic is somewhere nearby. At this point you don't actually need to search for it, as if you open your map you'll see the Relic icon by your location, so select it (using Triangle to switch to it if needed when other icons are overlapping) then return to the game and follow the marker to the Relic. Note that this method occasionally doesn't work, particularly if the Relic is inside a building and the game gets confused, but it's still one of the more useful Ghostwire Tokyo tips to commit to memory.
The cat vendors at Nekomata stalls each have a wishlist of Relics they're looking to purchase, so if you have something they want you can sell it for a decent amount of Meika, as well as receiving bonus rewards including items and outfits for the collectibles you provide. If you highlight a Relic on their list (or under Missions > Nekomata Requests in the menu after) then a clue will appear to its location, and you can also track the objective which places a yellow search area on your map – combine this information and you'll have a much easier job of tracking them down.
9. Stock up on as many Katashiro as possible to save more spirits
Katashiro are the paper doll-like items you use to absorb the lost spirits floating around Shibuya, and each time you absorb a spirit a Katashiro will become unavailable until you're able to use a Spirit Transmission Device hidden in a telephone booth. For that reason, you should invest in as many Katashiro as you can purchase from the various Convenience Stores, as although they're expensive the more you have means the longer you can explore before searching for a payphone to transfer them.
You should always be absorbing spirits whenever you see them, and pay attention to their dialogue popping up on screen as this means a spirit is close, even if you can't immediately see them. Using a Spirit Transmission Device to return them rewards you with Meika and, more importantly, a generous amount of XP, which makes this the best way to level up quickly so grab those extra Katashiro to keep the spirits flowing.
10. KK's Investigation Notes provide lots of Skill Points
This might seem like one of the more obvious Ghostwire Tokyo tips, but it still deserves to be said: keep your eyes open for KK's Investigation Notes. These special files each unlock 20 Skill Points to upgrade your abilities. You'll find the first one on the side in KK's Safehouse, detailing The Sewer Kid investigation which features in the demo Prelude Corrupted Case File. You can also purchase KK's Investigation Notes from certain cat vendors at Nekomata stalls, and although they're particularly expensive to buy, the additional Skill Points you receive are absolutely worth the investment.
11. Feed the dogs to reveal hidden treasure and items
There are plenty of pups wandering around Shibuya, which you can trace by their barks when you get close, and you've probably already discovered that you can pet them as it's a natural first reaction. However, you can also read their thoughts to get potential insights about the area they're in, or feed them dog food to make them happy – in return they'll lead you to a location nearby that may contain a cache of Meika, a Jizo Statue, or some other useful item. True to life, don't expect any meaningful help from the non-vendor cats you encounter, as if you read their thoughts they're more likely to complain than anything else.
