Update includes controversial anti-tamper software

A new update for Tango Gameworks' cyber-noir actioner Ghostwire: Tokyo has quietly added the co?ntr?oversial Denuvo anti-piracy technology to the title, over a year on from the game's initial release.

The addition, spotted by eagle-eyed players, was authenticated by DOSG after an experiment conducted by the website caused the title to flag authentication errors, revealing that Denuvo software was now implemented in the first-person adventu??re, which launched on PC in March 2022. The Denuvo software has been a source of irritance in the PC world, following frequent instances where the resource-hungry anti-tamper tech has, reportedly, caused performance issues in PC ports of popular titles.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=vN26_029gzY&ab_channel=Bethesd?aSoftworks

Just recently, Capcom removed Denuvo from the PC port of Resident Evil Village �a title that appeared to be hugely hindered by the addition of the software from a performance standpoint. The addition of Denuvo to Ghostwire: Tokyo, a title published by Bethesda Softworks, comes just weeks after the publisher has come under fire for announcing that its upcoming vampire hunter, Redfall, would also support the copy-protection software.

In addition to the implementation of Denuvo, the new Ghostwire: Tokyo update includes a selection of new missions, new combat abilities including "Charge Rush" and a new counter-attack skill, as well as new roguelite mode, which goes by the sinister title of The Spider's Thread. Ghostwire: Tokyo is available now on PS5, PC, and Xbox Series X.

Confirmed, Bethesda has added Denuvo to Ghostwire: To??kyo [DSOG]

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The loop brings you back

There's a new batch of games hitting Xbox Game Pass this month, and they range from recursive loops to a world of blocks. Microsoft has confirmed games like Loop Hero, Minecraft Legends, and more are on their way to the Game Pass th?is month.

Some of these new entries aren't particularly surprises. Minecraft Legends is a collaboration between Mojang and Blackbird Interactive, so that Day One launch on the Game Pass makes sense. And while Ghostwire: Tokyo was a timed exclusive even after the purchase of Bethesda by Xbox, it's now ?coming  to thos?e consoles and hitting Game Pass.

Still, there are plenty of surprises and little gems in Game Pass this month too. Loop Hero is a great pick-up, and one I'd strongly recommend you check out if you haven't yet; it mixes concepts of auto-battling, idle games, city building, and more to make a very stra??nge and interesting kind of RPG adventure.

There's also NHL 23 hitting on April 13 via EA Play, for all the Chel fans out there. Lastly, Iron Brigade arrives, a bit of an oddity in the development history of Double Fine. Still, if you've been watching the Double Fine Psychodyssey and wanted to dive deeper into the studio's catalog, Iron Brigade is an interesting part of it.

Here's the full lineup for this month's initial batch of games, as well as the games t?hat are leaving soon on Apr??il 15.

Xbox Game Pass April 2023 arrivals

• Loop Hero (Console, PC) - Out today
• Iron Brigade (Cloud, console) - April 6
• Ghostwire: Tokyo (Cloud, console, PC) - April 12
• NHL 23 (Console via EA Play) - April 13
• Minecraft Legends (Cloud, console, PC) - April 18

Leaving Xbox Game Pass on April 15

• Life is Strange: True Colors (Cloud, console, PC)
• Moonglow Bay (Cloud, console, PC)
• Panzer Corps II (PC)
• Rainbow Six Extraction (Cloud, console, PC)
• The Dungeon of Naheulbeuk (Cloud, console, PC)
• The Long Dark (Cloud, console, PC)
• The Riftbreaker (Cloud, console, PC)

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A great value, in concept

PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium are kinda like Xbox Game Pass. You can play a variety of games available in the service's library you wouldn't otherwise check out. Games are expensive, and a subscription service can help alleviate that pain. But is PlayStation Plus Extra worth it, and should you upgrade to Premium?

Let's find out!

What the heck is PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium?

[caption id="attachment_371642" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

I don't blame anyo??ne for being confused! There are mu??ltiple tiers to PlayStation Plus' subscription service.

• Essential ($9.99/month) gives you online multiplayer access, discounts, cloud storage, Share Play, and of course monthly games. For example, you'll be getting Sackboy: A Big Adventure, Meet Your Maker, and Tails of Iron in April of 2023.
• Extra ($14.99/month) is the next step up from that. You'll gain access to a wide selection of games in a catalog, in addition to all the prior benefits. This includes big exclusive titles like Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection, Demon's Souls, and Spider-Man: Miles Morales and third-party titles, such as Ghostwire: Tokyo and Immortals: Fenyx Rising. 
• Premium ($17.99/month) offers everything from the previous tiers but also adds classic titles from the PS1 and PSP (like Tekken 2, Super Stardust Portable, and Syphon Filter), trials, and cloud streaming into the mix.

PlayStation Plus Extra and PlayStation Plus Premium

So is PlayStation Plus Extra worth it? Well, the games library has a wide range of game genres and experiences to choose from. There's the whole Life is Strange series, NEO: The World Ends with You, the comprehensive Street Fighter V: Champion Edition, the open-world Dragon Ball Z Kakarot, and of course PlayStation's first-party offerings like Spider-Man: Miles Morales and Horizon: Forbidden West. You'll also be able to play major indie darlings like Haven, Untitled Goose Game, and the recently released Tchia. Play??Station touts there are hundreds of games available on the service. If you want to save money and don't mind missing out on playing games on day one, PlayStation Plus Extra is a good option.

PlayStation Plus Premium is slightly more expensive but it does widen the library even further with streamed PS3  games and downloadable PS1/PSP games that are up-rendered to 4K. With Premium, most PS4 and PS5 games can be streamed to your console, PC, or phone too. You can play forgotten PlayStation franchises like Killzone and Resistance on the service, in addition to the beloved PS2 Ratchet & Clank games through streaming. The selection of PS1 games is admittedly brief but it does have some favorites like the original Ape Escape and Tekken 2. Some of the PS1 games even have trophies you?? can unlock.

The trials from PlayStation Plus Premium also give some value. If you've ever considered trying out Marvel's Midnight Suns, you can play a two-hour trial of the strategy game with PlayStation Plus Premium. Once you purchase the game, you can then begin where you left off. But really, that's about it if you don't want to play the retro titles.

Are PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium worth the price?

[caption id="attachment_371691" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Image via Annapurna Interactive[/caption]

PlayStation Plus Premium is arguably not worth the price. The selection of PS1 games is lackluster and lacks big titles like Metal Gear Solid, the original Crash Bandicoot, and Spyro the Dragon trilogies, and the best entry of the PS1 Tekken games: Tekken 3! It is getting better with inclusions like The Legend of Dragoon and Worms: Armageddon, but they come few and far between, si??milar to the drip-feed formula of Switch Online.

The quality of streamed games can vary as well, depending on your co??nnection. It does get spotty from time to time even with the best internet, and with key precision genres like fighting games, that is certainly a no-go.

PlayStation Plus Extra has a good selection overall, but it does pale in comparison to Xbox Game Pass. While Microsoft offers all its first-party titles on day one, you'll have to wait a long time for PlayStation to offer their games to their subscription service, if that even happens at all. Horizon Forbidden West was a nice surprise in February, but it took nearly a year to make it to PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium. It's inconsistent, however, as Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is still not available on the s??ervice, a year and a half l?ater.

Meanwhile, Hi-Fi Rush was announced and immediately released on Game Pass to great acclaim. There are a few select games that have launched day-and-date with PlayStation Plus like Tchia and Stray, but they come far between and aren't as high-budget as Halo Infinite or Gears 5. 

For dedicated PlayStation fans though who love to check out the cool third-party titles on the service or go back to old franchises like Ratchet & Clank, PlayStation Plus Extra is certainly worth it. You ma??y want to skip Premium unless the PS1 and PSP classics library expands greatly.

[Note: The writer gained 1 year of access to the service from PlayStation Canada when it first launched]

The post Is PlayStati??on Plus Extra/Premium worth it? (2023) appeared first on Destructoid.

"Spider's Thread"

Bethesda and Tango Gameworks have announced this morning that Ghostwire: Tokyo, which has remained relatively dormant since its debut roughly a year ago, is getting a rather large free update on April 12 called "Spider's Thread."

The big news is that it's introducing a new mode to the game (the same moniker as the titular update), which asks players to "navigate a 30-stage gauntlet from over 12 hand-crafted levels." Your job is to finish that gauntlet, with rewards doled out (like skills and in-game currency) for completing each stage. "More locations" are also present in the update, including an expansion of the Middle School zone. "Extended cutscenes" are also teased, as well as new enemies and skills. That's not all though. Ghostwire: Tokyo will launch on Xbox Game Pass and Xbox Series X/S on that same day, which will include the Spider's Thread update.

That's huge news for existing owners and Game Pass members alike. Ghostwire: Tokyo has flaws, but it's a great open world Game Pass adventure in t?his newly pa??ckaged context. Save it for a rainy day weekend!

You can find the full Ghostwire: Tokyo Spider's Thread update preliminary notes here:

New Spider’s Thread Game Mode

In addition to the main game, the Spider’s Thread game mode tasks players to navigate a 30-stage gauntlet selected from over 120 hand-crafted levels with one simple? goal: get to the end. As players clear challenges and complete stages, they will unlock more skills and earn?? in-game currency to spend on upgrades.

Explore New Areas and Uncover More Story

The Spider’s Thread update adds new locations to visit in the ghost-riddled streets of supernatural Tokyo, including the local Middle School area. These new locations come with new missions for players to take on and uncover more mysteries. The main game’s story will also feature extended cutscenes, granting players a deepe??r look into the plot as they play through Akito & KK’s adventure to stop the menacing Hannya from destroying Tokyo.

Face New Enemies with New Skills

Dangerous new Visitors arrive to Tokyo in the Spider’s Thread update, like the invisible Silent Gaze or elusive Retribution. To defeat these new enemies, Akito will receive new skills including, Charge Rush and devastating Counter Attack.Ghostwire: Tokyo’s free Spider’s Thread update will be available April 12 for all Ghostwire: Tokyo players.

The post Surprise! Ghostwire: Tokyo is getti??ng a big free ??update with a new mode appeared first on Destructoid.

A quiet banger

Hi-Fi Rush has a lot going for it. The latest title from The Evil Within developer Tango Gameworks is an action-rhythm game that blends the two genres expertly. It was practically made in a lab for me, as someone who's very enthusiastic about both rhythm games and Tango Gameworks' transition into action game design. I love its plucky hero, Chai, and his companions (I have a special fondness for 808, the robot cat that turns into the flying ball thing from Mobile Suit Gundam). I'm a ??huge fan of the game's flashy comic book art and its early-00s soundt?rack.

But you know what I love more than Hi-Fi Rush's electrifying gameplay? Its humble release. Just hours after the game was announced, it quietly dropped on PC and Xbox consoles via Game Pass. I have long held that certain games would fare better with no hype cycle whatsoever, and Hi-Fi Rush has left me with an addendum to that belief: certain games would fare better with no hype cycle and with a Game Pass release.

[caption id="attachment_360001" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Well, duh

I know I'm not breaking any new ground by saying "it's good when games are on Game Pass." Obviously, it would be great if every game was released on Game Pass, so nobody would ever have to buy a video game again. But Hi-Fi Rush's surprise release is almost the i??deal Game Pass situation.

Hi-Fi Rush would not be served by a traditional marketing campaign. Its action-rhythm gameplay doesn't translate very well into a video - just looking at the game makes it seem like a bubble gum take on Devil May Cry, and while that's not strictly incorrect, it's also a little misleading. The game leans much harder on its rhythm aspects than some would expect from a trailer. I suspect that a months-long marketing push would leave a lot of players anticipating a very different game, and, ultimately, the exciting launch that Hi-Fi Rush is currently experiencing w??ou??ld have looked much less positive.

[caption id="attachment_360007" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Just give it a try

The nice thing about Game Pass is that there are no stakes. You can flip a game on, decide whether or not it's for you, and flip it off without losing anything but a few minutes (or hours, if you're feeling generous). As someone who adored Tango Gameworks' last game, Ghostwire: Tokyo, I always would have been willing to drop 30 bucks on Hi-Fi Rush. I want Tango Gameworks to take more genre swings, and I want them to keep getting wider. But not everybody wants that! Or, at least, not everybody thinks they want that. Ghostwire: Tokyo left a lot of people cold, and I think that's ?because the stakes were too high at launch.

[caption id="attachment_356095" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image via Bethesda Softworks[/caption]

Ghostwire: Tokyo was hyped up as the triumphant return of the developers of The Evil Within. That is not what that game is. It's a first-person shooter with snazzy action and a spooky setting. It also launched at 60 dollars after an expensive marketing campaign, and if you bought the new Evil Within game only to find out that you actually bought the new Doctor Strange game, well, too bad.

Now, if you simply downloaded a random new Tango Gameworks game as a part of a paid subscription, then maybe you'd feel a little warmer towards the Doctor Strange game you accidentally got saddled with. Take advertising out of the equation, don't ask for a massive upfront chunk of change, and I suspect a lot more players would feel a greater fondness towards Ghostwire: Tokyo. More importantly?, the people who didn't like it wouldn't feel slighted by it?s existence.

It's happened before

In fact, this exact situation happened with 2022's Scorn. That game looks a lot like a grimy action-horror title, but it's more of a slow, moody puzzle-fest. Scorn's developers warned people that it would be an atmospheric adventure game, but it didn't matter. The game seems like one thing in a trailer, and another thing in your hands. The best way to ?really understand a game like that is to play it.

[caption id="attachment_359998" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image via Kepler Interactive[/caption]

I know a lot of people who bought into the hype for the game ahead of launch and did not like it. Folks who paid full price got it the worst, but even if they played it on Game Pass, they wanted one thing and got another. On the other hand, the people I know who had never heard of Scorn but stumbled upon it on Game P??ass walked away with much more generous feelings. If you don't know what you're getting into, ??then it's a lot easier to be won over by whatever you get. Hype is fun, but if you buy into it too hard, you can easily end up with a sense of disappointment and a lighter wallet.

My Game Pass subscription is an on-and-off affair, but every time my sub is active, I end up stumbling across a wealth of games I might have otherwise missed out on. ?I don't like all of those games, but that's fine. The stakes are lowered to the ground, and if I'm not enjoying a game, I can simply turn it off.

[caption id="attachment_359999" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image via Xbox Game Studios[/caption]

I think there are a lot of high-profile games that would benefit from the "simply turn it off" mentality. Without the heightened expectations that come with months of PR buzz and a full price tag, it's easier to appreciate what a game has to offer, and not just what it has to promise. I wish that there were options like this available for a weird, ambitious, excellent game like Sunset Overdrive, which never fou??nd much of an audience at launch. I don't think this kind of release is right for every game, but for certain titles, it could be an absolute boon.

I have no idea if this model is actually financially sustainable (I have my doubts about any subscription service after the demise of MoviePass), but it does seem like it provides players with a much healthier way to look at certain games. Also, by the way, you should totally play Hi-Fi Rush. It whips so hard.

The post Hi-Fi Rush represents Game Pass’ secret strength appeared first on Destructoid.

An interesting year

It feels like a bit of a copout to say "2022 was an interesting year for video games," because every year is an interesting year for video games... but, well, 2022 was an interesting year for video games! It was the first year in which I really felt like I could see 2020's production setbacks on the release calendar, but it was also a year for projects that seemed like they would never arrive. Who would have guessed that Dwarf Fortress would reach 1.0 and Live A Live would get its official English locali??zation in the same year?

I didn't have to whittle this list down too much - wh??ile there were a lot of smaller games this year, I only really loved a few. Personally, I prefer that to a year with a massive wave of just-okay games crowding out the ones I'm actually interested in.? 2022 didn't see all that many releases from massive developers, which meant shorter mid-budget titles and indie games had the chance to really stand out, and I had the chance to play a lot more of them. There was plenty of chaff in there, but I also got to see some wheat I may have otherwise missed. I might not have even played some of the games on this list in a busier year. So thanks, 2022.

With all that being said, I'd like to run down those excellent games ?that gave me that warm and fuzzy game of the year feeli?ng.

[caption id="attachment_356093" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Vampire Survivors

Vampire Survivors showed up at just the right time for me. At the beginning of the year, I contracted COVID-19 after seeing the most recent Scream movie in theaters (the illness was nearly as bad as the movie). Blessedly, Vampire Survivors had entered early access only a few weeks earlier, and, as luck would have it, I had a spare three dollars burning a hole in my pocket. And that's the story of how Vampire Survivors made my quarantine bearable.

This is by no means a difficult game, but it's a microcosm of what I love about RPGs. Watching my character go from a wimpy little single-weaponed loser to a screen-clearing god over the course of thirty minutes is the kind of dopamine hit that I just need sometimes. This is not a joke - I just opened Vampire Survivors to grab a quick screenshot for this entry and I accidentally p?layed through an entire run.

[caption id="attachment_356095" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image via Bethesda Softworks[/caption]

Ghostwire: Tokyo

I don't really understand why so few people played Ghostwire: Tokyo. I get that it was never going to be a God of War-sized smash hit, but this is the third title from a studio with a decent reputation, and the pitch is great - explore the haunted streets of Tokyo while slinging Doctor Strange-ish magic at various ghosts and spirits. What's ?more, the executio?n of all those ideas is pretty great.

The empty city at the heart of Ghostwire: Tokyo is gorgeously haunting??, and the moment-to-moment FPS combat feels great. The banter between protagonist Akito and his ghost buddy KK keeps the middling story from dragging the experience down, and collecting what feels like one trillion different objects scattered around the environment is a bl??ast. It doesn't reinvent the wheel, but it rolls along just fine.

[caption id="attachment_356098" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Neon White

Nobody needs to hear me talk about Neon White. I've touched on its cringe-and-proud writing in the past, and anyone who's spent more than a couple hours with it knows how instantly addicting its speedrunning parkour loop is. Neon White is very good, and if you haven't played it by now, you really ?should.

I'm reminded of something like Celeste, a game that made me love precision platforming where other precision platformers could not. I don't care for speed games of this nature, and yet, I cannot stop gunning for those shiny blue medals in Neon White. It's just so great.

[caption id="attachment_356100" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image from Humble Games[/caption]

Signalis

I have a confession to make: while I love nearly every Resident Evil game released after 2005, I kind of can't stand classic survival horror games. I love the eerie atmospheres and the carefully constructed environments, and every time I start Silent Hill, I become briefly convinced that it will become my entire personality. But I've never finished Silent Hill.

I did finish Signalis, a lo-fi sci-fi sendup to survival horror stories of the PSX era, and I thought it was great. A lot of the things I struggle with in those early survival horror games (esoteric puzzles, poor sense of direction, clunky gunplay, constant inventory management) are present here, but I forced myself to muscle through them, and I found myself really liking them. I was also very taken in by Signalis' setting and its beautiful art style. I guess I should go finish Silent Hill now.

[caption id="attachment_356102" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image from Bandai Namco[/caption]

Elden Ring

Poet Robert Graves once said, "The remarkable thing about Shakespeare is that he really is very good, in spite of all the people who say he is very good." That's kind of how I feel about Elden Ring. Often, when a ??game connects with absolutely everybody else, I can't help but look for its shortcomings. I always end up scouting for the seams, the compromises that must have been made to appeal to such a wide audience.

I did exactly that with Elden Ring. I loved the thing on release, and I poured dozens of hours into it, but as soon as I stopped playing, I started assembling my little list of contrarian gripes. It's repetitive, the narrative coasts on being esoteric to mask the fact that it's kind of boring, there are too many damn systems to make "system mastery" feel satisfying, and so on. And then I came back to Elden Ring, and all of those complaints melted away. Because Elden Ring is very?? good, in spite of all the people who say it is very good.

[caption id="attachment_356104" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image from Funcom[/caption]

Metal: Hellsinger

Metal: Hellsinger is a rhythm game with designs that imitate 2016's DOOM and a boss fight set to a Serj Tankian sol??o. It's great.

[caption id="attachment_356106" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image from Crows Crows Crows[/caption]

The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe

The Stanley Parable didn't really need a remaster, and The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe knows it. It's hard to explain what, exactly, The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe is without totally spoiling some of its most delightful surprises. I don't think it's a spoiler to say that Ultra Deluxe has surprises, though, because it's The Stanley Parable, and that's what The Stanley Parable is.

The Stanley Parable is the kind of game that you should play if you have any interest in video games as a means of telling stories, and that's especially true now, with the Ultra Deluxe pa?ckage representing a reasonably major reinvention of the?? original concept.

[caption id="attachment_356108" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Immortality

I love Sam Barlow's Her Story, a non-linear FMV mystery game in which new scenes are discovered by searching for specific keywords. Immortality, Barlow's newest game, is ?even better. It features a simi??lar system, in which new scenes are unlocked by searching for specific items found in video clips.

Immortality is the story of a movie star whose three films were never released to the public. The player takes on the role of an archivist, simultaneously assembling those unreleased films from recovered footage and attempting to unravel the mystery of what happened behind the scenes. It's a story about cinema, and the image-matching game system is a perfect match for that narrative. Her Story is a story about language, the words we use and the reasons we use them. In contrast, Immortality is a story about ??images, a m??uch headier concept in a much more satisfying package.

[caption id="attachment_356109" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image from Raw Fury[/caption]

Norco

Norco is one of those games that feels special from minute one. This bizarre point-and-click adventure set in a near-future version of the real-world town of Norco, Louisiana is dreamy, melancholic, and simply amazing. It's a striking anti-capitalist text, but it's also a love letter to the kind of place tha?t doesn't often receive love letters.

I have found myself considering something new about Norco almost every day since I played it. It blends its near-future dystopia with its current-day problems absolutely expertly. This is the kind of game where a dying mother does gig work in order to amass cryptocurrency to pay for her own digital gh??ost. It'?s full of tragic sci-fi conundrums like that, and I can't stop thinking about it.

[caption id="attachment_356112" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image from Devolver Digital[/caption]

Card Shark

I don't know all that much about pre-revolutionary France. I know even less about gambling, and next to nothing about cheating at card tables. And yet, while playing Card Shark, I felt myself becoming ?an expert at cheating at card games in pre-revoluti?onary France. Nerial's period piece, which focuses on the pupil of the Comte de Saint Germain (history's greatest liar), is a thing of beauty.

Card Shark looks amazing, and its story is a charming and touching testament to the proverbial little guy, but where it sings is in its gameplay. The card tricks performed in the game are based on very real cheats, and Nerial has produced something of an interactive handbook for fraud. Every trick is taught to the player carefully, and executing on them feels like playing a very painterly WarioWare micro-game. Part of me wishes it was a little longer, but the n??arrative itself is very well-pace?d. I just want to play more of the thing, which is a very good problem to have. It's an incredibly specific game, but the one that I loved the most this year.

The post Sorrel Kerr-Jung’s favorite games of 2022 appeared first on Destructoid.

A word of warning for completionists

Ghostwire: Tokyo has begun regularly popping up in PlayStation Store and Steam sales, and given the less-than-stellar reception it got at launch, plenty of people are only now cracking into this supernatural action-adventure game. I'm one of them! I recently finished the story, but try as I might, I cannot shake this game off. I refuse to delete Ghostwire: Tokyo from my PS5 until I finish out my 100% completionist goal, and there's one annoying issue standing in my way: slow-spawning parades, known in-game as Hyakki Yako.

Consider this a friendly ????heads-up that may or may not come in handy one day.

Without getting too deep into the actual story, a big part of the game is saving stranded souls in Tokyo after a supernatural event �240,300 souls, to be exact. You don't need to rescue everyone, and you'll eventually get tools to make the initial (phone-booth-depositing) collection process less of a chore. Many of the spirits are found out in the open, whether that's on the sidewalk, on rooftops, or in alleyways. The open-world map is broken down into easier-to-manage zones that track how many spirits you've accumulated. That said, even if you get 100% in ev??ery area, your work isn't done.

Some spirits are found underground (which you can thankfully revisit later in the game), s??ome ?are trapped in randomly-appearing Containment Cubes (which you can free by defending them from an enemy onslaught), and some poor souls �arguably way too many �are tied to the frustratingly rare Hyakki Yako events. They're a pain to find.

[caption id="attachment_336828" align="alignnone" width="1920"] _{The white whale at last.}[/caption]

Strolling along the (wonderfully detailed) city streets, ??stumbling across a p?arade of umbrella-holding fiends, and getting pulled into a fight �it's a cool idea!

The problem is, Ghostwire: Tokyo doesn't do a particularly good job of explaining up front that you'll want to engage with these parades as often as possible. The crowd? can look intimidating from afar, so unless you have a gamer's sixth sense, it's easy to outright avoid them? in your open-world exploration until you're in post-game cleanup duty.

I didn't set out to collect every spirit, but Ghostwire: Tokyo became a fun, not-too-stressful podcast game for me, and things snowballed. Now I'm just missing about seven thousand spirits, but they're all tied to the Hyakki Yako, and they sure are tricky to find when you need them most. If you're thinking of picking up Ghostwire: Tokyo, keep an eye out for parades the whole way through. ??That'll help cut down on mindless grinding later.

[caption id="attachment_336860" align="alignnone" width="1920"] _{One possible spawn location for the parades in Ghostwire: Tokyo.}[/caption]

Where to look for the parades

Some players have tried to brute-force the parades into appearing by fast-traveling to known locations again and again, but it's kind of a losing battle. From everything I've seen online, the parades have a real-time-based spawn rate, and there are a number of confirmed locations to check out. I've had the best luck sem??i-casually runn??ing up and down the main streets rather than trying to be super meticulous with a checklist.

This wouldn't be such a big deal if there were more events in Ghostwire to keep you occupied, but after a ce?rtain point, the c??ombat stops evolving, and the world feels static.

[caption id="attachment_336841" align="alignnone" width="1920"] _{Fighting the parade-goers on their turf.}[/caption]

On the Ghostwire subreddit, a player named GeminixDragon had similar advice:

"I found the easiest way to get them to spawn is to walk up and down the large streets that spawn them from one end to the other twice, until I hit the fog or it becomes a smaller street. Usually traveling north to south and back (except the street under the overpass south of Kuo shrine which goes east to west) and if they don't spawn then, mov??e to the next spawn point in the order you first found them, walking along the large streets when possible. Doing this I managed to get five of them to spawn in two and a half hours. I did not fast travel but rather walked everywhere."

Officially, Bethesda says the "Hyakki Yako will reappear after a set interval of time �even with reloaded save files." The developers recommend t?hat players "explore Tokyo or dive into some missions for a while and the event? will return after a little while."

Is it worth the ??grind? Not really. But that's not going to stop us.

Ghostwire: Tokyo isn't the (horror) game I thought it would be �and it feels either too trimmed down or too bloated, depend?ing on how you look at it �but I admire the cultural attention to detail a whole lot, and that has made it worthwhile. It's a game you play for the setting �the all-out vibes �more than anything. Not a bad price-slashed pickup.

As more curious players check it out over the years, I hop??e this tip helps.

The post Don’t skip the parades in Ghostwire: Tokyo or you’re in for a slog appeared first on Destructoid.

Cblogs of 5/28 to 6/3/2022

-Black Red Gaming sh??ares a list of their top 5 mo?st anticipated game releases in June.

-RoomWithaMoose reviews Ghostwire: Tokyo.

-BRAV0 F1VE reviews Elden Ring.

-Necrowondo wants to talk about Fortnite seriously for a moment.

-Kerrik52 continues their Legacy of Kain retrospective through another look at Blood Omen.

-Sleeves really thinks you should give Lethal League Blaze a try.

-Eggs&Brewsterjr updates us on eight games they played recently.

-jobjoe tries to figure out what makes a go?od first-person dungeon crawler.

-Lord Spencer writes about Mega Man 5 as part of his Mega Man Retrospective blogging series.

-PhilsPhindings discusses the similarities between the soundtrack of Super Mario Land and Soca music.

-Titannel revie?ws Nitro Pepsi in ??the midst of giving a life update.

-ChronoLynxx opens this week's ??TGIF community thread for open discussions??.

Look at all those lovely blogs! Thanks to Lord Spencer for providing this week’s recap and, as always, thanks to all of our dear readers for their thoughts and opinions. If you wanna join the HOT TAKE party, then simply mosey on over to the Cblogs section and have your say. You will find yourself recapped on this here front page ??next week.

The post What will be your big summer gaming timesink? appeared first on Destructoid.

A complicated specter

For a long while I wasn't sure what to think of Ghostwire: Tokyo. The marketing made it look like it lacked personality, and it wasn't until I actually got to play it for myself tha?t I started to see its po??tential and what it was going for.

Having finished it I'm still a bit torn, but I think a lot of people are going to dig it: especially if you can get past some of?? the traditional open world design and peel back the layer?s within.

Ghostwire: Tokyo (PC, PS5) [timed exclusive for one year]
Developer: Tango Gameworks
Publisher: Bethesda
Released: March 25, 2022
MSRP: $59.99

Leading up to Ghostwire, most of the marke?ting was bent on the "mystery" angle, but a lot of that gets dispel?led quickly: in a good way.

Our hero Akito (possessed in part by a spirit named KK) shows a lot of emotion right out of the gate, and has a purpose beyond the general "what is going on" macro-narrative. While the simple fact that nearly everyone in Tokyo is missing due to some apparent supernatural cataclysmic event is kind of important, we do get to go on a personal journey as well. The adversarial relationship between Akito and KK reminds me of War and The Watcher from Darksiders, and gets really catty at times. It's great.

Developer Tango Gameworks recommends playing Ghostwire with Japanese audio, and I have to agree. While the English dub is fine (and available day one baked into the game), the Japanese voice cast is clearly the focal point, and it helps augment the unique feel of Ghostwire. Just like the Yakuza series, it's refreshing to see a game about Japan made by a Japanese game studio. While there are Tengus to grapple on and fling yourself into the air (and other fantastical elements), Ghostwire's architecture and foundation is grounded.

It is limited, though. There are many places you simply can't go (and little in the way of Yakuza's eccentric minigame dalliances), and a lot of the fun with the traversal system involves hopping around rooftops with a light glide mechanic. Ghostwire has a lot of open world staples to boot, which can be a boon or a burden depending on how you look at it. "Cleansing gates" (to unlock more of the world and create ??more point of interest icons on your map) is a clever way to deal with radio towers, as there's (with few exceptions) no climbing required. There are a lot of pins to sift through, but not a cynical amount, and side quests mostly offer a unique angle or thread rather than a series of dull repeated concepts.

The whole "everyone is gone" angle is a genius way to avoid having to render myriad open world bystander models, and creates an eerie effect that's seldom seen in a lot of other open world games. But like several other elements of Ghostwire, it's give and take. While there are NPCs (mostly in the form of spirits and cat vendors), they're few and far between, and enemies are the main bodies you're going to be running into most often. Which leads me to some of the more polarizing elements of Ghostwire: enemy variety. It starts off ??in a low spot and never really escalates from there with much urgency.

Early game enemies mostly all look the same, with two core variants: salarymen Slender Man stand-ins with umbrellas, and headless school girl creatures. As you progress you'll get to see more and more variants (little raincoat-wearing patrols that summon more foes, giant scissor demons straight out of a classic Capcom horror game), but the core boots on the ground enemies can mostly be defeated in the same manner. Occasionally you'll encounter a yokai (in the tradition of Japan) or a boss fight; which just had me daydreaming about a version of Ghostwire where every enemy was a starkly different yokai. There's a universe where this game is more insane with the same basic mechanical g?roundwork a?nd I want to be there.

The elemental combat system mirrors traditional weaponry, but with a "flinging spells out of your hand" spiritual angle. Your core tools involve ranged attacks, starting with the wind variety, and eventually, more traditional elements that have different fun??ctions. Akito also gets a bow and arrow early, on top of a few items like stun talismans; and he can melee (with the primary function to leech ranged ammo), sneak up and use stealth kills, and block with an energy barrier. Standard stuff, but very flashy looking, including on a PS5, where t??he particle effects look fantastic. I'm thankful that the ability to swap between visual and performance modes (of which there are several) is basically the norm now.

The more you level up and progress with the story, the more tools you'll get, including weird things like spirit thickets ?that you can throw down to create a makeshift stealth wall. This whole system is functional at worst, but I wish that the team leaned more into the weird ??angle than the elemental system that basically replicates different types of weaponry (like a shotgun spread [water], a rocket launcher [fire], or rifle [wind]). In other words, more thickets, less bows.

Again, all of this is serviceable at worst, and the level-u??p system is very sl??ick, helping lift me out of a routine the more I progressed. When consumed, food also ups your maximum HP by a very small amount, which was tough to get used to (normally I'm into saving consumables), but did a great job of getting me to become more actively engaged with combat, even sliding the difficulty up.

Whenever I faltered, where Ghostwire consistently won me back is through its visual style and general theming. While The Evil Within was arguably a more uneven game, you can see a lot of its influence in Ghostwire. There are a lot of moments of disorienting shock, where the entire game state is cru??mbling around you like you were playing Eternal Darkness on GameCube. But now Tango has the benefit of hindsight, eight years of additional design experience under their belt, and the power of modern devices.

Ghostwire is constantly throwing very cool looking Lynchian horror split-reality scenes at you, usually during tense moments involving a timer of some sort or a story moment when someone is yelling at you. The ?game consists of many peaks and valleys, with chill open world exploration followed by a lot of tense moments. A lot of people will find the pacing to be jarring, and it is!

Occasionally Ghostwire will get silly, whether it's through sidequest storylines, the animations of lazy floating cat vendors, or selfie pose/outfit unlocks. A lot of that is bubbling underneath the surface though, clashing with the more dramatic beats of the story and the straightly-play??ed horror elements. What you get in the end is a project wher??e you have to somewhat work to see a lot of the quirkiness underneath the sometimes standard open world veneer.

In another world, Tango Gameworks could have potentially stopped making games; but with a fresh new start under the umbrella of Xbox Game Studios, I'm anxious to see what they have in store for us. Ghostwire: Tokyo isn't for every??one,?? but it gives us a glimpse into what Tango is capable of, and I hope they push the envelope a little further next time.

The post Review: Ghostwire: Tokyo appeared first on Destructoid.

This thing is finally almost out: we can prove it!

We recently got our hands on Tango Gameworks' latest open world romp, and we have some Ghostwire: Tokyo gameplay to show off.

This is roughly 10 minutes of gameplay from Chapter 2, which includes introductory elements of combat, light exploration (as more of the map is starting to open up), vendor interactions, and sidequests. As we gleaned from the recent closed-??door preview event, Akito is in cahoot?s with a?? spirit named KK, and the both of them have a tumultuous relationship; given that, you know, KK invaded Akito's body.

One of the first things I noticed about the full version of Ghostwire is that it's a little more emotional than expected. The marketing has mostly focused on how "cool and mysterious" the game looks, but I wish they had shown more in terms of its scope. Mechanically, the gameplay we're showing here in Chapter 2 is going to be very familiar. It's first-person, and there's an energy shield block button, and a melee "whack" attack. Where Ghostwire deviates a bit is that most of the combat (at first) is via ranged energy bolts, with the inten??t to weaken enemies enough to rip out their spirit heart.

You can see how that plays out below, but suffice to say I do like the shakeup of the ranged focus, though I hope the enemy variety opens up the more I progress. Interest??ingly, although there is an English audio track, Tango Gameworks a?nd Bethesda "recommend" that players use Japanese audio: so I'm doing just that.

We're limited in what we can say now in terms of Ghostwire: Tokyo gamep?lay, so stay tuned for our full thoughts closer to launch.

The post Here’s some Ghostwire: Tokyo gameplay with Japanese audio appeared first on Destructoid.

PlayStation owners can start their paranormal investigation today

The story of Ghostwire: Tokyo is kicking off a little sooner than expected, with a free visual novel. Ghostwire: Tokyo - Prelude is a prequel to t??he main game, and i?t's out now on PlayStation consoles.

Set before the events of Tango Gameworks' paranormal adventure, Prelude is a detective story following KK, who's on the trail of a mysterious phenomenon. After a friend goes missing, KK and company start to discover some superna?tural happenings.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KsujKdcFTE

Different playthroughs will let you spend time with different people, seeing how KK gets along with them and learning more about the world. It all builds up the massive threat of Ghostwire: Tokyo proper, where KK will team up with Akito.

Ghostwire: Tokyo - Prelude is out now on PlayStation 4 and PS5, and will come to PC on March 8. Both of these are out a few weeks ahead of Ghostwire: Tokyo's launch on March 25, for PlayStation 5 and PC.

We got a hands-off look at the new supernatural mystery from Tango in February. It's got a bit o??f an open-world set-up, with stealth tactics and off-the??-trail areas to explore mixed with magical combat. And of course, plenty of scary ghosts.

Set in a version of Tokyo where people are disappearing and monsters are roaming the streets, it seems like both horror and action. There's still a lot of mystery surrounding this game though, and how everything slots together into the final launch. Maybe Prelude can help fill in some gaps before March 25.

The post Ghostwire: Tokyo gets a free prequel visual novel appeared first on Destructoid.

We got a hands-off look

The post Ghostwire: Tokyo preview: It’s still wrapped in mystery, but it looks promising appeared first on Destructoid.

Tango Gameworks is hosting an official showcase tomorrow

Ghostwire: Tokyo is joining the ever-growing lineup of springtime game releases. Tango Gameworks' paranormal action game will launch on M?arch 25, 2022.

The date reveal comes as part of Sony's announcement of an official showcase tomorrow, highlighting the upcoming title. The showcase will go live tomorrow, Feb. 3, at 5 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. PT. You can find the YouTube page for it here.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbGE-Uvce8Y

Though Tango Gameworks is a Bethesda studio, thus under the Xbox umbrella, Ghostwire: Tokyo is still slated to be a PlayStation console exclusive. Xbox already confirmed it would be honoring that pre-existing deal, as it did for Deathloop.

Ghostwire: Tokyo has felt a bit hazy over time, as we've seen just a few trailers and some delays to it??s eventual release.? Still, with a release date set and so soon at that, it won't be long until we get to see what the Tango Gameworks crew has been putting together.

Alongside the standard edition, Ghostwire Tokyo will also have a Deluxe Edition. This special digital version will add a few pieces of bonus content in a Shinobi Outfit, Kunai Weapon, and Streetwear Fashion Pack. It'll also let you get hands on with Ghostwire a? few days earlier, allowing three days of early access.

We'll see what Tango??'s up to tomorrow once the offi?cial showcase airs.

The post Ghostwire: Tokyo gets ghoulish in March appeared first on Destructoid.

Because Q1 isn't stacked enough

While Tango Gameworks' Ghostwire: Tokyo has been highly anticipated for some time, publisher Bethesda has yet to offer a release date for the neon-stained cyberpunk adventure. Having been in development for several years, eager street ninjas have been offered little more than a general release window of "2022". However, a recent leak on the PlayStation Network has set the rumor? mill turning.

Just yesterday, the official Ghostwire: Tokyo PSN page updated, announcing a release date of March 24, 2022. This was hastily removed, but not before savvy folks over at MP1st snapped a quick screengrab. While this (surprisingly close) date represents the first possible "lock-in" for Ghostwire: Tokyo's release, fans would do well to take the leak with a grai?n of salt until the title has been officially confirmed by its publisher. Still, it's tough not to be excited at the prospect of slicing 'n' dicing through Neo Tokyo so ??soon.

If the March date is to be believed, then Ghostwire: Tokyo will launch amidst an absolute slew of hyped video games. The first quarter of this year is absolutely stacked, �a victim of 2021's many delays �and February/March sees the coming of Elden Ring, Sifu, Horizon Forbidden West, Shadow Warrior 3, The King of Fighters XV, Dying Light 2, and many others. I feel your pain. I want to play them all too and, ??as we know, t??hey must all be played on release week.

Either way, we'll be sure to let you know should Bethesda or Tango Gameworks be forthcoming with an official launch date. Ghostwire: Tokyo is currently scheduled to launc?h this year on PS5 and PC??.

The post Ghostwire: Tokyo leak hints at p?otential March launch date appeared first on Destructoid.