This one’s a little bit of a cheat for me as a result of I really did play Ghostwire: Tokyo when it launched in 2022; I performed a number of it, in truth, and completely did put it on my formally submitted, finger-on-the-pulse GOTY checklist final 12 months. But nonetheless it has been as a lot a 2023 sport for me personally because it was a 2022 sport, and so I could not pretty do a round-up of my 12 months in video games with out it.
Ghostwire: Tokyo is a large beast. It’s the sport that led me to the conclusion that everybody, regardless of how averse to large open worlds on the whole, has it of their hearts to like not less than one Ubisoft-like overwhelming map, and Ghostwire is mine. There are dozens of little markers on that map, and I will need to have all of them! I would not wish to miss a single cool ghost, or pleasant oni, or no matter else the haunted streets of Shibuya chooses to throw at me immediately.
There’s an simple ingredient of guilt at play right here, as a result of a 12 months in the past I positioned Ghostwire: Tokyo in solely second place on my GOTY checklist, whereas my continued fascination with it all through 2023 proves that it actually ought to have been within the #1 slot all alongside. At the time it was a troublesome name between Ghostwire and one other sport, and I used to be perhaps being a little bit bit tactical after I declared the latter my favorite of the 12 months. And in equity it had a stable declare to be, however to let you know the reality, it did not persist with me into 2023 the best way I’d anticipated it to; I’ve actually but to be tempted right into a replay. Whereas over the course of the identical 12 months, even round all the things else I’ve had distracting me, I’ve enthusiastically put a pair dozen extra hours into my try to 100% Ghostwire: Tokyo.
So sure, on a private stage this one’s a little bit little bit of a mulligan. But there’s another excuse why Ghostwire: Tokyo genuinely deserves some 2023 recognition, and it is that Xbox Series X/S gamers really acquired entry to the sport for the primary time this spring. Ghostwire launched on PC and PlayStation 5 in 2022, however had a 12 months of console exclusivity on the latter; and, though I’m not in possession of a current-gen Xbox, for me its arrival on the system was nonetheless very thrilling.
The Spider’s Thread replace that rolled out throughout all techniques when Ghostwire hit Xbox was my most-anticipated DLC launch of the 12 months (I can really feel the side-eye from Phantom Liberty after I say that, but it surely’s true!) — and it didn’t disappoint. I’d’ve paid good cash to spend a couple of additional hours spiritually cleaning that haunted center faculty and its surrounding district if Tango had come out with it as a paid add-on, however — maybe as a consequence of these fascinating licensing shenanigans that prompted PlayStation to briefly host their potentially-last-ever Bethesda exclusives — they gave it away at no cost as a substitute. And the boon is even higher if you happen to’re a Game Pass subscriber, since Ghostwire has been included on the service since its Xbox launch.
Obviously, Ghostwire: Tokyo has hardly been ignored by gamers this 12 months: the sport celebrated six million gamers again in September, undoubtedly helped alongside by Game Pass. But it is had a bizarre trajectory as a sport that launched on the again of Elden Ring to middling evaluations, and far of the love that appears to have constructed up in the direction of it has been quietly accumulating within the background with little consideration drawn to it. And if my expertise is something to go by, then Ghostwire: Tokyo is a sport that deserves the time it takes to essentially develop on you.
What video games did you lastly get round to enjoying in 2023 solely to seek out that they have been among the many highlights of your 12 months? Let us know within the feedback!
