When I asked Tango Gameworks creative director John Johanas whom he'd give Hi-Fi Rush's Best Audio trophy away to at this year's GDC Awards, he said he'd split it between the game's audio team and "the person who taught me everything I know" - Shinji Mikami, Tango's founder and one of the erstwhile Capcom and Platinum big brains behind Resident Evil, Vanquish and much more besides. I confess, I found this response annoying - partly because I was hoping Johanas would bring up some obscure indie composer I could then namecheck at parties, and partly, because I have spent years waiting for Tango to escape Mikami's shadow after essentially announcing themselves as a Mikami fan project back in 2010.
]]>Microsoft are shutting down multiple game studios including Redfall developers Arkane Austin and the creators of Hi-Fi Rush, Tango Gameworks. The news was delivered via an email to staff from Xbox boss Matt Booty which has since been seen by IGN. Booty calls the decision a "consolidation of our Bethesda studio teams, so that we can invest more deeply in our portfolio of games and new IP."
]]>Last time, you decided that shopkeepers annoyed when you don't buy anything is better than security cameras following your every move. So rather than an implied surveillance which doesn't actually have consequences, you wish to be actively scolded for things you've not done. Alright reader dear, I'm noting that in your psychological profile. Onwards! This week I ask you to choose between soaring through the sky or making something else soar. What's better: gliding powers or Dragon's Dogma 2's Unmaking Arrow?
]]>I haven't got round to Ghostwire: Tokyo yet, but its in my back pocket for whenever I'm in the mood for visiting beautiful, digital Tokyo. If you've also long considered kissing dogs and punching spectres, now might be a good time: Tango Gameworks' spooky tourist trip is currently free for those with an Amazon Prime subscription.
]]>Overnight, in what Edwin called an "unredacted document oopsie" related to Microsoft trying to buy ActiBlizz, two things have been revealed that interest me. Well, three. Firstly, Phil Spencer capitalises "Gaming", which I hate. Secondly, as noted in that linked story, Phil Spencer wants to buy Nintendo and, in pitying also-ran brackets, Valve, which has some of the same energy as me walking into an estate agent and demanding a six bedroom house with a new fitted kitchen and a hidden library. And thirdly, according to a release schedule from a presentation dated 2020, Bethesda and Zenimax have planned out their next few years of games in depressing MCU presentation-style. Boy, are the next couple of years going to be whelming.
As is predictable now, it is largely a list of sequels and remasters, many of them dated quite optimistically, it must be said. This document pegs Starfield for 2021, for example, and obviously that didn't happen. There are also two unnamed games on there for this year (Projects Kestrel and Platinum; 2021's Project Hibiki we know refers to the surprise-released Hi-Fi Rush) and it seems unlikely they're going to appear before the end of the year. We know The Elder Scrolls 6 isn't coming for at least another five years. They're going to remaster Oblivion (but not Morrowind, the weird cousin everyone else likes most, but whose parents aren't sure what job to give them in 2023). And they're going to make Dishonored 3. I'm excited about that! But also fearful.
]]>If you're starting playing Ghostwire: Tokyo after it came to Game Pass this week, I have a hot tip for you: prioritise upgrading movement abilities. The freedom to glide from rooftop to rooftop over haunted Tokyo will bring you so much more joy than any incremental damage upgrade. That's the most important thing I have to say, that it makes for good virtuatourism.
Oh, and I suppose a free content arrived this week too, adding new side-missions, handy new combat abilities, and a new "rogue-lite" mode. The update, uh, apparently also added Denuvo, over a year after the game launched? Cool, cool.
]]>Tango Gameworks’ spooky spell-slinging Ghostwire: Tokyo is getting its next major update, a full year after its launch. On April 12th, the Spider’s Thread update will add a whole new roguelike mode, extended cutscenes, additional areas, and much more. The update will hit PC and PlayStation, along with an Xbox Game Pass release on the same day.
]]>UPDATE: Bethesda have now confirmed the news in a statement posted on Twitter, saying, "We thank him for his work as a creative mentor to young developers." They continued to say, "We wish Mikami-san well in the future and are excited by what lies ahead fpr the talented developers of Tango."
Original story: Tango GameWork’s co-founder and studio head Shinji Mikami is reportedly leaving the Evil Within company “in the coming months.” This comes courtesy of TrueAchievements who saw and verified a company-wide email sent to employees by Bethesda’s VP of development Todd Vaughn. "I am writing today to let you know that studio head Shinji Mikami has decided to leave Tango Gameworks in the coming months," Vaughn said. "Mikami-san has been a creative leader and supportive mentor to young developers at Tango for 12 years through his work.”
]]>With all the doors on our RPS Advent Calendar well and truly busted open for 2022 now, we thought it was high time to gather all of our favourite games of the year together in one handy location. If you've been diligently scoffing our Advent treats throughout December, then you'll already know what our game of the year picks are for 2022, but just in case you missed them or want to go through them one final time, we've got 'em all right here for you in our definitive Games Of The Year list. Enjoy!
]]>On the eighteenth day of our Advent Calendar you find yourself curiously, suddenly alone. A fog rolled through town and suddenly everyone has disappeared. Oh, wait, that looks like a bunch of school kids over there, maybe they'll hel- OH GOD OH NO.
]]>This year’s QuakeCon begins today, and it’s once again being staged as a digital-only event. The organisers say they’re committed to being an in-person event again in 2023 but for now there’s still some intriguing streams to tune into starting from 6pm BST/7pm CEST/10am PST. Read on for more info and our personal highlights on what’s happening at QuakeCon 2022.
]]>Against all possible odds, we're officially halfway through 2022. What a year it's been so far! After one of the busiest starts to the gaming calendar in recent memory (looking at you, Elden Ring), my backlog is barely keeping it together right now. I've started so many things on as many different services that just keeping track of what I've played when is fast becoming a second job. If you, too, have been feeling overwhelmed by the sheer number of new and exciting releases coming out, then why not have a gander at this freshly compiled list of all our favourite games from the year so far? Maybe you'll find something that will similarly catch your eye, just as it's done ours. I'll warn you now, though. It's a big list.
]]>You can obtain Gearbox Software’s zany FPS Borderlands 3 without exchanging any currency over on the Epic Games Store from, well, now. The freebie coincides with the start of this year’s discounterrific Epic MEGA Sale, which runs from today until June 16th. That means there’ll be three more “blockbuster” free games coming over the next few weeks, according to Epic Games.
]]>I have now received most (but not quite all) of my stuff after moving, so I have a TV and two (2) consoles to play games on. One thing I've been playing recently is Ghostwire: Tokyo, a ghost huntin' action game that's a bit less weird and a bit more "kind of like an Ubisoft game" than I was expecting. But I like Ubisoft games just fine, so I'm having a blast - plus there are still some clutch ghost fights to be hand when I run out of finger-ammo for my magic hands.
I am extra delighted by the animals, though. For whatever reason, they are unaffected by the evil fog that has swept through Tokyo and turned everyone into spirits, so there are a few dogs and cats just sitting around and (and this is the good bit) you can read their thoughts.
]]>Where can I find Jizo statues in Ghostwire: Tokyo? Newly Game Pass-ified action-adventure-horror outing Ghostwire: Tokyo sees your character gain access to ethereal weaving. This trio of elemental powers — wind, water, and fire — can be used to hold off the attacks of the various creepy demonic Visitors who've overrun Tokyo's Shibuya ward.
Instead of ammo, these powers use elemental charges called SP; but, like ammo, you can only carry so many points of charge for each power at a time. There's limited opportunity to expand your spiritual pockets, which is where Jizo statues come in. Praying to any Jizo statue you find as you explore the streets of Tokyo will expand your capacity for one type of elemental charge by one point. On this page we let you know the best way to track down Jizo statues in Ghostwire: Tokyo, and give you the locations of the ones we've found so far that come in handy during the early game.
]]>I’ve spent the past three days trying to get Ghostwire: Tokyo running on the Steam Deck, and have been thwarted every time by an impassable black screen that appears immediately after the opening cutscene: a failure of the next cutscene to roll correctly. Despite a possible fix being available, this has yet to work for me either, and now that the game has fully released it seems I’m not alone in my suffering.
]]>Where can I find relics in Ghostwire: Tokyo? Ghostwire: Tokyo features a grand total of 120 one-off collectables — known in-game as relics — that you can pick up as you explore the open world recreation of the titular city's Shibuya district. Some of them are in reasonably obvious places, while others are a little further off the beaten track; but either way, collecting them is a good way to bolster the contents of your in-game wallet.
With Ghostwire's recent arrival on Game Pass, there's more reason than ever to go relic hunting! On this page, we've listed all of the relics in Ghostwire: Tokyo, alongside their locations, value in Meika, and details of which Nekomata vender will pay you to retrieve them!
]]>Can you switch languages in Ghostwire: Tokyo? If you've just picked up Ghostwire: Tokyo after its Game Pass launch, you'll presumably have noticed that it is — as the title suggests — a game set in Japan, steeped in Japanese culture and starring Japanese characters, made by a Japanese studio. As such, the default (and presumably recommended) experience for English-speakers is to play the game with Japanese audio and English subtitles.
However, Ghostwire: Tokyo does actually include an English dub, it's just that the game doesn't go out of its way to let you know that it's there. Read on for information on how to switch audio languages in Ghostwire: Tokyo.
]]>Where can I find KK's investigation notes in Ghostwire: Tokyo? KK's investigation notes are a series of documents you can collect while exploring the world of Ghostwire: Tokyo. This spooky open world explore-a-thon was one of our favourite games of 2022 and has just hit Game Pass, so now's a great time to start hunting ghosts and collectables both!
Not only do KK's case notes make for interesting reading, there's a practical benefit to picking them up, too. Snagging one of these innocuous-looking documents nets Akito an instant 20 skill points — nothing to be sniffed at when upgrades on the skill tree get increasingly costly as you go on, and even levelling up only nets you 10 points at a time. To be absolutely clear, these aren't side missions: you don't need to do anything other than pick up the document to get the points, which makes them well worth seeking out by following our directions below.
]]>For all of the spectral errand boy trappings of Ghostwire: Tokyo, good gravy, is it a looker. From the hyper-detailed backstreets to giant blazing billboards bouncing off fresh rain puddles, this take on Tokyo is eye-catching enough to ditch the sidequests and simply spend some time strolling around. Even if that stroll is sometimes interrupted by rowdy gangs of yokai.
In Matthew’s earlier preview, he noted a similarly evocative atmosphere to that of the YouTube channel Virtual Japan, which has featured one particularly calming walking tour through a rain-soaked Tokyo. Ghostwire has walking, and rain, and Tokyo, so when review code came in we thought we’d have a crack at making our own. And here it is, in 4K with maxed-out ray tracing:
]]>I’ve been having a grand old time in Ghostwire: Tokyo, rescuing lost spirits and finger-gunning umbrella men. As Matthew's review notes, there’s a lot of busywork, but Tango Gamework’s rain-slicked rendition of the Japanese capital is quite the place to explore. And to gawp at, even if you don’t have the hardware for its fanciest ray tracing capabilities.
Indeed, despite some spooky-looking system requirements, Ghostwire: Tokyo can run well on older or lower-spec builds, just as surely as it gets the most out of the very best graphics cards. Within these paragraphs we’ll take a close inspection of how it handles different hardware and display resolutions, as well as which are the best settings to change for optimal PC performance.
]]>Many creators leave fingerprints on their games, but few apply their digits as physically as Shinji Mikami in Ghostwire: Tokyo. One sidequest in Tango’s open world spook-busting adventure sees a neighbourhood disturbed by piano music, eerily plonking away at ungodly hours. Roaming the streets you soon catch the haunting strains of Moonlight Sonata, a piece famously played in Mikami’s Resident Evil to unlock a secret passage. But it’s more than a cute nod. Ghostwire’s credits reveal the player to be Mikami himself - showing off talents usually reserved for fellow Bethesda creators behind closed doors.
While I’m sure he contributed more than tinkling mood music for an optional quest, Ghostwire has been framed as a debutante ball for the next generation of Tango talent. In Archipel’s ace interview series Mikami spoke about fostering new creative leads and taking more of a backseat compared to his work on The Evil Within, which was more clearly made in the Resi mold. The result is, by design, the studio’s least Mikami-ish romp to date: a sprawling tale of a metropolis turned ghost town that is one part love letter to the city and its urban legends, and an opportunity to zap headless school girls and floating puppets with electrifying particle effects.
]]>There’s a YouTube channel I’m fond of called Virtual Japan, where a 4K camera serenely glides through gorgeous Japanese hotspots: Sapporo in the snow, Christmas lights in Tokyo, residential back streets in the pouring rain. You hear nothing but ambient city sounds and the tromping of a cameraman's feet. You could be watching a HUD-free FPS, albeit with incredi-graphics. Finally, in Ghostwire: Tokyo, someone has made a game of it, albeit with occasional ghost zapping.
]]>Ghostwire: Tokyo is an upcoming action-adventure game from Tango Gameworks (aka the folks behind The Evil Within), which means it has ghosts and ghost-adjacent monsters in it. Last night Bethesda showed off a bit more of the game with a streamed showcase, with a ten minute breakdown of the game in action. I, however, was privy to a hands-off presentation that comprised a whole half an hour of Ghostwire Tokyo being played. What luxury!
It reminded me much less of The Evil Within than I expected. It has a lot of horror elements, don't get me wrong, but Ghostwire: Tokyo is much more of an action game using the language of horror to convey its themes than the other way around. Rather than spending most of your time on the back foot, creeping around in the hope you can get past a lumbering ball of dead lady limbs with most of your health intact, time in Ghostwire: Tokyo is more likely spent one-shotting headless demon schoolgirls with a bow and arrow. The general vibe, if not the specifics, reminded me a lot of classic, thundering 90s and 00s action films like Blade. So, in other words, Ghostwire: Tokyo looks rad as hell. Even better, it's also unashamedly strange.
]]>I become more interested in supernatural, open world, first-person magic 'em up Ghostwire: Tokyo with every new thing I see of it. Today, Tango Gameworks broadcast a 20 minute-long showcase and developer interview that had enough stealth, grapple hooks, and paranormal finger-guns to convince me completely. You can watch the full thing below.
]]>2022 is finally here and that can only mean one thing. We've got another year of hip new video games to look forward to, and we've been busy rustling up the ones we're most excited about. In truth, there are tons of games on the horizon that could easily sit on this list, and some of them are so close to release we can practically already see the pixels on our screens morphing into their lush, polygonal landscapes. Games like Monster Hunter Rise, God Of War and Rainbow Six Extraction. You won't find them here, but trust us, you'll be seeing a lot of them over the coming weeks.
There are always more games coming out than we have fingers to write about them, but the 2022 games we've listed below are the ones the RPS team are personally most looking forward to playing. We've got games big and small here, and they're all listed in alphabetical order. After all, release dates are increasingly slippery beasts these days. Think we've missed something? Why not take to the comments below and tell us all about it. You might just convince us to put it on our radars. But enough from me. Here are our 43 most anticipated games of 2022.
]]>It must be a typical human fear to not like things with deathly pale faces, shadowy eyes, and suits. I know I'm certainly not a fan, but this specific type of villain has a habit of showing up in spooky games, films and TV series. Last night, paranormal action-RPG Ghostwire: Tokyo got a new trailer as part of the PlayStation showcase stream, and it's chock-full of these baddies that look an awful lot like the Gentlemen from Buffy The Vampire Slayer.
]]>Ghostwire: Tokyo has been delayed into "early 2022." The action-adventure horror game from Shinji Mikami's Tango Gameworks had been expected this autumn, but via a statement on Twitter, the studio said that they were "focused on protecting the health of everyone at Tango."
]]>One of the bright spots of E3 in 2019 was Ikumi Nakamura, who made a memorably enthusiastic announcement for (still upcoming) GhostWire: Tokyo, on which she was then the creative director. GhostWire looked intriguing and Nakamura's excitement was a hit. However, she announced only a few months after that successful reception that she had decided to leave Tango Gameworks. In a new interview, Nakamura explores some spooky abandoned buildings while explaining the difficult decision to leave GhostWire behind and her plans to open her own studio to work on a game full of dark jokes.
]]>Update: Microsoft say they'll "keep the commitment" to bring Bethesda's Deathloop and Ghostwire: Tokyo to PS5 as timed exclusives. More below.
Microsoft just announced they've bought ZeniMax Media, the parent company of Bethesda. The developers of games such as Skyrim, Fallout, Dishonored, Prey, Doom, Quake and all those classics are now technically Xbox Game Studios. Xbox boss Phil Spencer made a post welcoming the developers, in what he calls a "landmark step" for both Microsoft and Bethesda.
What a year.
]]>Following a terse announcement last E3, Bethesda today gave a nice look at GhostWire: Tokyo, the next horror game from The Evil Within studio Tango Gameworks. I had expected ghosts and Tokyo. I had not expected we'd be punching them and ripping out their ghosthearts with our magic fists. See for yourself in the "gameplay reveal trailer" below:
]]>Trying to keep up with E3 2019 is a fool's errand, and the foaming river of content streaming down the internet's face doesn't always make it easier. So here's a round-up of every news story from the show we think matters to you, with links to our full stories (and bantful liveblogs) where relevant. We'll be updating this hourly, so keep coming back.
]]>Tango Gameworks, the studio behind the splendid spookings of The Evil Within, have announced a new spooky game and I can't tell you much of anything about it. It's set in a Tokyo where some manner of bad rapture has happened, and we're left to fight ghosties. Not the good type of rapture, where those of us left behind are free to listen to rock 'n' roll music and do kisses. After The Evil Within, ah hell go on, show us your uninformative cinematic trailer and for now I'll trust you're making a good ghostgame.
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