Ghostwire: Tokyo is free with an Amazon Prime subscription right now

2022 was a great year for video game releases — so great, in fact, that a game like Ghostwire: TokyoA whole lot of. Good game brimming with character and compelling ideas, may have been relegated to many players’ backlogs. That was certainly the case with me. However, I spent much of the 2022 holiday season exploring Tango Gameworks’ ghost-infested facsimile of Japan’s bustling metropolis, and I had a blast. You can get the PC version of this game free until November 2, if you subscribe to Amazon Prime.

An open-world action-adventure, Ghostwire: Tokyo marked Tango’s first departure from its excellent The Evil Within series since its founding in 2010. However, the studio’s survival-horror roots are still on full display. Which isn’t a surprise, considering the studio was founded by Resident Evil director/producer Shinji Mikami.

The majority of your time is spent exploring the haunted streets, gardens, and rooftops of the city. It has been submerged in a malignant mist that transforms civilians into ghosts. Ghostwire may be known for its hand-based magical combat, but it’s absolutely dripping with ethereal, macabre atmosphere at every turn.

Scale is a measure of size. Ghostwire It’s much more manageable than the massive open worlds of video games in the 2010s. It’s more akin to the recent Assassin’s Creed MirageThis is because it focuses only on a city and gets much more mileage from every square yard. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. My favorite recurring quest-type in Ghostwire tasked me with parsing through the former lives of Tokyoites-turned-spirits. I was asked to locate a treasured keepsake hidden away in their house, and to rid their home of an evil demon. The franticness of the previous situation was a far cry from what I experienced. The Evil Within 2., Ghostwire The aggressiveness of the Slow down It was a great game and I thoroughly enjoyed searching every inch of Tokyo to discover the next short somber story.

Ghostwire It has its frustrations. While initially visually appealing, its combat is a disguised first-person shooting game. Furthermore, its character upgrades don’t do much to alleviate the martial monotony; several of its perks merely decrease the time it takes to pick up certain items. What it lacks mechanically, it makes up for with a ghostly atmosphere and eerie vibes. It’s the ideal game to play when you’re not in the mood for anything particularly demanding, and it’s also a great game to celebrate Halloween season. And, again, it’s free on PC for Prime subscribers — along with a handful of other games — until Nov. 2.