This one’s a little bit of a cheat for me as a result of I truly 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 record final yr. However 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 yr in video games with out it.
Ghostwire: Tokyo is a large beast. It is the sport that led me to the conclusion that everybody, regardless of how averse to huge open worlds on the whole, has it of their hearts to like no 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 at the moment.
There’s an plain ingredient of guilt at play right here, as a result of a yr in the past I positioned Ghostwire: Tokyo in solely second place on my GOTY record, whereas my continued fascination with it all through 2023 proves that it actually ought to have been within the #1 slot all alongside. On the time it was a tricky name between Ghostwire and one other sport, and I used to be perhaps being slightly bit tactical after I declared the latter my favorite of the yr. And in equity it had a stable declare to be, however to let you know the reality, it did not follow me into 2023 the best way I might anticipated it to; I’ve actually but to be tempted right into a replay. Whereas over the course of the identical yr, even round every part else I’ve had distracting me, I’ve enthusiastically put a pair dozen extra hours into my try and 100% Ghostwire: Tokyo.
So sure, on a private degree this one’s slightly little bit of a mulligan. However there’s one more reason why Ghostwire: Tokyo genuinely deserves some 2023 recognition, and it is that Xbox Sequence X/S gamers truly received entry to the sport for the primary time this spring. Ghostwire launched on PC and PlayStation 5 in 2022, however had a yr of console exclusivity on the latter; and, though I am 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 methods when Ghostwire hit Xbox was my most-anticipated DLC launch of the yr (I can really feel the side-eye from Phantom Liberty after I say that, however it’s true!) — and it didn’t disappoint. I might’ve paid good cash to spend just a few 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 on account of these fascinating licensing shenanigans that prompted PlayStation to briefly host their potentially-last-ever Bethesda exclusives — they gave it away free of charge as an alternative. And the boon is even larger when you’re a Sport Cross subscriber, since Ghostwire has been included on the service since its Xbox launch.
Clearly, Ghostwire: Tokyo has hardly been ignored by gamers this yr: the sport celebrated six million gamers again in September, undoubtedly helped alongside by Sport Cross. However it’s had a bizarre trajectory as a sport that launched on the again of Elden Ring to middling opinions, and far of the love that appears to have constructed up in 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 search out that they have been among the many highlights of your yr? Tell us within the feedback!