Ghostwire: Tokyo Is The Perfect Palate Cleanser After Elden Ring
Ghostwire: Tokyo is an exciting yet simple adventure set in modern-day Shibuya, and acts as the perfect palate cleanser after playing the brutally difficult Elden Ring. Ghostwire's much simpler map helps players along in their quest to save their family from the cultist Hannya, in stark comparison to Elden Ring's general lack of guidance. Both games have vibrant open worlds with a lot to see and do, but Ghostwire: Tokyo acts as a counterpart to Elden Ring in that it's smaller, easier, and more intuitive.
In Ghostwire: Tokyo, Akito must vanquish the Visitors that have taken over Shibuya after all of its normal inhabitants have disappeared due to the fog that the cultist Hannya has brought to it. In Elden Ring, players take on the role of a Tarnished, an undead warrior seeing to claim all the shards of the titular Elden Ring and become the Elden Lord. Beating Elden Ring's Fire Giant and other bosses is always massively satisfying when players manage it, but the game, like most FromSoftware titles, can be punishingly difficult and occasionally stressful. There's a big difference between Shibuya and the Lands Between, but the two games do have their similarities.
Compared to Elden Ring, Ghostwire: Tokyo is a lot simpler. Tarnished don't get a lot of help, or even much explanation beyond a tutorial for basic controls, as they seek to conquer the Lands Between. They're mostly left to fend for themselves, unlike in Ghostwire, where Akito gets a map with straightforward directions guiding him to his next goal and everything that will help him along the way. Although it makes the game a very different kind of challenge, that's not necessarily a bad thing.
In the Lands Between, players are given almost no direction. Elden Ring's map doesn't let players lean on it, and aside from the topography, it doesn't show much. Aside from a vague sense of where to go next given by the Sites of Grace, players are left to figure out just about everything for themselves. Status icons are not explained, nor are things like how to get map pieces or even where the objectives are. It makes players explore and use their heads to figure anything out, adding to the brutal difficulty that it and other FromSoftware games are known for. The world is stunning, but the lack of explanation or guidance can occasionally be frustrating for certain subsets of players.
In Ghostwire: Tokyo, on the other hand, the map is of much more help. It's not all shown at first, but as players unlock more of it, they'll see icons for helpful locations and waypoints. The quests are also simple and straightforward. Although some side quests, like Ghostwire: Tokyo's "And Then There Were None", can be a bit tricky, they're still a lot less so than Elden Ring's. Instead of being an assassin for Volcano Manor, players will cleanse corruption from the various locales of Shibuya, where objectives are marked, things to do stand out from the background, and a handy guide can be called at any time to help players navigate the dizzying alleyways of Tokyo.
After players have their spirits crushed by the difficulty of Elden Ring, Ghostwire: Tokyo's simplicity and easy navigation is refreshing. Both of them have their appeal, and both are vibrant worlds with a lot to see and a lot of upgrades to collect. Ghostwire: Tokyo's busy UI and map could feel a bit overwhelming with so many things to do, but after Elden Ring's frustrating lack of direction, it's quite calming to have obvious goals marked on the map. Ghostwire: Tokyo's fast leveling and straightforward gameplay make it a great way to unwind after running aimlessly around Elden Ring's colossal world looking for the next NPC, making them two open-world games that compliment each other rather than pitting them as direct competitors.