Ghostwire: Tokyo
Putting the power in your hands
Coming exclusively to PS5, Tango Gameworks’ horror adventure is intended to make the most of the new technology. In particular, the developer has revealed the DualSense controller will be used to build atmosphere.
The game’s version of Tokyo has been devastated by a supernatural event and the controller is going to let you know all about it. Haptic feedback enables you to feel your way through the deserted streets, while the eerie voices emanating from the controller’s speakers send a chill down your spine. The developer is aiming to make your DualSense function as your ‘sixth sense’ while you explore. The idea is you’ll rely on the controller for clues and world-building, as it enables you to hear and feel this ghostly recreation of Tokyo. We’re guessing there’ll be puzzles that rely on the DualSense’s unique features.
GETTING HANDSY
Yet it’s in Ghostwire: Tokyo’s handsy combat that you can feel the full force of the DualSense. There’s a Doom-like sense of momentum to fighting; it’s fast, inventive, and keeps you pushing forwards into the world. But there are no guns. Instead you manipulate elemental powers with your on-screen hands to create spiritual attacks.
Each movement and spell feels unique on the DualSense; its adaptive triggers pull and push at your fingers, rattle, and flex smoothly. The developer boasts that you can close your eyes and feel the different attacks, so bursts of wind will have a different sensation to the flow of water or flutter of fire from your virtual hands. You need to get in close to some spirits to defeat them, which again has its own sensation. When performing up-close, risky exorcisms the triggers simulate the act of tugging the ‘core’ life force from an enemy.
Naturally you can upgrade your character’s powers, and here again DualSense is being harnessed to allow you to feel the change in their abilities. As your powers grow, so too does the feedback from the controller, so for the first time in a game you can ‘feel’ your progress.