The best game in March you’ve probably never heard of

February has been the month of titles such as Dying Light 2: Stay Human, Sifu, Horizon: Forbidden West and the long-awaited Elden Ring, to name but a few.

But as spectacular as these releases are, a title launches next month that has the potential to be just as good.

On 25 March, GhostWire: Tokyo releases on PS5 and PC. I must admit: before a few days ago, I had never heard of this title. But now that I have, I’m looking forward to March.

The Plot

The story of GhostWire: Tokyo follows a young man, Akito, who is the sole survivor in Tokyo after an ominous mist descends on the city and disappears the residents.

A mask-wearing cultist unleashed the mist for some unknown reason; perhaps he’d grown tired of the traffic during his morning commute.

The Masked Cultist featured in the released trailers and presumably responsible for the Mist.

Either way, the people of Tokyo are gone, and Akito, with the help of a spirit named KK, must unravel this mystery to find the truth.

Did I mention KK also possesses him and allows him to use awesome looking elemental powers to slay the Spirits, known as Visitors, now infesting the city?

Oh yes, Spirits are infesting the city, and you must fight them.

The Gameplay

The gameplay is a mixture of Doom’s fast-paced, first-person, action-oriented combat and more well-known fantasy elements in the form of spells and items you can use.

The result is a fluid system of jumping and dodging attacks while employing visually-spectacular wind, water, and fire spells to decimate the attacking Spirits.

These magical attacks highlight the gameplay as your character’s hands twist into different gestures to summon elemental attacks ranging from fireballs and blades of water to glowing shields of red energy.

Overall the combat in the gameplay trailer looks meaty, visceral and satisfying.

Akito, the player character, dispatches two Visitors with a spell known as Spiritual Wires.

But what would satisfying combat be without enemies? The Spirits of GhostWire: Tokyo may be appealing to fight, but they are certainly not pleasant to look at, as they are vile, twisted and monstrous in form.

It isn’t surprising since the developer, Tango Gameworks, is also the mind behind the Evil Within series, which is well-known for its gruesome enemies.

Even if you’re like me and don’t play horror games (I get enough horror driving on South African roads), don’t be turned away from giving GhostWire: Tokyo a chance as it’s actually more of an action game.

Still, the designs of the ghosts are lovely, in their twisted way and range from faceless, too-tall and too-grey men dressed in dapper black suits that at a glance wouldn’t look out of place managing a bank to peculiar sights like hunched over women with giant, toothy mouths instead of heads.

It’s not horror per se, but it’s not your run-of-the-mill enemy design either.

One of the many types of Visitors in Tokyo, dressed in a striking black suit ideal for combat.

The Appeal

The other interesting element of this game is its setting. Although it’s open-world, there doesn’t appear to be a crafting system present. This may not seem positive, but just about every major AAA open-world game released in the last few years follows the same formula of crafting systems, multiplayer modes, in-game shops and a mini-map cluttered with far too many too-similar fetch quests.

It’s therefore refreshing to see a title that knows it’s an action game set in an open world but feels no need to try and appeal to as broad an audience as possible by including all the tried and tested features even if they detract from the core idea behind the game.

GhostWire: Tokyo is a title to keep your eye on as it’s a single-player, open-world, action-adventure game with seemingly excellent combat, brilliant designs and an exciting aesthetic.

It’s my most anticipated game of March 2022 – and after watching this trailer, it may be yours, too.

Below, we have attached the game’s system requirements on PC, sourced from Steam.