March is shaping up to be an incredible month for game releases, with Bethesda and Tango Gameworks' supernatural action-adventure Ghostwire: Tokyo up there as one of them. First announced during E3 2019, Ghostwire:Tokyo's gorgeous visuals and intriguing horror elements grabbed the attention of a lot of players. Unlike Tango Gameworks' previous series The Evil Within, Ghostwire: Tokyo will have less of a survival horror focus and feature more action, though some similar themes and grotesque visuals connect the games tangentially. As a brand-new IP, Ghostwire: Tokyo's story remained largely a mystery ahead of launch, and fans were eager to know more.
With the game set to release on March 25, a free visual novel called Ghostwire: Tokyo — Prelude: The Corrupted Casefile is now available, so players can learn more about the world before diving into the game. Ghostwire: Tokyo's spooky setting and some of its cast of characters are revealed in the visual novel, which is set six months before the main events of the game. The Corrupted Casefile prelude novel is a perfect introduction to the world of the game and helps to set up some of the key themes and elements that will play a large part in Ghostwire: Tokyo's story.
The Events Leading Up To The Game
In Ghostwire: Tokyo, gamers play as Akito as he tries to work out what has happened to the residents of the city. In The Corrupted Casefile, the story is told instead from KK's point of view — an enigmatic detective who is a spirit in Ghostwire: Tokyo and possesses Akito to help him take on the mysterious masked antagonist. In the Prelude novel, KK is still human and is investigating strange cases of unusual disappearances. It seems that supernatural forces are at play, and KK must work with his team to get to the bottom of this mystery before more people go missing.
KK teams up with his group of supernatural sleuths called Ed, Rinko, and Erika, to explore the murky depths of the city's paranormal underworld in pursuit of the unsolved missing person cases. KK and his associates slowly begin to unravel the strange goings-on, as folklore, urban legends, and horror stories entangle themselves with everyday life. There's a palpable sense of dread around the city that the novel explores, with unexplained disappearances, weird sightings, and unprovoked attacks by vengeful spirits creating fear in the populace. The novel helps to set up the catastrophic events of Ghostwire: Tokyo, and players get to see another side to KK.
Ryota, a concerned kid from Shibuya, reads about KK's case files online and tracks him down to ask for help finding his friend Sosuke, although the case isn't as straightforward as it seems. As the investigation progresses, KK and his team hunt for clues and talk to witnesses, as well as interrogate spirits and fight paranormal entities during some battles. The prelude novel also shows off some of KK's own powers — a taster for the Kuji-kiri inspired spells players will use in Ghostwire: Tokyo. As well as an introduction to KK and his abilities, the novel gives a glimpse at the Hannya mask-wearing villain seen in the trailers for the game.
An Introduction To Ghostwire: Tokyo
Exploring the spirit-infested sewers of the city and seeing the touching team dynamics between KK and his crew were a fun way to introduce the world of Ghostwire: Tokyo. The design of the novel is stylized and different from the impressive visuals players have seen from the game, and helps to provide a new dimension to the world Tango Gameworks are creating. While not a lot of questions are answered, the groundwork is laid for some of the larger issues that Akito and KK are attempting to investigate throughout Ghostwire: Tokyo.
The motivations of the masked figure, the sudden appearance of multiple supernatural beings beneath the city, and the strange disappearances that leave nothing but clothes behind are still left unanswered. Ghostwire: Tokyo's intriguing paranormal adventure has been teased, and it's up to players whether they want to follow the threads from The Corrupted Casefile to find out more.
Ghostwire: Tokyo releases on March 25, 2022, for PC and PS5, while The Corrupted Casefile is available now.