Ghostwire: Tokyo hits Game Pass on April 12th, alongside a big update

Tango Gameworks’ spooky spell-slinging Ghostwire: Tokyo is getting its next major update, a full year after its launch. On April 12th, the Spider’s Thread update will add a whole new roguelike mode, extended cutscenes, additional areas, and much more. The update will hit PC and PlayStation, along with an Xbox Game Pass release on the same day.

Even though Ghostwire: Tokyo is coming to a new audience, its upcoming Spider’s Thread mode isn’t for newcomers. Spider’s Thread is separate from the main game and selecting it from the main menu will take you through a 30-stage gauntlet, made of over 130 handcrafted levels. There’s only one goal: get to the end. Clearing levels will grant you stronger abilities while dying will send you back to the start. You’ll still retain a portion of your abilities, though, hence the roguelike aspects. It’s essentially a survival test for ghost hunters with the most dexterous fingers.

The update’s other additions do affect the main game. There’ll be more ghost-drenched streets to explore in Tokyo with new missions, including a Middle School area that will have something ominous inside. I find that most schools are hiding something sinister, so nothing out of the ordinary here. Certain cutscenes have been extended and the game’s photo mode has been improved, too.

If Ghostwire was a little too spooky for you, this update is adding a Reduced Horror Effects setting that replaces psychic effects with Shibuya Hachi dog stickers - almost the perfect mode for scaredy-cats. The other big additions here are the slew of new abilities such as a counter-attack, a quick dodge, and the elementally charged melee strike, Charge Rush. The Spider’s thread update will also bring a boatload of quality-of-life updates and “a few features worth keeping secret,” according to Bethesda’s website.

The RPS Treehouse quite liked Ghostwire: Tokyo when it launched last year. James took us on a ray-traced tour thorugh the rain-soaked city, for all the ASMR lovers out there. AliceB had special praise for the game’s various animals, especially the cats. And the ghostly hype lingered ‘till the end of 2022 when Ghostwire: Tokyo haunted RPS’ game of the year list.

You can pick it up on Steam for £50/€60/$60, or you can wait for it to hit Game Pass alongside the Spider’s Thread update on April 12th.