Tango Gameworks is known for making games that are never quite the same as its previous games, even when they’re direct sequels. Ghostwire Tokyo was a great leap into a game that celebrated its environment above all else, while happily taking on a more action playstyle.
Fulfilling their role of always doing something different, the Spider’s Thread update added rather unexpectedly added a roguelite mode to the game. It’s a grueling game mode that plays quite differently from the base game, and it can take a while to get a handle on it. These tips will you have delving to the root of the curse in no time.
10 Take Your Time
In games like this, throwing yourself headfirst into the fray can feel so inviting considering you’ll lose almost everything anyway. The thing is, doing that also runs the risk of you never making enough substantial gains to strengthen yourself.
The Spider’s Thread times you, but it’s purely for record-keeping. It doesn’t affect your progress or the rewards given to you. So with that in mind, take the time to memorize a stage before moving on or making big mistakes.
9 Get The Iron Beads
Within the base game of Ghostwire, you could acquire prayer beads to enhance your abilities, from making your elemental weaving stronger to searching out spirits. Plentiful more have been added specifically for the Spider’s Thread with dramatic effects.
One of the most powerful is the Iron Beads. These grant you the ability to defeat everyone (including bosses) in a single hit, though you’ll die in a single hit as well. If you’ve got good aim and reflexes, this is a surefire way to rush to the end, and means you don’t have to worry about collectibles all that much either.
8 Don’t Save Your Food
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In almost every stage will be plenty of consumables hidden around for you to feast on to keep your health up in the midst of combat. Unlike the base game though, you can’t keep them forever in massive stacks.
In the Spider’s Thread, all consumables you’ve picked up (but not bought) are converted into money every time you return to the hub area, the Cat’s Paw. As such, don’t be frugal. If you’re missing even a sliver of health and have the food on you, eat up.
7 Listen Out For Hidden Cats
Even in the base game, animals were of great importance. Dogs would guide you to treasure, tanuki were spread across the city in disguises, and cats would give you cryptic hints about places and people around the city.
In the Spider’s Thread, cats are at the forefront of the adventure. In fact, there’s probably more than in the base game just hidden across certain stages of the game. You’ll hear an echoing ‘meow’ any time you enter a stage they’re hidden in and can even find some spectral footprints to find their hiding spots.
6 Recycle Your Chaos Beads
Fitting in the theme of random levels with random objectives, the Spider’s Thread mode also grants you randomly generated Prayer Beads depending on your performance in levels. Better performances come with stronger beads, though with more drawbacks.
Sometimes, these Chaos Beads can be absurdly powerful. A lot of the time though, they might be more of a detriment than a help. In those scenarios, it’s better to just recycle them immediately to get Spirit Thread from them that you can spend on permanent Prayer Beads.
5 Pet The Cats
The Spider’s Thread mode is introduced in a fantastical way; Akito and KK somehow whisked into the depths of Tsuchigomo’s Curse to unravel it themselves. Early on they’ll even encounter a cat that has lost its owner.
This cat is rather important to the overall story, but even more important is the gameplay impact they serve. Anytime you return to the Cat’s Paw, you can give this specific kitty some pets and they’ll heal you back to perfection, saving some of the food items you might’ve used otherwise.
4 Memorize Locations
Ghostwire Tokyo stood out for how handcrafted every aspect of the world felt. Each nook and cranny felt like it had been personally placed and had its own personality. Unlike what you may have expected, the same is true for the random levels of the Spider’s Thread mode.
Though the levels are chosen at random (outside of some fixed boss battles), each and every one of them is handmade. This means that you can actually memorise the placement of enemies, items and even main objectives, letting you speed through a level more efficiently.
3 Plan Out Your Upgrades
Ghostwire Tokyo had an enjoyable if somewhat simple skill tree for players to work through. It gave some interesting abilities, like summoning a Tengu to slingshot you to rooftops, as well as more simple power upgrades.
The Spider’s Thread mode though has its own skill tree that’s upgraded with currency rather than skill points. On top of that, many of the skills are level-locked. For the best experience, it’s best to scan over the whole tree and plan how you’ll move through it, be it focusing on buffing your health or unlocking more combat abilities first.
2 Gacha Your Way To Great Photos
A new mechanic added in the Spider’s Thread update is little capsule machines that spit out figurines for you to use in photo mode. This is actually the second major update to Ghostwire’s already excellent photo mode and only makes it better.
Each time you return to the Cat’s Paw, a capsule machine is laid right across from you. It’s incredibly cheap too, so you may as well give it a few twirls and get yourself some fun companions for photo mode that can only be found in this specific capsule machine.
1 Remember You Can Swap beads Whenever
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In the base game, Prayer beads were pretty important, though far from essential. They were a nice boost or gave some helpful functionality in hunting down collectibles. In the Spider’s Thread though, Prayer Beads become much more of a necessity.
Though the Iron Beads are something you should aim to always have, they’re not always the best for sections with platforming. In these regards, Prayer beads that reduce your gravity or restore health are much more helpful. Best of all though is that you are completely free to swap out your beads whenever rather than being locked once you enter a stage.