If you're not familiar with Tokyo Ghoul, here's a brief outline of what the series is about: the main protagonist Ken Kaneki falls in love with a beautiful girl who, after a date, doesn't want his tongue down her throat, but rather in her stomach. She is a ghoul who likes to eat him as a midnight snack. But things turn out differently than planned, as both are killed by steel beams in an accident. The female ghoul is killed instantly, but Ken barely survives and is implanted with important organs from the ghoul lady. This turns him into a human-ghoul hybrid and he now has to come to terms with life as an enemy of normal humans. As the story progresses, he gets worse and worse at this until he becomes an incredibly powerful hybrid ghoul who only wants to protect his loved ones, but doesn't always have himself under control. Everything else is something you can find out for yourself by A) watching the anime or B) playing the game.

The entire story is told to you in Tokyo Ghoul:re Call to Exist in a visual novel-esque format. Sometimes there's a bit of “action” with the 3D models, but it's all lovelessly staged. If you're a newcomer and have no idea about the general story, the game will sometimes be more confusing than anything else. I therefore highly recommend to watch the anime first. For example, right at the beginning, the accident with the steel beams is not really explained. All you see is a black screen, a few pops and bangs and then it's on to the surgery. It's a shame that they didn't take inspiration from a title like Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm, for example.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3466615295

So only real fans will probably be able to get anything out of the story here. Even I, who read it some time ago, couldn't see through it at times because it was so confusing. One commendable aspect is that each chapter can be played from several different perspectives, offering a variety of viewpoints for the characters and that exactly made playing Tokyo Ghoul somewhat unique.


Each level is quite extensive in itself, but often you simply run through boring corridors, fight cannon fodder enemies until you reach the next, slightly stronger ghoul and have to solve small “puzzles”. By that I mean: pick up an item or wait a certain amount of time until you can move on and stop enemies in the process. Funnily enough, the general style of play, especially in online mode, reminded me a little of Left 4 Dead. Perhaps the basic style of the game was somehow inspired by it? Unfortunately, the fun of Left 4 Dead has not been transferred in any way.

In theory, the gameplay is actually not bad. You can play numerous characters from the series, and in the story campaign you always take on a predetermined fighter. These are divided into three classes: Ghoul, Investigator and Quinx.The different characters and classes also play quite differently, which makes for variety. Some Ghoul, for example, can heal themselves, while the other classes are dependent on medipacks. Doves and Quinx can use various types of weapons and pistols, and each character has different attacks on the different buttons. Generally speaking, though, it is a matter of punching, heavy punching, and shooting your way through corridors until you reach the strongest ghoul. An Awakening bar can also be used to switch to a strong mode or use special attacks. These really pack a punch, but should mainly be used when an enemy's defenses have been breached.

The boss battles can be particularly interesting. I call them interesting because they're actually cool, but also kind of hard. But as soon as you have figured out the attacks/dodges and have switched from constantly attacking to frequently dodging, these battles can also easily be mastered.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3467379509

After playing the story for a short time, you unlock the Call to Exist mode. Personally, I was most interested in this mode because it allows you to create your own character and complete the missions you have already unlocked. Or you can choose one of the numerous characters from the series and play with them. The online mode also comes into play here, where you can tackle the adventure together with other players.

You can strengthen and level up your characters, which actually sounds interesting. But it doesn't really improve the gameplay, which is repetitive and boring in the long run. I'm a big fan of games like Dynasty Warriors, but even I find the gameplay in Tokyo Ghoul:re Call to Exist too boring in the long run. Of course it's cool when you can play your favorite character from the series, but if the rest isn't that exciting, then its really hard to justify the 50€ price tag. Don't get me wrong, it's definitely not that bad if you can look past the mediocre level design and flawed story aspects. It's fun to throw punches, do combos, and kill ghouls in a Dynasty Warrior-esque fashion, but even then you'll find yourself pressing the same buttons over and over again after a few hours.


On the whole, I personally can only recommend Tokyo Ghoul:re Call to Exist to absolute fans of the anime. I was sometimes a bit bored while playing. Of course, I had a bit of fun from time to time, but the mediocre aspects of the game shine through a lot of corners. Those who love the anime might see things a little differently. If you've never had anything to do with Tokyo Ghoul before, then you'd better steer clear of this title or watch the Anime first.

[h1] A mediocre but nevertheless entertaining game for in between. You don't need to expect anything "deep" here, but to experience the anime once again in video game form and in short is definitely worth a look [/h1] [h1] Additional Info:[/h1] [table] [tr] [th]Content & Value[/th] [th]I completed Tokyo Ghoul:re Call to Exist in 6.5 hours, completing almost 70% of all achievements in the game. For those who want achievements: This game is not that long to get 100% (maybe 10h+~ish?), especially as some of them are kinda grindy and require you to play online with no players[/th] [/tr] [tr] [td]Mode[/td] [td]Single Player & Online PvP[/td] [/tr] [tr] [td]Controller Recommended?[/td] [td]Yes[/td] [/tr] [tr] [td]Is it worth buying?[/td] [td]Yes, but I would highly recommend waiting for a sale since it's not worth full price[/td] [/tr] [/table] [h1]In-Depth[/h1] [h3]Story & Details[/h3] If you're not familiar with Tokyo Ghoul, here's a brief outline of what the series is about: the main protagonist Ken Kaneki falls in love with a beautiful girl who, after a date, doesn't want his tongue down her throat, but rather in her stomach. She is a ghoul who likes to eat him as a midnight snack. But things turn out differently than planned, as both are killed by steel beams in an accident. The female ghoul is killed instantly, but Ken barely survives and is implanted with important organs from the ghoul lady. This turns him into a human-ghoul hybrid and he now has to come to terms with life as an enemy of normal humans. As the story progresses, he gets worse and worse at this until he becomes an incredibly powerful hybrid ghoul who only wants to protect his loved ones, but doesn't always have himself under control. Everything else is something you can find out for yourself by A) watching the anime or B) playing the game. The entire story is told to you in Tokyo Ghoul:re Call to Exist in a visual novel-esque format. Sometimes there's a bit of “action” with the 3D models, but it's all lovelessly staged. If you're a newcomer and have no idea about the general story, the game will sometimes be more confusing than anything else. I therefore highly recommend to watch the anime first. For example, right at the beginning, the accident with the steel beams is not really explained. All you see is a black screen, a few pops and bangs and then it's on to the surgery. It's a shame that they didn't take inspiration from a title like Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm, for example. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3466615295 So only real fans will probably be able to get anything out of the story here. Even I, who read it some time ago, couldn't see through it at times because it was so confusing. One commendable aspect is that each chapter can be played from several different perspectives, offering a variety of viewpoints for the characters and that exactly made playing Tokyo Ghoul somewhat unique. [h3]Gameplay, Additional Features & Criticism[/h3] Each level is quite extensive in itself, but often you simply run through boring corridors, fight cannon fodder enemies until you reach the next, slightly stronger ghoul and have to solve small “puzzles”. By that I mean: pick up an item or wait a certain amount of time until you can move on and stop enemies in the process. Funnily enough, the general style of play, especially in online mode, reminded me a little of Left 4 Dead. Perhaps the basic style of the game was somehow inspired by it? Unfortunately, the fun of Left 4 Dead has not been transferred in any way. In theory, the gameplay is actually not bad. You can play numerous characters from the series, and in the story campaign you always take on a predetermined fighter. These are divided into three classes: Ghoul, Investigator and Quinx.The different characters and classes also play quite differently, which makes for variety. Some Ghoul, for example, can heal themselves, while the other classes are dependent on medipacks. Doves and Quinx can use various types of weapons and pistols, and each character has different attacks on the different buttons. Generally speaking, though, it is a matter of punching, heavy punching, and shooting your way through corridors until you reach the strongest ghoul. An Awakening bar can also be used to switch to a strong mode or use special attacks. These really pack a punch, but should mainly be used when an enemy's defenses have been breached. The boss battles can be particularly interesting. I call them interesting because they're actually cool, but also kind of hard. But as soon as you have figured out the attacks/dodges and have switched from constantly attacking to frequently dodging, these battles can also easily be mastered. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3467379509 After playing the story for a short time, you unlock the Call to Exist mode. Personally, I was most interested in this mode because it allows you to create your own character and complete the missions you have already unlocked. Or you can choose one of the numerous characters from the series and play with them. The online mode also comes into play here, where you can tackle the adventure together with other players. You can strengthen and level up your characters, which actually sounds interesting. But it doesn't really improve the gameplay, which is repetitive and boring in the long run. I'm a big fan of games like Dynasty Warriors, but even I find the gameplay in Tokyo Ghoul:re Call to Exist too boring in the long run. Of course it's cool when you can play your favorite character from the series, but if the rest isn't that exciting, then its really hard to justify the 50€ price tag. Don't get me wrong, it's definitely not that bad if you can look past the mediocre level design and flawed story aspects. It's fun to throw punches, do combos, and kill ghouls in a Dynasty Warrior-esque fashion, but even then you'll find yourself pressing the same buttons over and over again after a few hours. [h3]Conclusion[/h3] On the whole, I personally can only recommend Tokyo Ghoul:re Call to Exist to absolute fans of the anime. I was sometimes a bit bored while playing. Of course, I had a bit of fun from time to time, but the mediocre aspects of the game shine through a lot of corners. Those who love the anime might see things a little differently. If you've never had anything to do with Tokyo Ghoul before, then you'd better steer clear of this title or watch the Anime first. [h2] Buy it on sale! 6/10 ­- Overall I had a great time, but the lackluster levels, visuals and gameplay makes for a somewhat mediocre, but slightly interesting experience for fans of the Anime [/h2]