Tokyo Ghoul is a series probably known to most anime fans by now. Based on the hit manga series of the same name, Tokyo Ghoul has gone on from a manga to an anime series and has had several light novels as well as spin-off series. Needless to say, Tokyo Ghoul has truly been a success in the anime/manga world and we’re huge fans ourselves here at Honey’s Anime! That’s why when Bandai Namco Games announced they would be creating/publishing a Tokyo Ghoul 3rd person action game our hearts legit soared into the sky! Tokyo Ghoul: re Call to Exist is said game and we’ve finally gotten our hands on it! Will Tokyo Ghoul: re Call to Exist be the definitive game adaptation we’ve been waiting for or does it falter like many others did before it? Time to find out in our full review down below!

Tokyo Ghoul: re Call to Exist is a survival action/adventure title where players will enter the world of Tokyo Ghoul for themselves. Enjoy a story mode that allows fans to play as their favorite characters from Tokyo Ghoul: re and enter side stories that act as original content exclusive to the game! Fight alone as a ghoul, investigator or quinx through hordes of enemies and/or play with others online to survive in this dark world! Create your own character and outfit them with various outfits/armaments to make your own supernatural warrior! The battle for survival begins in Tokyo Ghoul: re Call to Exist!

Based on the second season of Tokyo Ghoul, Tokyo Ghoul: re Call to Exist allows players to see the story in a brand new perspective. You can enjoy a simplified version of Tokyo Ghoul: re’s story and/or enjoy various other character’s viewpoints on events not seen in the anime. There are numerous tales within Tokyo Ghoul: re Call to Exist to enjoy and you can even place yourself into the world making a custom character. Will you join humanity as an investigator to take down ghouls? Maybe you’ll join the ghouls and fight to survive/feed! Or maybe you’re a half-breed forced to join in between the two worlds. Regardless of your choice, the time for war has come and to survive you’ll need to fight in Tokyo Ghoul: re Call to Exist!

On paper, Tokyo Ghoul: re Call to Exist is a simple action/survival adventure title. Players have the choice to choose between several modes—we’ll go through them all no worries—that allow you to enter the world of Tokyo Ghoul. The main story focused mode—Recollections—has players going through Tokyo Ghoul’s story as various characters from the series. One mission might have you playing as Ken Kaneki while another as investigator Koutarou Amon. The beauty of Recollections is that it gives you the Tokyo Ghoul lore in the form of still images from the anime with occasional dialogue between characters. You’ll also get to enjoy numerous side stories which act as a means of learning more about big events in Tokyo Ghoul but from alternative perspectives. Recollections is also a must play to unlock the various other modes and missions for them.

Subsistence is where Tokyo Ghoul: re Call to Exist gets quite interesting. Where Recollections is focused on delivering the main narrative in a single player setting, Subsistence allows for players to go through missions as their own customizable character with the AI or with friends. You can play through the levels unlocked from Recollections and attempt to survive against hordes of enemies in a survival set up or against other players. In Subsistence you can customize your warrior to either be a Ghoul, Investigator or Quinx. Each class has special abilities and skills that will determine your starting abilities/equipment so be sure to prepare adequately prior to the level you choose!

Tokyo Ghoul: re Call to Exist has a lot going for it in terms of content—as we’ve established—but does that content equal fun? The main goal of most missions/levels in Tokyo Ghoul: re Call to Exist is to beat down hordes of enemies with your character. Ghouls can utilize various forms of martial arts—like Touka Kirishima—and use their kakuhouto/kagune empower their skills. Investigators wield guns and the quinque—weapons made from ghoul’s taken kakuhou—that allows them to stand as equals to ghouls and various other threats. Then you have Quinx who are the half-breeds who are like playing as both classes. Regardless of the class you choose, the main differences are how you fight and how you’ll survive against threats. Combat changes immensely when playing as an Investigator as they are slower but they have a stronger move set due to using three weapons. Ghouls are powerful but rely on mostly in your face combat. Thankfully, combat always feels solid no matter your choice in class and while Tokyo Ghoul: re Call to Exist feels like most third person action games, it works and makes combat always fun.

Where Tokyo Ghoul: re Call to Exist falters in the gameplay is the camera and repetition. The camera in Tokyo Ghoul: re Call to Exist reminds us of the earlier days of PS3 and PS2 games. When you’re in open areas the camera is fine but go into a closed room or tight hallway and you’ll fight ghouls and the camera. We had the camera sometimes zoom in on the wall or right on our character making a fight feel overly chaotic. Repetition is also a battle as levels feel consistently the same and often battles don’t change much in context. Fight through a room, fight a boss-like enemy, move on to another area and then reach the end boss. This can make combat become repetitive and while it doesn’t stop being fun, it can become tiring nonetheless.

Another minor gripe we had with Tokyo Ghoul: re Call to Exist is the length of levels. No matter what level you choose or what mode, a single level can take nearly 20 minutes to complete! Yes, long levels are better than a game you can finish in two hours but often we had to leave to run errands or to go to work and had to put our PS4 in rest mode since a level just wouldn’t end! This can be even worse when playing with others online as if they have to leave you’ll be down a human player and on harder levels/difficulties this can ruin even the best squad!

Visually, Tokyo Ghoul: re Call to Exist is pretty good. Character models/special attacks look gorgeous and truly capture the anime series. The environments/basic enemies though falter a bit. Many environments feel flat and while they capture the story specific environments they lack originality more often than not. We also feel that Tokyo Ghoul: re Call to Exist could have used a few more anime focused cutscenes but we understand that might cost the game developers a bit too much. Ultimately though, Tokyo Ghoul: re Call to Exist looks good and that matters for an anime adaptation.

Tokyo Ghoul: re Call to Exist has some flaws here and there that feel like issues we haven’t seen in a while but even these flaws don’t ruin the enjoyment to be had while playing. Tokyo Ghoul: re Call to Exist excels in giving players plenty to do from tons of story missions to dozens of missions to play with friends or AI. Plus, the achievements within Tokyo Ghoul: re Call to Exist make players earn their weapons/cosmetics rather than just throw items at you left and right. If you’re new to Tokyo Ghoul you might be lost as this is a very simplified version of the anime/manga but we noticed there’s just enough to help you understand the story/characters in Tokyo Ghoul: re Call to Exist. Overall, Tokyo Ghoul: re Call to Exist might falter in some spots—such as the camera and gameplay—but we truly were excited to play with friends and to become the characters we love in Tokyo Ghoul. Fans, you’re going to love Tokyo Ghoul: re Call to Exist and those who like action titles will no doubt also enjoy this video game adaptations of a great series!

Often, video game adaptations can be either great or downright terrible. Tokyo Ghoul: re Call to Exist falls more near very good. While far from perfect, Tokyo Ghoul: re Call to Exist is fun and enjoyable for fans and non-fans of the series. Playing online with friends and running as a squad can truly be enjoyable as you decimate others or try to survive as long as possible. That’s why—in our opinion—missing out on Tokyo Ghoul: re Call to Exist would be unfortunate as this was a solid third person action title with survival themes. Are you going to play Tokyo Ghoul: re Call to Exist? Tell us why—or why not—in the comments below! For even more game reviews be sure to keep stuck to our hive here at Honey’s Anime! Now please excuse us, we need to fight some investigators who are stopping our survival!