Tango Gameworksmay have initially started out as little more than a mixture of developers from other companies who had big dreams of pursuing their own creative visions, but it has gone on to becomeone of the most well known names in the industry. What makes Tango so special as a developer is how versatile they are in their projects. They can seamlessly switch from gory and gritty horror titles to more colorful and vibrant games with no problem at all, and this has resulted in a small catalog of games that are all very different in how they play, and their visual style.
There’s no doubt that Tango Gameworks will go on to create even more stellar titles in the near future, and this seems more or less guaranteed since all of their games so far have been of the highest quality, with some even being touted asmodern classics. Here’s every game developed by Tango, and how they rank according to their overall quality, and of course, how much fun they each are to jump into.
No Metacritic Score Available
This game is admittedly little more than a visual novel, but it does still offer some useful backstory to the character of KK and the mysterious disappearance of thecitizens of Tokyoin the main game, it doesn’t really have much else than that though. There are actually quite a few interesting and pretty quirky characters involved in this prologue story, such as the expert hacker Rinko, but the lack of gameplay and extremely short length makes it pretty forgettable.
For anyone who is a fan ofGhostwire Tokyoand wants to learn more about the world and its characters, this is still a great game to download, especially since it’s free, but it’s not really worth picking up for anyone else.
Tango’s very first game was an extremelyambitious survival horrortitle that was led by the legendary king of horror himself, Shinji Mikami, who had worked on the classicResident Evilgames. At a time when horror games were being more and more overshadowed by fast-paced action titles and shooter games,The Evil Withinpromised to be the return to form which fans of the genre had been dreaming of for so many years, and while it’s a little rough around the edges, it’s still an incredible experience.
Players take control of the stoic and disillusioned cop,Sebastian Castellanos, who has been brought into a strange world full of maniacal monsters and terrifying boss creatures as part of the STEM project. While he does have a few weapons to defend himself, the game leaves barely any resources for him to find, and it really doesn’t pull its punches in terms of difficulty with enemies like Laura being a literal nightmare to take down. The controls haven’t aged the best though, and the story is admittedly all over the place, but there’s no doubt thatThe Evil Withinstill does a great job at creating a truly horrifying experience for the player.
Ghostwire Tokyodoes carry over some of the frightening horror elements ofThe Evil Within, butit also plays with the supernatural a lot morewhich makes it a little more unique in its style and gameplay. The game starts with young man Akito Izuki waking up in a Shibuya which has been completely abandoned, with clothing and everyday items being sprawled across the streets. As Izuki searches the gorgeous city to find answers of what happened, he must also battle with ghosts and spirits that linger around each street corner which he can take down with the powers granted to him by KK, a spirit who has entered Izuki’s body.
The two main areas where this game really shines is the combat and graphics. Izuki’s combat style is essentially a mixture between karate and magic since he will use specific hand gestures to throw out spells which can all be upgraded throughout the course of the game. The large variety of enemies makes this an extremely fun system to play with, while alsoencouraging the player to get creativewith their spell combinations.Ghostwire Tokyois also one of the best looking games ever made, and while the gameplay loop can start to become repetitive because of how long the game is, its positives largely outweigh the negatives.
WhileThe Evil Within 2is definitely still a horror experience, it does dial down the goriness and brutality of the first game a little bit to put more focus on both the action, and the open world. Creating asurvival-horror open-world hybridcan’t be easy, but Tango managed to merge the two incredibly well in this game as the environment and enemies force the player to decide whether they want to risk running to certain areas just to grab a few extra resources. This kind of decision-making is reminiscent of the classicResident Evilsurvival horror formula, but alongside the unique gameplay structure,there’s also a pretty amazing story to enjoy here.
Sebastian is a lot more talkative this time around which helps make his character a little more interesting, and his mission to save his daughter Lily, who he thought had died in a house fire a few years ago, makes for a very heartfelt and intense story. There are plenty of unforeseen twists and turns throughout the narrative, along with some truly creative and memorable bosses such as the crazed artist known as Stefano. The horror might not be as front-and-center as it was with its predecessor, butThe Evil Within 2still stands tall as a risky experiment that was pulled off exceptionally well.
Hi-Fi Rushmay have seemingly dropped out of nowhere after a surprise announcement from Tango themselves, but it’s gone on to be considered one of the most unique games ever created. As the name implies, the game is all about music, and more specifically, hacking and slashing enemies in time with the soundtrack to make each attack deal more damage. The beat itself will remain the same throughout an entire level, so as soon as players get familiar with the tune playing in the background, they can perform some incredible combos that feel so satisfying to land.
The game also hasan extremely vibrant art-stylewhich always looks like it’s going to jump out from the screen because of how explosive and fun it is. It’s also filled with a lovable cast of characters with main protagonist Chai being a particular standout for his laid-back nature and passionate love for music. The bosses, stages, and story are all very memorable and when combined with the amazing combat system, it all comes together to create Tango Gameworks' very best title to this day.
