Blood will spill in Ghostrunner 2, a first-person hardcore slasher game set in a cyberpunk world. Become the ultimate cyber ninja and get ready for boss fights, an interactive story, new modes and a synthwave soundtrack.
Ghostrunner 2 Review: A Thrilling Fusion of Style and Grace
Butcher79
Since its announcement earlier this year ghostrunner 2 was included in the lists of “Most Anticipated Games of 2023” by many gamers. As a sequel to the original 2020 game that was a hit among connoisseurs, this new development from One More Level promises another cathartic journey filled with challenges, blood and chaos. All this comes at a surprisingly high speed, presenting an audiovisual style with every step.
But are fans' fears entirely appropriate? After all, the developers decided on a more ambitious project, expanding the scope and adding new mechanics to the basic concepts that made the first Ghostrunner great. Don't worry, Ghostrunner 2 lives up to all expectations.
Blood will spill in Ghostrunner 2, a first-person hardcore slasher game set in a cyberpunk world. Become the ultimate cyber ninja and get ready for boss fights, an interactive story, new modes and a synthwave soundtrack.
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Get ready for a new adventure full of action
In the game, which takes place a year after the events of the first part, players return to the story of the main character, Jack. With the fall of Keymaster, Dharma Tower - the last stronghold of humanity - plunged into chaos once again. New factions have emerged and are fighting each other for power. One group, known as the Climbers, seeks to return the world to this lawless reality.
As part of the Interface Council, players will witness a new conspiracy that is emerging as another Ghostrunners series emerges: the cyborgs. The latest title is definitely story-driven, and players will need to understand the backstory to understand why the things that happen happen.
So, without giving away any details, just prepare to meet a variety of characters - both familiar and new - as well as big plot twists. But in reality, most players are here for Ghostrunner 2's intense combat-oriented gameplay.
Those who fell in love with the gameplay of the 2020 game will be able to fully immerse themselves in Ghostrunner 2. The basic principles are not only perfectly preserved here, but also improved upon. First off, Jack's controls are what you'd expect: he can dash and block or parry attacks with his signature sword. He also has his signature Sensory Support, which can slow down time around him for precision attacks and evasions, although it does require a stamina cost.
In turn, blocking enemy attacks reduces your stamina reserve. When it is not present, the character becomes vulnerable, so dodging and blocking must be used with caution. As you might expect, Jack can take down enemies with one hit - but the same applies to him. This means that players must be on guard at all times, even against trash mobs. To support his efforts, Jack has a variety of utilities. He has three main abilities acquired over the course of the game: Shuriken, Shadow, and Storm.
The first throws a shuriken at a target, which is great for defeating smaller enemies and stunning larger ones. The Shadow makes Jack invisible and summons a sound board in the area where the ability was used - ideal for drawing attention away from him. The last one, Tempest, is a returning ability from the original Ghostrunner and allows Jack to fire a gust of wind that sends opponents on a whirlwind ride.
All of these abilities can also be used in the environment, such as using Shuriken to press switches, Buru to move boxes, and so on. Yes, the game places as much emphasis on platforming as it does combat. Jack can also crouch-slide, run along walls, and use his grappling hook to reach distant points (including stunned enemies). Combined with the tight, linear design work, this is bound to immerse players in a state of zen-like laser focus.
Finally, the game also features ultimate abilities that can be changed at any time during the battle. There are five of them in total, and they will be obtained during the game of Ghostrunner 2: Flicker, Flow, Sensory Overload, Motor Overheat and Overlord. The latter, which returns from the first game, and Motor Overheat have become my main ultimates. They allow you to temporarily control an opponent's mind and improve Jack's movement accordingly.
Overall, the combat is fun and fair, and is definitely the main selling point of the game. Patient players willing to master them can pull off anime-like killstreaks. However, the platforming sections can feel clunky at times. In particular, grappling and jumping into air holes must be perfect because hitting a small piece of geometry can send the player into the abyss, ruining a perfect run.
Lots of challenges
It goes without saying that Ghostrunner 2 is a difficult game. It's not on the level of, say, the Soulsborne series, but it's still quite capable of making players who refuse to learn the basics simply rip their hair out in frustration. The pacing changes frequently between combat and platforming, keeping the gameplay from becoming tedious.
The range of enemies becomes larger as players progress through the story. From regular gun-wielding hoodlums to laser-spewing robots to jetpack-riding zombies, players will need to be on their toes at all times. Everyone has their own attack scenario, and knowing how to eliminate them is the key to progress.
Sometimes encountering enemies can become a puzzle in itself, thanks to tricky combos that force players to eliminate the strongest opponents first. This doesn't mean the game doesn't have obstacle-solving puzzles, because there are plenty of them. Players can expect to spend a lot of time sliding along rails, hitting switches, and creating temporary platforms to progress through the level.
Anyone who has already played the first game will certainly appreciate the challenges offered. Considering how well it turned out, that's not bad at all. But there are also new challenges. Welcome to Roguerunner.exe mode. This unique game mode is a twist on the roguelike formula style, which is perfect for Ghostrunner 2's one-shot, one-kill mechanics.
In this mode, players fight through a node system, similar to the map system in Slay The Spire. Unlike the main game, Jack has a limited number of attempts to succeed. Fortunately, after successfully completing a subsection, you can get extra lives or a modifier to change your play style. Those looking for more replayability from Ghostrunner 2 will definitely enjoy this one.
Customize your Ghostrunner to suit your needs
In terms of replayability, Ghostrunner 2 offers modifiers of sorts to install that can dramatically change the gameplay. As in the first game, players can purchase various upgrades to install on the motherboard, which in turn can be upgraded using purple Memory Fragments. The improvements affect various elements of Ghostrunner, such as optimizing the dash so it requires less stamina.
Each upgrade has a cost that reduces the overall cost of memory, so players will need to think about how to position each part on the motherboard. Additionally, some upgrades may have additional levels that become active when placed in certain locations, making this an interesting challenge.
Treasures are hidden everywhere
Ghostrunner 2 includes collectibles in the form of in-game lore and cosmetics. On the one hand, Artifacts and Audio Logs are presented. Both deepen the world of play in text and audio formats. The cosmetics consist mainly of Gloves and Swords. The first can be obtained by completing levels in Roguerunner.exe mode, the second are distributed across levels.
Ghostrunner 2 has over a dozen levels, many of which contain Artifact, Audio Log, Memory Fragment, and Sword Shells. Most of them are often hidden behind an additional layer of challenge, requiring going off the beaten path or requiring dexterous maneuvering to obtain. Luckily, players can replay completed missions to go back and find the missing collectible.
Feel the gust of wind on your metal cheekbones
Probably the biggest attraction in Ghostrunner 2 is the motorcycle. Widely featured in promotional materials such as trailers and artwork, this shiny beast is Jack's primary means of transportation around the post-apocalyptic outskirts of Dharma Tower. There's nothing quite like the feeling of speed and style that comes from riding a motorcycle, especially where players need to maintain momentum to keep up with the signal. Luckily, most bike rides are otherwise organic and can be completed at your own pace. That is, developer One More Level is switching to a semi-linear sandbox format in the middle of Ghostrunner 2.
It's completely unlike anything we've seen before in the franchise, with destroyed buildings and wrecked cars scattered throughout. All that remained were zombie monsters called Scions, leading to entirely new types of enemies. However, this area is also carefully handcrafted with subtle clues about the environment, gently nudging the player through the story.
Finally, gamers also get a wingsuit that allows them to cross chasms with ease. Considering how late it was offered in Ghostrunner 2, perhaps a sequel could expand on it. The game ends on a good note if they're curious, so that leaves room for more possibilities.
Machine Clash
The most impressive part of Ghostrunner 2 is the boss battles. Players who were disappointed with the first game can rest easy, as the second game's combat has been significantly improved. Without giving away a detailed spoiler, the main focus will be on battles with other humanoid enemies, who this time become real bosses.
These enemies will test everything players have learned up to this point, so they should make sure their moving, dodging, and blocking skills are sharp enough. Each battle will be unique, and given the variety of exciting action, it will be difficult to be disappointed.
Graphics, performance and sound
Ghostrunner 2 is developed on the Unreal Engine 4, just like the first part. Given the preference of some games to be developed in Unreal Engine 5, this may come as some surprise. However, the developers made the most of the engine, resulting in stunning visuals in every aspect of the game.
From the dazzling neon interiors of the Dharma Tower to the shabby outskirts, everything looks really good. Plus, the electronic soundtrack complements the game's atmosphere so perfectly. Visuals can sometimes suffer in some open areas with noticeable frame drops, especially with graphics settings at maximum. For this review, the game was tested on a PC with the following specifications:
- CPU: Intel Core i7-12650H @ 4,7 GHz
- RAM: 16GB DDR4
- GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Ti (8GB)
- Solid State Drive: 1TB NVME
For the most part, the game ran well, delivering frames well above 60fps, even at 1440p resolution and settings at maximum. Unfortunately, performance in the open world sometimes dropped to 40 frames per second, especially due to a larger problem that games using the Unreal Engine face: shader compilation freezes.
Given the speed at which players move through the sandbox of the streets, they should be prepared for some delay when loading resources into the game. This happens even in limited linear areas of the Dharma Tower, so additional optimization on this front would be helpful. The game also crashed once while I was exploring the open world.
Additionally, it's not uncommon for cars or even opponents to get stuck in geometry. Luckily, the game sets save points frequently, which reduces the pain of going back and replaying levels.
Ghostrunner 2 also offers a photo mode where players can capture the amazing moment. However, this review preview does not include ray tracing, so it could not be tested and will only be available in the full game.
Conclusion
Ghostrunner 2 is an impressive sequel to the first game and perhaps fixes some of the problems players encountered with the original. It introduces new ideas and executes them brilliantly, while maintaining the core aspects that make the gameplay so exciting. However, she is not perfect.
Besides some minor design issues and platforming shortcomings, the game has technical issues, especially in the open world. Thankfully, none of this is enough to ruin the experience of Ghostrunner 2 and makes it a must-have for fans of the series and newcomers alike.
A demo is currently available on Steam for interested players, offering a carefully curated snippet of combat and vehicular gameplay.
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