
Ghostrunner review – an alternative pending Cyberpunk 2077?
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Action, slasher, parkour and even puzzle games. This mixture is not common. However, Polish developers love experiments, and therefore decided to please the entire gaming world. an unusual project in the style of cyberpunk – a rather fashionable phenomenon at the end of 2019.

Ghostrunner offers a unique experience based on the simplest steps possible: running, jumping, dodging and katana attack… The Poles really managed to do #cc99ff;”>unique game, which is able to tighten for a long time. Therefore, we present to your attention a review of a game in which you can at least pass the time while waiting for Cyberpunk 2077.
Briefly about the game
Developers: Spligate, One More Level, 3D Realms
Publishers: 505 Games, All in! Games
release date: October 27, 2020
Metacritic score: 82 points
Ghostrunner – Play With Enough unusual mixture of genres, and therefore it will be rather difficult to choose which one it belongs to. Here you can find simple walks in which the player rests. A few seconds after leaving the calm atmosphere, a real action game begins, where the player’s reaction depends on whether he passes the episode or dies, after which he will have to master it again.
Buy Ghostrunner at a discount
Ghostrunner is a mixture of several game projects at once, and from each of them he took only the best:
- Parkour – Mirror’s Edge… One of the main game mechanics that the player must rely on. Rapid movement is justified by the use of the environment as a means of “getting from point A to point B”.
- Atmosphere – any game, the style of which will resemble a typical cyberpunk. One example can be considered Observerwhere you can see a mix of somber dark hues and vibrant colors from neon signs.
- Katana – Cyberpunk 2077 and any other action project using this melee weapon.
- One hit, one death mechanic. A striking representative in this case is Katana zero… Both enemies and the hero die with one hit.
- Slowing down time. Prince of persia and again Katana zero… The first game became the progenitor of this idea, and the second game mechanics is based on this ability.
Let’s take a look at every aspect of this project: gameplay, graphics, boss fights, and abilities.
Game process
Ghostrunner is a game that offers a unique experience, instead requiring the filigree execution of simple steps: jerking, jumping and dodging… All that, in general, can be called in one word – parkour.
The main character is a cybernetic ninja, whom everyone calls “Running shadow“. His experience and physique help him perform the most different pirouettes… It’s wall running, flying using electrocnut, and slip…
In addition to this, the player can make very fast jerksthat are invisible to the eyes of the enemy. It seems to everyone that our ninja is simply teleporting.
However, the high speed and dexterity that the protagonist initially possesses are not able to give him what, perhaps, is more necessary – damage protection… Ninja, according to game mechanics, is a very “thin” hero and dies from any damage and falling. This forces us to completely change the approach that originally developed in the thoughts and views of shooter fans.
Ghostrunner is a game that teaches a kind of art. According to him, a ninja is considered skillful only when he brutally deals with enemies, and they did not touch him.
Proverb “Repetition is the mother of learning“And the phrase”Live. Die. And again“, Which became the slogan of the film”Edge of the future“, As vividly and succinctly describe the entire game in which the ninja must fulfill his mission – to kill Maru, Master of Keys… On the way to it you have to die – and more than once. True, checkpoints are located nearbyso the problem of permanent death is not particularly felt.
The R key (return to the last checkpoint) will have to be used almost constantly.
Constantly being in the “loop” forces the player from time to time to go through different parts of the levels in an attempt to defeat everyone and not die yourself… In the process, the player can study the level, being under constant stress, as he is threatened with death from the enemy or falling.
Training early in the game allows you to quickly and clearly learn all aspects of the project… In the future, all these skills will be worked out to automatism. With each level, the character’s movements will be smoother, and the blows will be more accurate.
Abilities in Ghostrunner
The passage of an individual level can take 10 (if you play well), 50 (if you are not very good at controlling the character), or more than 100 attempts (when everything is very bad with the controls). This becomes possible due to the use of the system “one hit – one death”That can be found in Katana zero or Hotline miami…
High difficulty brings some competitive moment, because everyone wants to do everything as cleanly and efficiently as possible… The desire to complete the level with the greatest efficiency forces the player to think not only about movement or impact, but also about the presence specific capabilities, of which there are only four. Their pumping simplifies passing levels and optimizes the entire gameplay.
Let’s consider all the abilities in more detail:
- Leap… A simple move ability from the local arsenal. Allows you to instantly get behind the enemy and defeat him.
- Storm… The first ability that can be obtained by upgrading a ninja. Allows you to protect yourself.
- Splash… Radial ability that strikes everyone in front of the player.
- Lord… One of the best abilities in the game. Allows you to lure one of the opponents to your side for a short time.
Skills will greatly improve the position of the protagonist, which arises in a situation when it is necessary to destroy opponents with additional protective effects – shields from the blue sphere and red repulsive, as well as ninja techniques from enemies.
In order not to spam with abilities, the developers introduced limiter… With him, with an incomplete charge, Running Shadow cannot use them, and therefore she only has to kill.
The hero does not have the ability to use several skills at the same time.
Improvements, like skills, have some limitations, which are expressed in the form Tetris… By making certain combinations, a ninja can acquire many different effectsthat increase its efficiency.
One of the most useful mods is hidden object mods. Everything becomes easier with him.
“Superiority“- this word alone is enough to describe everything that happens in the world of Ghostrunner, where mowing down enemies remains a favorite action.
Music and graphics
Ghostrunner is a game that offers good graphics while still typical of the cyberpunk genre. Gloomy streets mingle with bright neon signs.
For a unique experience from passing the game, in addition to the visual, the developers proposed the traditional genre of music for the genre – synthwave, which creates the rhythm and energy to fight the player.
Bosses
With ordinary opponents, everything is simple – one hit, and they are dead. Bosses are another story. Each battle with him is something unique, and you need to prepare carefully for the battle with them.
Complete the boss level – a real challenge for any player. It is there that you can see the counter, the indicator of which goes off scale for 100 deaths. However, you can ignore this, and then the gamer will be able to calmly enjoy the fight with the real aces in their field.
In terms of game mechanics, the boss has own health scale… Destroying the defense, you will need to strike. After repeating the same actions several times, the feeling of a long-awaited victory will come.
System requirements and optimization
On PC and consoles like PS4, Xbox One, the developers have provided high productivity and proper performance… At the same time, the requirements of the game turned out quite optimal… Most players will be able to enjoy the cyber ninja adventure.
Minimum system requirements:
- OS: Windows 7, 8.1, 10 (system must be 64-bit)
- CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K / AMD Ryzen 5 1500X
- RAM: 8 GB RAM
- Video card: GeForce GTX 970 / Radeon RX 5700
- Free disk space: 22 GB.
Conclusion
The game turned out unusual, because it combines a fast and full of action action component with rather brutal finishing off enemies and essentially simple puzzles that give a break.
Each victory becomes a motivation to go further, to meet stronger enemies, to endure humiliation and in the end to defeat the units of opponents in a fair fight.
In addition to gameplay it is worth noting stylized music in the genre Electro and outstanding graphics (Ghostrunner is a rare project where RayTracing is absolutely unnecessary option, which you will not mind turning off). Everything in the game is made in such a way that it is guaranteed to pay off the time and money spent on it.