Some video games are memorable due to their intriguing themes, deep tales, or memorable worlds. Others are simply rattling enjoyable to play. The unique Ghostrunner, which was launched by One Extra Degree and 505 Video games in 2020, is a sport that embraces the latter class.
It was a frenetic first-person motion sport the place gamers dashed round neon-soaked sci-fi ranges, slashing via any enemies that received of their approach. It wasn’t that complicated of an expertise, however it was a ton of enjoyable from the second I picked it up. That’s why I’m pleased that One Extra Degree and 505 Video games are following it up with Ghostrunner 2, a direct sequel.
I lately had the prospect to play a few of Ghostrunner 2 forward of its launch this October and located that it reliably carries ahead the fast-paced enjoyable of its predecessor that its PlayStation Showcase reveal hinted at. It even tries to up the cool issue with motorcycle motion set items — though I’m not fairly as bought on these segments as I’m on the satisfying-as-ever fight.
Retaining the allure
My Ghostrunner 2 demo started with Jack, the ghostrunner from the primary sport, chasing somebody named Mitra throughout the rooftops of the dystopian, neon-infused Dharma Tower. Inside 30 seconds, Jack encountered some enemies from the Hammer gang, and the motion started. As I received reacquainted with the Ghostrunner sequence’ now trademark fight, it felt like I used to be selecting up the unique for the primary time once more as I slashed via the preliminary couple of enemies.
Ghostrunner 2, like its predecessor, emphasizes velocity and offense to create puzzle-like fight conditions. Enemies solely take a success or two to defeat, however Jack additionally goes down equally. Because the encounters ramped up in issue, it was all the time necessary to maintain shifting, monitor whether or not or not the enemies close to me had close- or long-range assaults, and look ahead to the correct home windows to dodge, block, or parry. If I did all that, I may all the time swoop in with a devastating counterblow and really feel like a badass.
In-between these segments, gentle first-person platforming — that comes with sliding, swinging, wall operating, air-dashing, rail-grinding, and grappling — reinforces that feeling. These are all issues the unique Ghostrunner excelled at, and One Extra Degree didn’t lose any of that magic with this sequel. In actual fact, it made the sport’s ranges extra expansive from the beginning, so there at the moment are a number of angles from which to method most of the enemy encounters. If you happen to simply needed extra Ghostrunner, this sequel delivers.
New concepts
The sport isn’t devoid of any new concepts, although. After combating via the enemy forces, I stumbled on a warehouse. Inside, I discovered a motorcycle, and earlier than I knew it, Jack had hopped on to proceed chasing Mitra. Driving on rooftops and partitions, I may slash at sure switches to open doorways, however primarily was attempting to maintain up my velocity to remain within the vary of Mitra’s sign whereas doing my finest to dodge obstacles on the street.
Including a high-octane automobile section like it is a pure evolution of the quick-kill, quick-death method. It’s a gameplay gimmick frequent in lots of traditional beat ’em ups, one thing that Ghostrunner 2 could also be thought-about a contemporary interpretation of. However just like the notorious Turbo Tunnel in Battletoads, the Ghostrunner 2 motorcycle set piece on this demo wasn’t forgiving and was rougher across the edges than the slick fight.
One Extra Degree has now had two video games (and a few DLC) value of time to refine the first-person hack-and-slash fight, so it is smart that it feels as nice as ever. That’s why it’s a bit extra obvious that that is its first outing with the motorcycle gameplay mechanics, because it controls a bit looser than I really feel prefer it ought to, which brought about me to only barely not be capable of dodge sure obstacles in time. Each time I needed to experience on a wall or in a round tube, the field-of-view felt too tight to see what was forward correctly.
There’s an inherent passable rush to driving a motorcycle like this in a online game, although, and after some extra playtime, I’ll most likely be taught to adapt to this gameplay model’s kinks. Nonetheless, as these motorcycle segments don’t really feel as tightly designed because the returning hack-and-slash encounters, I hope they’re relegated to the occasional shock tour within the closing sport and never prioritized over what Ghostrunner 2 does finest.
I don’t know if that’s the case but, as my demo ended with Jack chasing Mitra outdoors the Dharma Tower and driving the motorcycle down the megastructure’s aspect. As a fan of the unique, although, there was nonetheless greater than sufficient intense gratification on this 30-minute Ghostrunner 2 demo that I’m desirous to dive again into the sequel.
Ghostrunner 2 comes out on October 26 for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Sequence X/S.
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