Here’s a game with short introduction but big impact. Ghostrunner captures the platforming essence in the 3D setting. It’s known as “FPP slasher” where you run around to outmaneuver enemies and eliminate in one slash. Think of it as Super Mario but in first person. You jump around, find your way through futuristic industrial environments oozing neon lights, and solve puzzles. Just like in Mario, if you get hit once, you are dead. The game doesn’t make a big deal out of it and with one button press you immediately start over from checkpoint; no extra animation. Also, you kill enemies in one hit and pick up power-ups. It also kind of reminds me of Mirror’s Edge due to its first-person platforming.
The Gameplay
It’s pretty fast-paced and to the point. The lore is pretty much sidelined since the gameplay is the main focus. You play as a robot-samurai/ninja (IDC) with a katana. You slash to kill enemies in close-range or parry their far-ranged attacks. You can jump, well-run, grind on rails, use a grapplehook, air dash, and go in bullet-time which slows time and make it easier for you to overcome enemies and obstacles. It’s fun, addicting, and rage inducing sometimes. It goes back to the essence of gaming, which is about mastering the game, not about completing it for the casuals.
The Appeal
The game design is simple yet effective. It walks you through with the basics then progressively gets harder. Environment gets harder to scale, enemies get harder to figure out. Then you have to slow down for a while to solve a block puzzle to move on which puts a great contrast in this fast action type game. As you progress, you unlock more mechanics like air-dash, grapple hook, occasional power-ups for a short amount of time like shuriken which helps you in combat and traversal. The enemies get toucher as well. You’ll run into enemies who can shoot from afar, wall-run just like you, dash as fast as you, and come out with a shield with which you have to work your way around. The levels have variety as well with switching genres such as puzzle focused level, traversal focused, stealth focused where you have to avoid lasers, and in one level you have to play literally Subway Surfers while fighting enemies. There’re also boss battles which you have to find out yourself.
Some Issues
It can burn you out soon. The gameplay and the environment might get too repetitive and boring in time, including the OST. The story and expository scenes are just plain and boring. Some other aspects are dependent on the player like the difficulty curve, but all of these are manageable.
About Ghostrunner
Ghostrunner is co-developed by One More Level and Slipgate Ironworks, produced by 3D Realms, and co-published by 505 Games and All in! Games. It was released for the PlayStation 4, Windows and Xbox One in October 2020, and Nintendo Switch in November 2020, followed by a next gen release for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S in September 2021. A version for Amazon Luna was made available in April 2021. A story expansion, titled Ghostrunner: Project Hel, was released on 3 March 2022. A sequel, Ghostrunner II, is scheduled for release in 2023. (Source: Wikipedia.)
Conclusion
Ghostrunner is not like your typical videogame. The action and traversing are both equally challenging. It tests your reflexes, timing, and wits. It’s also the perfect playground for the speed runners. It’s a perfect blend of strategy and action, FPP and platforming. Play this game if you need something thrilling and exciting.
Thanks for reading. ~♡~