GhostRunner Review

Ghostrunner is an intense cyberpunk action game with an immersive, atmospheric  feel. The action is centered on  Dharma Tower, the last bastion of humanity remaining after a near civilization-destroying event .

In the game you’ll be making split-second decisions within the chaotic  settings of the Tower. Navigate walls, platforms, and surfaces from the ground to the top while defeating your enemies with deadly blows using your monomolecular katana. You’ll dodge bullets with superhuman reflexes, and use every method open to you to win. 

The storyline leads you through a mission to confront Keymaster Mara in the Dharma Tower. You’re the last hope, with a chance of one last attempt to save humanity.

The end result? Non stop futuristic action, and a game that’s likely to be a favorite with subscribers and buyers alike.

In summary – this first person platform game set in a cyberpunk world delivers a high difficulty trial and error style of play that may become one of your favorites, while also maybe not being for everyone. The unique setting brings a mixture of science fiction with post-apocalyptic mayhem that delivers a single-player experience packed with fast-paced, violent combat. 

The video below is the game-play launch trailer released in 2020.

This review of Ghostrunner will lead us through the game presentation and game-play, with some useful supportive videos, extra reviews from both professional game critics and day to day end users. We’ll be finding out where to play Ghostrunner on subscription, and take in some valuable additional resources such as news items and discussions on Reddit, Twitter, and Facebook. 

Developer : One More Level

Publisher : All In! Games

Age Ratings : PEGI 16+, ESRB MATURE 17+

Genre(s) : Action, Fighting, Simulation, Adventure, Cyberpunk, First-Person, Fast-Paced, Futuristic

Platforms : Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One

Release Date : October 27th 2020

Official Ghostrunner Website

Here’s another taster video for the game, the full demo version this time. There are plenty more Ghostrunner videos on Youtube if you’d rather be watching games than playing, or just want a heads up view so you can decide if you want to go play it under a subscription or maybe buy outright.  

Review Author

The following review has been compiled by Nitish Kapur, a budding game journalist currently studying Game Development at NCU university in India.

Presentation 

Ghostrunner is set in a post-apocalyptic cyberpunk world where you – as a cyborg ninja aka Ghostrunner – find yourself without any memories but get to use slick katana while experiencing voices in your head. Most of the story in Ghostrunner is limited to the background with characters talking and providing interaction while you play. In fact you rarely see anyone else other than yourself and the enemies.

If you have seen, read, or played any media with a cyberpunk theme, the story of the game is pretty predictable. On the other hand the voice acting is very well done – especially regarding your AI which guides you through the game.

If you like synthwave music Ghostrunner doesn’t disappoint, with a soundtrack composed by Daniel Deluxe. He’s worked hard to deliver an almost perfect job in capturing the game’s cyberpunk feel.

Visually the game looks absolutely gorgeous. Effective use of neon lighting and reflections creates a beautiful landscape that makes you stop just to take in the scenery. These are enhanced by other tiny details in the environment like shop signs or small rooms, all of which serve to make it feel like a world where people live rather than simply being a parkour course for you. 

The platform takes you to Cyber Void sections where you jack into a system to learn new abilities. These sections are puzzle areas where you receive most of the story from the in game guide. While these areas look really nice the first time around you may find that on consecutive runs they can kill the pacing of the game.

Gameplay 

Gameplay is divided into two parts – the platforming and the combat. 

Platforming

Platforming involves wall running, jumping, sliding and using your grapple hook to get past obstacles. Its incredible fun to navigate this obstacle course perfectly although it may take several tries. More about that later.

Throughout the game more stuff gets added for you to use like handrails, drones that you can ride for a short time, and the ability to slow down some machinery for platforming. You also get upgrades consisting of Super Jump, one that slows time, and one that allows you to throw shurikens for a brief amount of time. The platforming allows you to make full use of these.

Platforming controls are very tight and it feels great when it flows. But there are one or two issues. The main one being  that it’s inconsistent at times, and this criticism can be leveled at not  only the platforming but the overall game in general.

For example, there were a lot of times when a wall run wouldn’t register or I would phase through to its other side and fall. Since levels fly by at such high speed it can be difficult sometimes to determine where you’re going next while platforming.

Combat

Next up is combat where you as well as your enemies all die in a single hit. This makes the game similar to others like Katana Zero or Hotline Miami where you’ll die easily but can restart instantly until you win.

This is where the high difficulty of the game mainly shows through – you basically have to die a few times before you realize the enemy location and layouts. Once you do it is really satisfying to execute a room full of guards flawlessly.

The enemy variety in the game is also pretty varied. There are simple guards that shoot at you, kamikaze zombies, and  sword wielding Japanese guys who shout Jojo references before killing you. There are ways to kill all enemies and their placement is very well done so it never feels unfair. 

As for you, luckily you have more than just a katana to take care of your foes. The main ability that you’ll use is sensory boost which basically slows down time while in midair so that you can dodge projectiles. Believe me you’ll be using this a lot.

Other than that as you progress you obtain new abilities in the Cybervoid like Blink (a slash in a straight line which targets and instantly kills nearby enemies), Overload (lets you hack the enemies for a short time), and Surge, which emits an energy wave to kill everything around you. You can only equip one ability at a time and can use them when your Focus meter is full. 

You also have access to a Tetris style upgrade system. This lets you plug in different blocks which can change the way you use your powers. However it also affects your Focus gauge, basically the more space you fill the slower the gauge would refill. If used correctly this system can help to make some challenging parts of the game easier since you can swap upgrades in and out at any time. If you were having trouble getting past a section involving a power up you could use the upgrade to increase the time power ups remain active and then remove it once past the section.

All in all, the combat sequences in the game are superb. Carving enemies with your sword gives great satisfaction. Similarly deflecting back bullets with a well-timed slice feels good too.

Ability to deflect incoming objects is a perk you unlock through the game’s skill tree. 

Verdict 

Ghostrunner is a game that I really loved and there’s every chance you will too. The fast paced platforming of the game is really well implemented and flows quite smoothly aside from some minor inconsistencies.

The combat -while brutal – will never frustrate because of good enemy placement as well as the variety of approaches and tools at your disposal. The overall difficulty of the game might be a big turn off for some players but you’ll find it all the more satisfying when killing off a group of enemies or getting through a platforming section flawlessly.

It requires patience and precision to finish but I heartily recommend Ghostrunner. Time is short for all of us, but my view is it’s well worth your time and will make you want to keep coming back to shave those extra few seconds off your runtime.

Where To Play 

Ghostrunner is available on Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, which should mean that you’ll find it under a subscription to Nintendo Switch Online, any of the PC based subscriptions, PS Now, or Microsoft Game Pass.

Discussion 

If you want a chat about any aspect of the game there are a handful of useful places to go:

Reddit :

Probably the most popular place to go nowadays for discussion on any topic , and the r/gaming section receives massive numbers of visitors. No surprise with over 20 million subscribers. Here’s the link to Ghostrunner review discussions. 

Facebook :

As always, plenty of Ghostrunner related stuff to look at on Facebook, from chat through to videos and reviews.

Steam :

If you had to name a contender for the best games forums it’s it’s likely that Steam would be high up on the list. There are a number of different forum threads on Ghostrunner here, covering gaming guides, FAQs, and modding walk-throughs.

NeoGAF Forum :

There are around 70 threads that are either focused on or touch on Ghostrunner on the NeoGAF forums.

Game FAQs :

You’d expect to find good info on a site that’s over 20 years old and recognized as the definitive source for detailed walk-throughs of games. Sure enough, you’ll find plenty of discussion on Ghostrunner on the GameFAQ boards. 

Game FAQs 

We already mentioned the excellent resource GameFAQ in the section above, and you can go there to ask and receive answers on pretty much any aspect of the game. If you don’t want to use the website, you can go to the Facebook page of GameFAQs instead. Reddit we mentioned too, another place where your questions are sure to get answered.

In this section we’ll cover some of the main frequently asked questions about the game. It’ll take a while to compile these so in the meantime you can contact me to ask anything you want and I’ll endeavor to get a suitable answer. 

Pros

 We’ve covered many aspects of Ghostrunner, and it’s time we looked at a balance of pros and cons, benefits and drawbacks, for’s and against’s. Oh hell, whatever you want to call it!

On the plus side, we already noted the  striking visuals that bring the game alive. Something not even some of the AAA titles can do to the same level. The soundtrack is equally strong.

The gameplay feels good as well as looking stunning, an achievement considering the amount of movement that takes place. The developer clearly knew what they were trying to achieve, and did it with precision. The fight sequences are in some cases extraordinary, and for a game that’s this visually effective it’s surprising how well it plays on lesser powered devices……..

….which brings us to a point which can be considered a positive or a negative, depending on how you look at it……

….and that’s in the difficulty.

So some might say that conquering something difficult brings great satisfaction and a sense of achievement. It does, of course. But the converse side of that is if something is too difficult, it can become demoralizing.

Personally I find the game a little difficult yes, but still playable enough to enjoy it. You’ll need to make your own mind up on this point. Try it and see.  We’ll talk some more about this in the negatives section which will follow, but for now check out this action video on Steam which illustrates the point well.  

It’s worth noting that on Steam there are close to 9000 reviews nearly 90% of which are positive.

Cons

 OK,  now let’s look at some negative aspects.

We just talked about the difficulty being a positive, so let’s consider how this works against the game.

The problem lies in the way that either you or your enemies die in one strike. The game’s not over here as you have an infinite number of lives, but the action comes so fast that it’s likely you’ll die regularly till you work out the best strategy. 

It can all feel repetitive and leads to a potential of getting the most satisfaction not from completing a level, but just from getting through it.

Aside from that, we mentioned earlier that some jumps will fail for unknown reasons. Plus that aspect of dying in one hit could be improved by having some form of health system.

You may find that constantly getting involved in puzzle-solving sections interrupts the fast pace of the game. 

Time To Complete

 This will depend on your gaming ability of course, but you can reckon on 8 to 12 hours playing time if you have fairly good skills.

Age Suitability

Official age ratings are :  PEGI 16+, ESRB MATURE 17+

The developers describe Ghostrunner as : 

“Blood and gore in realistic graphics. Violence on human and human-like characters. Mutilated and dismembered bodies. Mature coarse language. The fear-inducing atmosphere, events, and characters.”

All of which suggests the ratings are right, and it’s mature content clearly not for younger children.

More Reviews

The biggest number of user Ghostrunner  reviews appears to be on Steam, nearly 9000 of them.  The curated reviews are also worth checking out.

System Requirements 

To play the Ghostrunner on PC, you need a local system made up of at least an Intel Core i5-2500K CPU, Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 or AMD Radeon RX 550 GPU, 8GB of RAM, 22GB of storage, and Windows 7. 

In Game Costs

 There’s nothing you need to buy that will give any extra capabilities, so no additional in game costs.

Cheats & Tips

 To finish up this fairly in depth review of Ghostrunner, the video below takes you through some of the cheats that’ll help you navigate the levels.