Ghostrunner Review action game
From the side of Ghostrunner, it may seem like nothing more than an average action game in a cyberpunk setting. Just think, cyber ninja with a katana and jumping on the walls - it would seem, what is interesting there? In fact, it quickly becomes clear that Ghostrunner is not so much an action game as a puzzle with elements of parkour and bloody action. A puzzle based on the principle "easy to learn - hard to master".
However, even after completing the game, I still can't give a clear characterization of the Ghostrunner genre . It seems to be an action game - but there is more running around than battles. It's a platformer, but with a first-person view, and half of your wall jumping is needed here for the aforementioned battles. Maybe it's a slasher? Perhaps, but only this is a slasher, where by default the mode "everyone dies with one hit" is on. A puzzle game is perhaps the most suitable - after all, you will have to think carefully in it more than once.
The main thing, of course, is to understand what Ghostrunner is all about. If you are suddenly tired of Cyberpunk 2077 transfers , wanted something about cyberpunk and decided to buy this game, keep in mind - this is not an open world RPG. And not even an open-world action game. This is the most linear game, very short (about seven hours to complete, even if you collect collectible junk by levels) and as angry as possible towards the player. Did you miss a beat? The hero died. Nobody is going to be on ceremony with you here.
The progression is also minimal: new perks are gradually opening, but you will learn all the basic movements in the first couple of levels. Then all that remains is to "tinker" these movements, which is why some accuse the game of self-repetition, boredom and monotony.
In a small number of actions, in fact, there is nothing wrong. Because there is nothing superfluous in this game . You have the ability to hit people with a katana, slow down time, dash and run along walls. These are the four pillars that Ghostrunner stands on. And it stands firmly.
Of course, you still have four active abilities, a certain number of passives of varying degrees of usefulness and the ability to cling to all sorts of protrusions with a cyberhook-cat, but this is not the basis of the game. Ghostrunner pretty quickly explains that speed is life, your hero not only can dodge bullets, but must do it for the sake of survival. And then he adds: absolutely all opponents (except for bosses) are as mortal as you - they also die from one hit.
Actually, the hero will often die. Often. On some levels, I died fifty to seventy times, mostly due to the fact that the jumps are crooked or "escape" in slow time. Somewhere I messed up with the timing of enemy attacks and at the wrong time tried to repel an enemy bullet. Sometimes I just misused the skill and, with a drawn-out yell, flew into the abyss after chopping the enemy in half. Yes, it happens.
If you want to live, you have to move. On the floor, along the walls, moving between the points that you can catch on - it doesn't matter. As long as you move, you live. And this is really worth remembering, because standing still in Ghostrunner is like drawing a target on yourself. A more reliable way of suicide is to run head-on at the Heavy without even trying to change direction, or use walls to speed up movement.
There are few types of enemies, and new opponents are introduced very slowly, giving you time to get used to the existing ones. At first, ordinary shooters with pistols will be thrown against you. Then machine guns will be used. Then both those and others will be insured with the help of power shields. When this does not work, fighters will enter the battlefield with individual shields-screens. And so on and so forth. The bestiary, in general, is rather modest - but in the end it turns out to be quite diverse for itself. Especially when you consider the fact that each enemy requires its own approach.
The game takes place in the distant future, in a place known as Drachma City. This is a huge skyscraper city where the last survivors of a disaster took refuge. It is arranged according to all the rules of cyberpunk - high technologies, oppressed lower classes and more or less happy upper classes, as well as constant night and obligatory rain.
The local world sometimes seems like a caricature cyberpunk, because, well, seriously - where does rain come from in the tower city?
But on the whole, the right atmosphere is maintained. Even the main character's lack of firearms is managed to be explained by the plot - and, oddly enough, you believe in this explanation. After all, why do you need a firearm when a katana can handle both flesh and robots equally well? And if the katana fails, skills will help! Fast dash with a forward blow, shock wave, energy blade - these are your additional opportunities to quickly deal with enemies. They are charged, however, mainly from murders, so they will not be able to spam.
And, yes, the plot is there! Although this is the last thing you expect from a game with the description "cyber ninja rushes around the cyber city with a katana and cuts enemies with one blow." True, you don't need to look for special depth in it. He explains the motivation of the heroes, reveals certain details of the lore, but that's all. Plus, the whole plot is served "on the run", which obviously not everyone will like.
Another important point is location design. After all, there is nothing easier than screwing up a parkour and platforming game with a crooked level design, right? Here Ghostrunner is difficult to criticize, because for the most part the levels are built sensibly. Each, with the exception of the boss rooms, is represented by a long and wriggling "gut" with rare branches and arena rooms. By itself, the running around the levels is strictly linear, but in the arenas they are already giving a turn.
You can choose the direction of the first strike, the main goal, understand where to go right away, and where it would be better to go from the flank. Or you can just rush forward and be surprised to find that even this method can work (not always, of course).
Arenas are usually multi-storey and consist of several "islands" between which you need to move. He killed one enemy, with the help of a hook flew over to the neighboring "island", moved in slow motion from the trajectory of the machine gunner's firing, hacked him to death. Then he ran along the wall, jumped on the boxes, killed the shooter standing there, after which he moved across the entire arena with the help of the transport belt and fell on the head of the combat robot. It takes all fifteen seconds, if executed perfectly - but it is unlikely that you will be able to fulfill your plan on the first try. Here he waved his sword at the wrong time, there he did not leave the line of fire, here he did not jump to the wall - and welcome to the checkpoint (which, fortunately, are placed rather generously).
And sometimes you are allowed to wander through the local cyberspace, and it's beautiful there. These levels are pure puzzles, there is (almost) no need to fight there.
The most buzz you start to catch after more or less getting used to how the game works and picking up its pace. Then almost everything starts to work out as if by itself. Segments that seemed difficult with parkour turn out to be easy, incredibly tricky arenas with hordes of enemies are mowed down in a couple of attempts, and one particularly annoying opponent suddenly appears in its true light and practically does not pose a threat.
Now there will be a very strange comparison, but still - Ghostunner is very similar in this to Doom Eternal. That in one game, that in another you need to catch the rhythm, feel the "flow" of the game. Then you will get involved and fall in love with her.
Therefore, if you are furious with every death of the hero, you think that the enemies are mocking you, and the platforms end a millimeter before they should have been, you probably should not play Ghostrunner. Otherwise, there is a risk of getting very angry and start scolding her for all her sins. But if you like it when the game challenges you and imposes certain requirements on skill and reaction speed, then you are welcome.
Perhaps the coolest thing about this game is that it works as it should. You get used to parkour very quickly, the combat player, albeit one-button, manages to keep in suspense and test its strength, and cleaning the next room every time gives a feeling of moral satisfaction.
Yes, we can say that there is not much content here, that there is only a name from cyberpunk, and the plot is completely written for show. But at the same time, Ghostrunner captivates everyone with insanely dynamic gameplay that you just enjoy. Sounds, movements, art design - it all comes together, and the moment you shred another unlucky enemy fighter, you naturally get high. Well, or when you go through a particularly tricky puzzle with elements of parkour and acrobatics - there is also enough of this here, especially closer to the middle of the game.
It's no surprise that the authors are already busy with additional content. Obviously, the players loved the game: 91% of praise reviews on Steam based on nearly twelve thousand reviews speaks for itself.