Ghostrunner returns with a sequel and promises to be more accessible this time. The first game is known for its brutal gameplay and although I struggled with my demo at first, things did get a lot better the more I was playing it.
The first part
Ghostrunner II is a high-paced first-person shooter/slasher set in a Cyber future filled with deadly enemies. My demo was divided into two major parts, the first one showcased combat and movement. While playing Ghostunner II I got reminded of the good old Mirror’s Edge, since there’s actually an impressive amount of free running in this game. Jumping from wall to wall, sliding through tubes and swinging from cranes, it’s all here and it has a natural flow to it, if you manage to master the controls that is. At first I really struggled in nailing the parcours segments but each time I died, I learned from my mistakes and tried again. There’s no big punishment for dying, you respawn very close to where it went wrong and can try again until you get it right. The learning curve is certainly there but when I messed up, it was my own fault and not the fault of the controls or game design.
Mastering the way you move is also important to stay ahead of your enemies. The game introduces several types of enemies that you can all slay with your mighty Cyberpunk katana. If the enemies hit you, you’ll die. So again, it’s pretty brutal but always fair. If you want to defeat the enemies, you’ll need to learn where they are on the map and how to block and attack them. Learning their paths and ways of attacking is the key element to victory. I died a lot in the beginning of the demo but near the end, I was able to slash through a small horde of enemies by combining my parcours and combat skills. Not that easy but it feels so good when you finally stick the landing.
Get ready to race
After I defeated the small horde, I was entering the second phase of the demo, which was all about my extremely fast motorcycle. The second level can best be described as a first-person modern take on F-Zero. I was forced to constantly drive as fast as possible to stay within reach of the signal, if I lost the signal, I would have to restart from the last checkpoint. Sounds easy but the road is filled with laser traps, obstacles, tricky jumps and special buttons to open doors. If you want to reach the end, you’ll need to react to everything that’s coming your way in mere seconds and you’ll need to think outside of the box. Remember that you can wall jump? Well, you can also wall drive. I loved the second segment of the demo as it showcased some thrilling variation on the regular gameplay.
Early conclusion
Ghostrunner II offers a fair challenge that feels extremely rewarding when you succeed after a couple of failed attempts. It’s a gorgeously created first-person game with a lot of thrilling action. Even when you never played the original, it’s worth playing!
