Ghostrunner

Hotline Miami meets a Cybernetic Mirror’s Edge

TheEyesaac

April.2.2021

Showing off your skills after a certain point is a common theme for many games. Giving your friends or teammates a taste of your abilities once you’ve started mastering the game is basically a rite of passage. But what if you never start mastering the game? What if every time you get comfortable with a new skill, area, or enemy, you’re immediately given a new one to conquer? You would be describing Ghostrunner, the fast-paced, first person platformer with a dystopian cyberpunk feel. You play as a once-defeated ninja cyborg, charged with climbing the last bastion of humanity, in hopes to fight for the continued survival of the human race. In a similar vein to Soulsborne games, Ghostrunner starts you as a small yet oddly capable protagonist with a variety of skills to learn as you fight a very uphill battle.

The ability to adapt and change to your environment in a split second is paramount because Ghostrunner will chew you up and spit you out otherwise. In lieu of having any QTE (Quick Time Events), Ghostrunner forces you to think fast. Getting caught wall riding into an enemy with no alternative escape route will not end well, considering you die in one hit from anything. Luckily, Ghostrunner affords the player a few ways to increase their survivability, one of which being the ability to slow time to a near crawl allowing you to dodge out of the way of incoming projectiles.

Certain abilities will be favorable when fighting specific enemies. For instance, the “blink” ability is incredibly useful for fighting swaths of shield enemies or just generally needing to be behind an enemy who’s shooting at you. Unfortunately though, blinking has a small range and you will find yourself plummeting to your death because you thought you were close enough to blink through an enemy to safety. This is where the movement abilities, as well as latent abilities, come into play allowing for a plethora of options when confronting an enemy. This customization of playstyle is incredibly appreciated and rewards creativity. By combining accurate enemies, countless parkour routes, engaging music, and satisfying gameplay, Ghostrunner has a very well-crafted environment for the player to experience.

As most people can agree, a vital aspect of any game is the story. A good story drives the player to continue forward, offering intrinsic and extrinsic rewards for progress, showing tangible proof that you’re doing well. Ghostrunner unfortunately fumbled on their story, either through neglect or poor execution. When you’re in the middle of slicing enemies to bits, running like mad across walls and swinging off the ceiling, you’re also in a telepathic phone call with one of two people who are feeding you bits of exposition and story like you’re meant to be able to concentrate on both at the same time. No cutscenes or breaks for important dialogue either, you’re just expected to soak in the story while you’re playing the game at a breakneck pace. The story of a lone robot assassin needing to climb up an impossibly large tower to fight an impossibly strong enemy with the guidance of a friendly human and an all-knowing A.I. is lost due to poor storytelling. A majority of what the player will learn about the story is shown in the intro cinematic to the title screen, that’s all. This is a heinous offense, considering how otherwise well put together this game is.