Ghostrunner 2 is a perplexing expertise. Its predecessor, which was launched on the tail finish of 2020, supplied us with a fast-paced, fashionable, cyber-ninja-themed motion platformer that managed to rival different video games trying the same factor. Nevertheless, with the sequel, developer One Extra Degree has designed an entry that seemingly manages to supply that very same exhilarating feeling, although at the price of a bevy of efficiency and technical points (no less than on PS5). In each efficiency and constancy modes, Ghostrunner 2 suffers from a wide selection of body drops and, extra annoyingly, an absurd variety of glitches that may simply take away from the fluidity it units out to attain with its traversal-focused gameplay sequences.
The story is a direct continuation of the earlier sport, specializing in a Ghostrunner by the title of Jack. After his reactivation following the climax of his final journey, Jack now seeks to rebuild Dharma Tower, the final identified bastion of humankind. Nevertheless, quickly sufficient, an enormous energy wrestle emerges, and it is as much as you to defeat a military of cybernetically enhanced foes. Ultimately, the sport presents you with the chance to discover the outskirts of Dharma Tower, which provides additional context for the present state of the skin world.
Whereas this may increasingly seem to be nothing new for a sport of this style, Ghostrunner 2’s narrative is commonly successfully advised by way of its environmental design and lore-specific collectibles. Then once more, the plot steadily suffers from poor pacing and difficult-to-understand intricacies which might be hardly ever defined to the participant. This may be additional exemplified if you have not performed the unique. Though Ghostrunner 2 gives a fast recap in its menus, it would not successfully encapsulate among the key occasions required to totally grasp the story it needs to ship. Consequently, loads of plot factors can typically really feel rushed or underbaked, and in the end result in a considerably anticlimactic ending.
Nevertheless, the sport’s predominant focus lies inside its gameplay and degree design. In the identical method as its predecessor, Ghostrunner 2 is an action-platformer with similarities to id Software program’s DOOM. Though that will seem to be a wierd comparability, each require the participant to always transfer round ranges, as standing idly by can result in a fast dying. That is the place the comparability ends although, as as an alternative of firing an arsenal of heavy weapons, you are restricted to a sword and some talents. Regardless of having a restricted pool of choices, mastery of Ghostrunner 2’s mechanics is the way you steadily make your method by way of the marketing campaign’s phases.
Moreover, there are some extra gameplay components that may give you a a lot wanted change of surroundings. Boss encounters, for example, are a breath of contemporary air, as they typically really feel like a big puzzle. As an illustration, one of many sport’s earlier bosses requires Jack to make use of his grapple to keep away from sure assaults, earlier than gorgeous the boss to whittle down its well being bar. Along with some enjoyable bosses, Ghostrunner 2 additionally boasts a rogue-like mode aptly known as RogueRunner.EXE, which sees Jack progressing by way of a sequence of fight or parkour-focused “nodes” with totally different paths to achieve the tip. Regardless of not having a lot weight on the general narrative, this mode is a enjoyable additional to experiment with as soon as the credit roll.
Talking of the degrees themselves, we discovered them to be a blended bag in regard to their high quality. The sooner missions really feel fairly repetitive, because the atmosphere does little or no to shake issues up, and you do not have fast entry to Jack’s talents. That apart, the sport has a pleasant collection of ranges that really feel nice to play by way of, particularly whenever you get to check out a newly acquired talent or device. As an illustration, one of many sequel’s new additions is a bike, which dramatically spices issues up by way of quicker sequences and artistic open-world-like phases. Nevertheless, one factor we seen in our 10 hours of playtime is the sport’s tendency to shortly throw away enjoyable concepts in change for a similar carbon copy of a degree you performed a couple of hours prior.
Then once more, the vast majority of the degrees have intelligent environmental puzzles you must full with the intention to progress additional. More often than not, Jack is required to carve his method by way of a sequence of enemy encounters to maneuver on together with his mission. Sometimes, a room could have anyplace from a couple of to a dozen enemies, with each having the ability to take you out in a single easy hit. Nevertheless, that is the place a few of Ghostrunner 2’s core points lie, as though the problem of determining an optimum path to victory could be enjoyable, the sport’s severe efficiency points forged a shadow over what its making an attempt to attain right here. For instance, there was one second the place we entered a room and the body fee dropped to roughly 10-20 frames-per-second. That is particularly irritating when there’s loads of enemies or obstacles to keep away from, which is one thing we always fought in opposition to throughout our playthrough.
One other instance of this being a problem is throughout among the sport’s parkour sections, which is the place you may spend most of your time between enemy and boss encounters. Ghostrunner 2 tries to juggle loads of components in its parkour mechanics, comparable to grind rails, wall operating, utilizing shurikens to activate switches, and successfully utilizing your abilities to navigate optimally. However, there have been many cases of the sport’s mechanics failing to work correctly, as leaping on a grind rail would not have the identical magnetism as what you’d usually count on, and wall operating typically results in Jack climbing on high of it, resulting in an affordable, meaningless dying. We additionally seen a wide selection of visible glitches on PS5, and there was even a second the place we merely fell by way of the ground.
Conclusion
Ghostrunner 2 has some enjoyable moments, although it could possibly typically be troublesome to see previous loads of the efficiency points and inconsistent degree design. When the sport’s at its finest, slicing by way of a horde of enemies and leaping round like a ninja, it may be an exhilarating expertise. Nevertheless, it is perhaps price ready for a patch to deal with loads of the core points current at launch.
