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Calling it platforming doesn’t feel like it does it justice, as it’s much less about precision jumping and more about quick reactions and picking the right option to make death-defying leaps.Īnd the level design takes advantage of the myriad of tools at every opportunity. Players have access to a wide selection of movement options to help them navigate the environments, such as a wall jump, grappling hook, dash, crouch, and several other tools. Gameplay occurs from a first person perspective and is primarily a mixture of platforming and sword-based combat. That said, the heavier emphasis on the interactive components is apparent, because Ghostrunner is nothing short of incredible on that front. The introductory cutscene suggests a lively city with multiple locales, but despite this the only other humans you ever interact with are enemies being hacked apart, and the occasional voice coming from inside a house telling you to get lost.
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The rather simplistic story is a shame, especially given how much potential the backdrop of the game contains. For what it’s worth, there are optional discoverable lore entries for story-focused players, but for the most part Ghostrunner is simply concerned with providing enough of an excuse to keep its story moving and pushing the player into new gameplay areas. The game's 17 missions are all broken into fairly bite-sized chunks, which provides some good stopping points while not feeling too disconnected from the overarching narrative.ĭespite the intriguing setting and aesthetic, Ghostrunner doesn’t do a whole lot with its plot the narrative is fairly straightforward and predictable. The level based structure primarily seems to be put in place for players who want to replay specific parts of the game without having to go back through the entire title up until that point. Missions largely follow up directly after one another, so the story remains connected throughout.
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The structure of the game is a single, cohesive story broken up into a series of missions. While the artistic distinction is nice, it would’ve been interesting if the real world had a bit more color variety as well. These sections are broken up by the occasional transition into a “computer world,” represented by a colorful, digital palette. If I had been shown a screenshot of this game a year ago and been told it was from Cyberpunk 2077, I would have probably believed it. Graphical fidelity is high quality as well. Ghostrunner is a surprisingly good-looking game the cyberpunk aesthetic is well done and provides an interesting background for the action. With the world now ruled by a tyrant, the surviving Ghostrunner must set out to reclaim his powers and save humanity with the help of a friendly rebel and an omniscient robot voice that lives in his head. The Ghostrunner has lost most of his memories and abilities after a battle with a lady cosplaying as Doc Oc left him incapacitated and the other Ghostrunners dead. You play as a titular Ghostrunner, a cyborg peacekeeper of sorts who is responsible for protecting the tower and the people housed inside. Ghostrunner’s setting is an intriguing one: a dystopian future where humanity has crowded inside a singular tower to escape an apocalypse.
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Nevertheless, Ghostrunner is here and, in spite of the odds, not only is it a good title but a great one - and a very legitimate game of the year contender. A game describing itself as an entry in the rather barren first person platforming genre, developed by relatively unknown One More Level games, and published by 3D Realms of Duke Nukem Forever infamy, probably didn’t seem like a spectacular bet for a good game. The dangers of judging a book by its cover are well documented, and perhaps the video game equivalent of “judging a game by how likely it is to succeed” may need to be etched into our minds as well. By Paul Broussard, posted on 27 October 2020 / 2,539 Views
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