There are a decent number of enemy types, each of which has a unique skill set that creates an interesting new wrinkle you’ll need to account for in a fight. If you get close enough to the enemy to slash them, they’re dead, so the challenge is in the approach, not the fighting itself. Almost every enemy dies with a single strike. The combat in Ghostrunner is really an extension of the platforming, though it rarely feels that simple. Being able to jump around a combat arena without losing speed makes you feel masterful. The demands of traversal lead to a lot of frustrating deaths early on but make success incredibly rewarding. Even a tiny miscalculation can cost you momentum and leave you exposed to enemy fire. The faster you move, the less time you have to aim before you jump, so it becomes harder to stay in control the longer you stay mobile a poorly aimed or mistimed jump can send you flying past a platform. You have to aim your jumps precisely before moving from one element to the next, while also keeping an eye on the path forward so you know where you’re going. When you are in a fight, speed is power: Dancing around enemies and dodging bullets makes you feel like an unstoppable force, doubly so when you take everyone out without missing a step.Ĭombining the wall-runs, dashes, slides, and other maneuvers to move around the world seamlessly takes sustained focus and quick reflexes. Many of the areas, especially platforming sections without enemies, are designed to let you stay mobile. Chaining these maneuvers seamlessly allows you to build up speed, which keeps enemies from landing their shots and lets you make bigger jumps, powering even larger, bolder maneuvers. Every sequence, whether it includes combat or not, features paneled walls for you to run across, rails for you to slide down, and conveniently placed loops compatible with your grappling hook to let you do some superhuman parkour. It may not be the most creatively constructed, but it is appealing all the same.ĭespite the fact that you control a robot ninja assassin and much of the game revolves around killing, Ghostrunner is, first and foremost, a first-person platformer. The environments, enemies, and your sword, which is always sticking out in front of you, are all incredibly detailed. It helps that, on a technical level, Ghostrunner looks very sharp. There have been enough cyberpunk stories in games that this look isn’t especially fresh, but that doesn’t stop it from looking cool. Don’t worry there are also plenty of robots. Some of the enemies you face are literal cyborg punks. You run through dirty dilapidated cities with dark corners, contrasted with neon signs and bright screens lighting up the night. Ghostrunner adheres quite closely to tenets of cyberpunk’s visual aesthetic.

(She also nearly killed him a while back, so it’s a twofer! Revolution and revenge.) There’s a twisty, turny plot, but it’s often very detached from what you’re actually playing, as it’s told almost exclusively through voiceover. Set in a cyberpunk-style post-apocalyptic world, Ghostrunner puts you in control of a robot ninja assassin on a mission to kill his world’s authoritarian ruler. It’s a high-risk, high-reward situation: Struggling with failure after failure, even on simple tasks, is incredibly frustrating early on, but that anger eventually dissipates as your skill grows to reveal a thrilling test of your abilities. Running circles around gunmen, dodging bullets, and cutting them down without a scratch is exhilarating. Bouncing from wall to wall feels like flying. Ghostrunner is quick to punish, but it’s also more than willing to reward players who rise to its challenge. Anything less isn’t up to robot ninja spec. Every swing of your sword should be deadly.

Whether you’re clearing out a neon cityscape of cyberpunk goons or racing on walls and sliding through vents of a gigantic factory, even a small miscalculation will get you killed.

Ghostrunner’s intense first-person parkour platforming demands perfection.

Ghostrunner fatal error