Ghostrunner is a slick, parkour based action platformer where you have to use your abilities and skills to defeat the enemies in your path and ascend the tower, where a single misstep leads to death. It looks great, has a well thought out and tight control scheme, a well-paced story and pumping synth soundtrack. I highly recommended it.

Story
Set in a dystopian future, the Earth’s ecosystem has been ruined by an unexplainable catastrophe, forcing humanity to live in the Dharma tower, the last bastion where humanity can survive. You play as a Ghostrunner, a cybernetically enhanced member of the elite security and peacekeeping force of the tower who were destroyed when Mara, partner to Adam who built the tower stages a coup and kills him, assuming control. You awaken 20 years after the successful coup by the architect, a copy of Adam’s consciousness who urges you to ascend the tower and finish what you started -defeat Mara and free the people of the tower. The story makes a late game twist, where characters motives aren’t what has been portrayed, and where some of the body horror elements start making sense, but fits the dystopian theme really well.

Gameplay
Gameplay involves you traversing each stage by running, sliding, wall running and zip lining while dodging attacks and hazards and defeating enemies scattered throughout each area. The game is forgiving as it saves frequently so deaths aren’t a large setback. Each stage is designed really well, and while there is effectively only one path to follow, the large spaces allow for different techniques and attempts at combat.

Combat is fun and usually challenging, with different types of enemies slowly introduced, each requiring different tactics or styles to fight against. It becomes frantic when versing multiple different types, while trying to dodge the attacks or traverse the environment where a single hit results in a death. The base games combat areas are forgiving in the sense that there are usually only a handful of enemies in each area, and only a few of the enemies seem to randomly change their behaviour. All the enemies fit the game, though I think the suiciding crawlers near the end seem to be out of place with their attack sequence (their body horror element fits perfectly).

Theres a matrix that slowly unlocks which allows you to add bonuses to your 4 skills, or enhance your existing abilities. Each enhancer fits onto the board like a Tetris piece, and it can become a game of trying to cram as many abilities onto it vs adding few that you really want. These can be switched and changed at any time, so if something isn’t working you can change and try something different at any point.

The game caters to those who want to speed run, as well as those who just want to experience the game for its story, by comparing your time and death count to anyone in your steam friends list who has played the game. There are collectables hidden through-out each stage, a few which explain how things to be where they are, but most are cosmetic or just add to the background story of the world.

The game lives and dies by its tight controls. And it doesn’t disappoint. The controls are simple, responsive and work well on controller or keyboard.


Graphics
It absolutely nails the cyberpunk feel of a future gone wrong. Humanity is crammed into tower, and like all good settings, the working class lives in the filth at the bottom, while things get progressively better as you move up. In somewhat of a divergence, the upper floors aren’t for the super-rich, but the scientists who made the tower possible.

Each of the enemies look great, and while they are carbon copies of each other they look great. There’s a fair amount of detail for each enemy. Depending on how you kill them or where you slice them they are bisected in different parts and spill apart differently.

There is a photo mode, where you can change the camera angles, colour gradients, remove the UI and add or remove other effects to create some impressive pictures.

Music
The synthwave absolutely raises this game from great to amazing. The music fits the game like a glove, and is one of those few tracks you could happily put on in the background and listen to (if sythwave is your thing). The voice acting is also great, and though there are only a few characters conversing, all of them sound professional and polished. In something that needs to happen in more games, if you die while conversing it continues from where the dialogue was, rather than restart. This doesn’t sound like something major, but hearing the same dialogue loops multiple times can become frustrating, and Ghostrunner completely bypasses that problem.

Achievements
If you are chasing 100% achievements, then you need to purchase the DLC and do a fair bit of practise. While most achievements will come naturally some require perfect runs or long streaks with no deaths.

For more reviews please visit https://gtm.you1.cn/storesteam/curator/31327216/

Ghostrunner is a slick, parkour based action platformer where you have to use your abilities and skills to defeat the enemies in your path and ascend the tower, where a single misstep leads to death. It looks great, has a well thought out and tight control scheme, a well-paced story and pumping synth soundtrack. I highly recommended it. [B]Story[/B] Set in a dystopian future, the Earth’s ecosystem has been ruined by an unexplainable catastrophe, forcing humanity to live in the Dharma tower, the last bastion where humanity can survive. You play as a Ghostrunner, a cybernetically enhanced member of the elite security and peacekeeping force of the tower who were destroyed when Mara, partner to Adam who built the tower stages a coup and kills him, assuming control. You awaken 20 years after the successful coup by the architect, a copy of Adam’s consciousness who urges you to ascend the tower and finish what you started -defeat Mara and free the people of the tower. The story makes a late game twist, where characters motives aren’t what has been portrayed, and where some of the body horror elements start making sense, but fits the dystopian theme really well. [B]Gameplay[/B] Gameplay involves you traversing each stage by running, sliding, wall running and zip lining while dodging attacks and hazards and defeating enemies scattered throughout each area. The game is forgiving as it saves frequently so deaths aren’t a large setback. Each stage is designed really well, and while there is effectively only one path to follow, the large spaces allow for different techniques and attempts at combat. Combat is fun and usually challenging, with different types of enemies slowly introduced, each requiring different tactics or styles to fight against. It becomes frantic when versing multiple different types, while trying to dodge the attacks or traverse the environment where a single hit results in a death. The base games combat areas are forgiving in the sense that there are usually only a handful of enemies in each area, and only a few of the enemies seem to randomly change their behaviour. All the enemies fit the game, though I think the suiciding crawlers near the end seem to be out of place with their attack sequence (their body horror element fits perfectly). Theres a matrix that slowly unlocks which allows you to add bonuses to your 4 skills, or enhance your existing abilities. Each enhancer fits onto the board like a Tetris piece, and it can become a game of trying to cram as many abilities onto it vs adding few that you really want. These can be switched and changed at any time, so if something isn’t working you can change and try something different at any point. The game caters to those who want to speed run, as well as those who just want to experience the game for its story, by comparing your time and death count to anyone in your steam friends list who has played the game. There are collectables hidden through-out each stage, a few which explain how things to be where they are, but most are cosmetic or just add to the background story of the world. The game lives and dies by its tight controls. And it doesn’t disappoint. The controls are simple, responsive and work well on controller or keyboard. [B]Graphics[/B] It absolutely nails the cyberpunk feel of a future gone wrong. Humanity is crammed into tower, and like all good settings, the working class lives in the filth at the bottom, while things get progressively better as you move up. In somewhat of a divergence, the upper floors aren’t for the super-rich, but the scientists who made the tower possible. Each of the enemies look great, and while they are carbon copies of each other they look great. There’s a fair amount of detail for each enemy. Depending on how you kill them or where you slice them they are bisected in different parts and spill apart differently. There is a photo mode, where you can change the camera angles, colour gradients, remove the UI and add or remove other effects to create some impressive pictures. [B]Music[/B] The synthwave absolutely raises this game from great to amazing. The music fits the game like a glove, and is one of those few tracks you could happily put on in the background and listen to (if sythwave is your thing). The voice acting is also great, and though there are only a few characters conversing, all of them sound professional and polished. In something that needs to happen in more games, if you die while conversing it continues from where the dialogue was, rather than restart. This doesn’t sound like something major, but hearing the same dialogue loops multiple times can become frustrating, and Ghostrunner completely bypasses that problem. [B]Achievements[/B] If you are chasing 100% achievements, then you need to purchase the DLC and do a fair bit of practise. While most achievements will come naturally some require perfect runs or long streaks with no deaths. For more reviews please visit https://gtm.you1.cn/storesteam/curator/31327216/