Ghostrunner Review

 Ghostrunner
Developed by: One More Level/3DRealms
Published by: 505 Games
Date of Release: October 27, 2020
Price: $29.99

In this modern world of First Person gaming it seems like everything that has come out as of late (barring some exceptional standouts such as Doom Eternal) are just sameish examples of run and gun gameplay all seemingly cut from the same Call of Duty colored cloth. oversimplified linear gameplay that holds your hand every step of the way seems to be the new norm. However this is not the case with this latest game to come out of 3DRealms, Ghostrunner. Truly a magnum opus of high-speed parkour and swordplay, Ghostrunner brings a fresh feel to the world of First person gaming.

 

The first thing you might notice  about Ghostrunner is that it's not an FPS, it is in actuality a first person platformer/hack and slash game. The whole experience entails jumping from surface to wall, swinging from grapple points, slowing down time in midair to doge bullets, and carving your foes into meaty chunks. It's absolutely hard as balls, you WILL die over and over again, and then ask for another helping of carnage, and I wouldn't want it any other way. (Hell, I nominated it for the "Best Game You Suck At" category on the Steam Awards!) Every time you die it's as easy as pushing the restart button to continue from the last checkpoint, and try, try, try again. Please Sir, may I have another?

 

Honestly the time I spent with Ghostrunner is some of the best I've had in the last few months (besides the Doom Eternal DLC), and I can honestly see myself replaying it over and over. The gameplay has just the right hook to keep drawing you back in, and despite the slightly linear pathway through the game, it really is rather sandboxy and gives out a lot of options to deal with how you progress. The tight controls and superb graphics propel Ghostrunner to being a fantastic showpiece (especially if you have an RTX card), and I would seriously recommend it to anyone who wants a nice cyberpunk adventure before 2077 hits in December. Despite being unrelated, Ghostrunner would really fit into that universe. Definitely don't miss this one!