Ghostrunner 2 Review | Attack of the Fanboy

The primary Ghostrunner was a shock hit in 2020, providing a brief but targeted method to a fast-paced ninja-like expertise that was nothing in need of thrilling. It discovered a group of Cyberpunk lovers, and everybody was ecstatic that the developer, One Extra Degree, determined to increase on its universe, asserting a sequel. Properly, it’s formally time as Ghostrunner 2 is right here, and it brings the adrenaline-pumping gameplay again in full power with type. There are thrilling moments all through its 15-hour run time, and it solidifies itself as a justifiable sequel, even when it solely does a little bit concerning innovation.

Story and Plot – Carry Order to the Dystopian World

The unique story of Ghostrunner was about climbing Dharma Tower, humanity’s final identified refuge, in a metropolis plagued with poverty, violence, and total dismay. Your job was to take down a Tyrannical Keymaster and liberate the folks so they may lastly reside peacefully.

Ghostrunner 2 takes place one yr after the occasion of the unique, the place you be part of a council whose mission is to convey order to the longer term dystopian world. With out nudging into spoiler territory, you may determine from these two transient overviews of the primary and second video games that the tales are primarily the identical plot.

The sequel brings a brand new dialogue choice system to the sport, the place gamers can speak to characters on the hub and select what to say. Having dialogue choices is at all times good in idea, however from what I might inform, these don’t have an effect on gameplay and don’t change the result of any story beats. They may also help uncover extra concerning the plot and lore of Ghostrunner, however to a sure extent, they felt fairly pointless.

Understandably, the story isn’t the Ghostrunner 2’s robust level, because the enjoyable boils right down to the fight for one of these recreation. Nonetheless, it’s not horrible, and the dialog between your character and the oldsters on the hub is kind of attention-grabbing to hearken to and makes you’re feeling like a spy on a crucial mission. That is very true through the recreation’s mini cutscenes. Whereas there are only some of them, the cutscenes are completely attractive and finished so properly that they’ll make you’re feeling such as you’re watching a film as an alternative of enjoying a online game.

Fight and Gameplay – Slight Changes

Like several Ghostrunner fan, you’re right here to study concerning the gameplay expertise and the way it holds up within the second installment. If you happen to crave the fast-paced, thinking-on-your-feet fight finished so properly within the first, you’ll really feel proper at dwelling in Ghostrunner 2. It felt terrific to return to this Cyberpunk world and expertise the sensation of turning right into a ninja once more, with Synthwave music blasting via my headphones, feeling like a complete badass. This emulation kind is a continuing thrill that One Extra Degree has perfected.

That mentioned, I can’t assist however be upset that the sequel feels too much like the unique throughout most missions. It follows the identical formulation of operating throughout partitions, grappling hooks, pulling a lever, and shifting ahead. Properly, there are new puzzles, talents, and enemies, however should you didn’t inform somebody you had been enjoying Ghostrunner 2, it might be virtually unimaginable to know proper off the bat that you just’re not enjoying the primary until you had been in the midst of explicit missions. These particular missions that really feel “new” contain a Motorbike and Wingsuit.

If you happen to didn’t suppose you can go quicker than your velocity within the unique recreation, you had been fallacious, as these two methods of transportation enhance the depth tenfold. The Motorbike and Wingsuit are phenomenal additions to the gameplay expertise and arguably the very best components of the sport. That’s the reason it upsets me to say that the missions involving the Motorbike are short-lived, with the Wingsuit missions lasting even shorter.

After finishing the sport and rolling credit, the components that caught in my thoughts had been flying down a freeway at over 300 MPH on a Motorbike or flying overhead vital gaps within the infrastructure with a Wingsuit, with no floor in sight. The whole lot else between these missions didn’t go away a lot of an impression on me and made me surprise why One Extra Degree didn’t increase on its new additions.

That’s not to say that every one the missions between the Motorbike and Wingsuit are unhealthy as a result of they’re not. Ghostrunner 2 does an outstanding job at making the degrees really feel extra like an acrobatic playground, with extra hanging partitions to run throughout, methods to method enemy encounters, and open areas that require you to alter your method. For instance, take a look at the picture under that options an entire bunch of hanging partitions that emphasize the playground mentioned.

It’s a ton of enjoyable, and there are a couple of new talents to make use of at your disposal that I wish to concentrate on that make this playground work even higher. The largest standout is the Shuriken, a device you should use to select off enemies from afar or stun the stronger and newer enemy sorts. Whereas the Shuriken was accessible within the first within the type of Remnants, a brief increase, it wasn’t a capability the participant had always.

Making the Shuriken a capability in your arsenal as an alternative of momentary provides a brand new ranged fight method, and nothing felt higher than to slice somebody with my sword and end the encounter by throwing a Shuriken throughout the map for one remaining blow. It’s a strong addition to the general Ghostrunner expertise that makes you’re feeling extra highly effective and one I can see all gamers having lots of enjoyable messing round with.

There are additionally new Final talents designed to get you out of a pickle and overcome an enemy encounter. As an alternative of seeing the fixed “crucial failure” Sport Over display screen, you should use your Final, for instance, “Flux,” and shoot off a laser beam that fully demolishes each enemy in proximity. Whereas having a protracted cool-down time, these new Ultimates talents made the sport really feel extra forgiving than the primary and allowed me to proceed ahead as an alternative of wallowing in frustration.

Lastly, accessibility has been improved in Ghostrunner 2. The controls are simpler to get down, and blocking projectiles isn’t locked behind a late-game capacity. It’s this incontrovertible fact that the fluidity of the gameplay is an enchancment over the primary, making the sequel extra stress-free to play.

Bosses – Largely a Missed Alternative

The bosses of Ghostrunner 2 have their highs and lows, with one being an enormous standout of each the primary and second installments. Utilizing my newfound Motorbike to scale the within of a huge mechanical worm was a number of the most enjoyable I had in gaming for 2023 and might be the most important takeaway concerning the bosses within the sequel. Exterior of that, it was underwhelming to battle the opposite huge guys, and that’s saying rather a lot, contemplating there are only some in whole for the whole recreation.

That is the most important letdown of Ghostrunner 2. The shortage of bosses put a damper on issues, and it might be okay if every of them left an enduring impression on the general expertise, however they don’t. Even the ultimate boss was mediocre, and after beating it and the credit began to roll, I used to be stunned that the whole recreation was main as much as that battle. Since Ghostrunner 2 is a recreation with such cool fight on the forefront, you may’t assist however think about what might have been concerning boss fights.

Efficiency Points – There Are None

It’s uncommon today that the gaming group will get a recreation that runs completely with zero efficiency points. Throughout my 15-hour playtime, I acquired zero body price drops, zero crashes, and a smooth-as-butter expertise from starting to finish. Higher but, the graphics are gorgeous, and if you combine these two elements of efficiency and pleasing to the attention, it places these AAA video games to disgrace. Huge-budget titles can study a factor or two from these unbiased studios.

The Verdict

Total, I loved my time with Ghostrunner 2. It was an unimaginable feeling to get again to my ninja roots and play via the addicting gameplay loop that made the unique beloved by so many. The brand new options and additions enhance the general expertise, and it’s higher than the primary in some regard, despite the fact that it’s approach too related in components.

One of the best additions are the brand new types of traversal, creating essentially the most thrilling missions of each the unique and sequel mixed. Nonetheless, the time you spend with these is short-lived. Additionally, I can’t assist however really feel the bosses had been a missed alternative, the place just one stands out and makes a reputation for itself. However, extra of a great factor is at all times good, and should you discovered your self a fan of the primary, you’ll get pleasure from Ghostrunner 2, particularly for the low 40-dollar price ticket.

About The Creator

Christian has been a author of Assault of the Fanboy for over a yr and has lined Shadows of Rose, Lords of the Fallen, Remnant 2, Lies of P, and extra; his favourite style is Survival Horror. He has a enterprise diploma however felt the necessity to take his love for video video games to the gaming group. Exterior of writing, you’ll find him listening to all kinds of podcasts, particularly All the time Sunny Podcast and Morbid True Crime.