Ghostrunner captured the fantasy of being a cyborg ninja better than any other game before it. Its trial-and-error nature could be taxing, but it trained players to perform its many acrobatics in one smooth motion like a “real” cyborg ninja. Momentum defined that cyberpunk parkour game. However, that momentum hasn’t fully transferred to its sequel, Ghostrunner 2. Instead of fully darting forward, it opts to slow down both literally and metaphorically, which keeps this follow-up from reaching a new top speed.

Ghostrunner 2 is able to keep some sort of pace with its predecessor by having many of the same moves. Outside of a few rare and understandable quirks, its smooth controls ensure that it’s always possible to slow-mo dodge, wall run, dash, slash, slide, and grapple around its elaborate urban jungle gyms. Chaining these together perfectly to get through a tough section by mere inches is a rush that often only comes after failing a few times. Generous checkpoints, instant restarts, and the tight controls mean that it is never frustrating and, as was previously stated, allows players to feel more like an adept cyborg ninja. 

This also applies to the arenas with enemies that are more akin to puzzle challenges than combat ones. Figuring out how to most efficiently slash everything to ribbons without taking a single bullet is tricky but often open enough to allow for some player expression. Whereas platforming usually depends on nailing one route, these more violent sections are less linear and thus more liberating. Both halves require skill and reflexes to conquer but intelligently contextualize that thesis in their own ways. It’s one cohesive experience brought together by its fast-paced electronic soundtrack that often perfectly fits the action and cyberpunk aesthetic.

However, not many of these sections are as challenging as they were in the first game or its incredible expansion, Project Hel. Ghostrunner 2 is not an outright easy game, and most of its sections only require a handful of retries to get through. It lacks the tough gauntlets a sequel like this should have, ones that push skilled players and fully stress what its fluid controls can handle. Some of this challenge is relegated to its fantastic roguelike challenge mode, but the base game deserves more complicated sections that force players to improve.

Some of its relatively easiness stems from how many tools and scenarios it borrows from the first game; wall running across billboards and grappling to a platform isn’t tricky after spending a full game repeatedly doing that. The motorcycle and wingsuit seem like they are the tools to do just that, but aren’t properly utilized. 

This isn’t clear during the first section with the motorcycle since it’s a stunning set piece that has players speeding through a narrow hazard-filled tube and then down the side of the massive tower where both games take place. Narrowly avoiding lasers, ejecting from and then grappling back to the bike, and blasting obstructions make it an adrenaline-pumping exercise that takes the core values of the parkour and gloriously applies them to a completely different setting. 

But instead of only using the bike for explosive scenes like this, it mostly devolves into a means of traversing a boring wasteland. Its utility as a faster parkour machine is tossed aside in favor of being a normal bike. The wingsuit is similarly stunted. It’s the centerpiece in a handful of segments that add a whole new dimension to the platforming and show what’s possible, but Ghostrunner 2 simply doesn’t have enough sections like this. It’s also only introduced in the final hour or two, meaning it barely has any time to stretch its wings.

Both shortcomings also feed into how much Ghostrunner 2 slows itself down to a crawl. A lot of its more intense sections are padded out with out-of-place puzzles or sequences that don’t have much else going on. The action is constantly interrupted with cutscenes and brief trips back to base where players are expected to talk to the two-dimensional side characters about the superfluous story. 

Ghostrunner does movement better than most games, so it’s puzzling why it insists on branching out into areas it doesn’t specialize in. It doesn’t need an open wasteland full of mindless traversal, repeated treks back to headquarters, lengthy dialogue exchanges, or puzzles. Going into new territory is not a bad idea in theory, but it is questionable when those fresh ideas directly oppose the series’ core tenets. The fast platforming and action are excellent in Ghostrunner and almost everything that doesn’t support that actively impedes it.

Ghostrunner 2 Review: Final Verdict

Ghostrunner 2 goes against its programming by repeatedly slowing down, but it’s still made up of enough of its classic parts. Sprinting and dashing around the neon-lit city while cutting down its many cybernetic forces can be an empowering trip that’s only bolstered by its thumping electronic soundtrack. A strong core like this deserves to be expanded upon more robustly through its new and existing mechanics, which just isn’t the case here. Ghostrunner 2 has taken a few steps forward and a few steps back, but even though it is running in place, it’s still faster than most of its competition.

Disclaimer: This Ghostrunner 2 review is based on a PS5 copy provided by the publisher. Played on version 1.000.001.

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October continues to get more and more crowded. One More Level contributed to this by announcing the Ghostrunner 2 release date. The cyberpunk action game is coming out on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC on October 26, as shown by its new trailer.

The Ghostrunner 2 release date is just after Marvel’s Spider-Man 2

The trailer has some gameplay and sets up the general story, demonstrating a bit of how players will be able to slash and parkour around in the final game. And while not detailed in the footage, the studio also went into other editions players can order. All pre-orders will come with a skin pack that contains two sword skins and two hand skins.

The standard edition is going to be available digitally and physically for $39.99, while the $49.99 Deluxe Edition is only on digital storefronts. This more expensive version has four hand skins, four sword skins, and a hand hologram that displays the player’s online ID.

The $69.99 Brutal Edition has all that stuff, as well as early access to the game on October 24, some animated sword and hand skins, a motorcycle skin, and the $19.99 season pass. This season pass will have a new game mode and four packs of cosmetics. The first game did not have a season pass, but did eventually get multiple cosmetic packs and one story-based expansion called Project_Hel that let players control another acrobatic cyborg ninja.

This release date puts Ghostrunner 2 right in the middle of a crowded season. While now a little further from Assassin’s Creed Mirage, Ghostrunner 2 is now less than a week after Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 and Super Mario Bros. Wonder, as well as a day before Alan Wake 2. It’s also quite close to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III, which is slated for November 10 (and early access to the campaign is around a week earlier).

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Ghostrunner 2 was a known quantity, but now One More Level has shown off more of the title at the PlayStation Showcase. This cyber parkour title is coming to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC sometime in 2023.

The Ghostrunner 2 release date window is close

The sequel takes places only a year after the last one and lets runners venture into the “wasteland beyond.” It’ll also still have the “fast-paced-push-forward combat and its signature challenging gameplay,” but will, according to One More Level, be amped up in “every conceivable way.” This includes new vehicular combat, which can be seen in the trailer.

Bucking a common industry trend, One More Level had confirmed that Ghostrunner 2 was in production just a few months after the first one came out.

The post Ghostrunner 2 Trailer Has Fast Parkour & Swordplay in a New Setting appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

505 Games has announced they’ve agreed a deal with developer One More Level to develop and publish the second installment in the Ghostrunner franchise. The game will arrive on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC in the future.

Last month, 505 Games acquired the Ghostrunner IP from previous publisher All in! Games for €5 million. At the time they confirmed there would be more free and premium content scheduled for the first game, but it seems like they’re trying to make the best use of their new purchase.

The publisher considers the IP to be “capable of contributing for a long time to the 505 Games product portfolio” and One Level Games has been given an initial budget of €5 million to create the next game. This is double the budget of the first title, which recouped its production costs of €2.5 million in a single day and has now sold more than 600,000 copies, having hit the 500,000 units sold milestone in February. CEO of 505 Games’ parent company Digital Bros, Raffaele Galante, said:

We are particularly excited about the future release of Ghostrunner 2. Together with One More Level, we have created a thrilling and engaging video game. This new collaboration deepens 505 Games presence within the Polish videogame market, a reality now among the firsts in Europe for the development of video games, new projects and talents. We will continue to pay close attention to the Polish market to constantly improve and expand our product portfolio with video games capable of satisfying the tastes of the entire gaming community.

Following the spring update that added Photo Mode and Kill Run, there are two seasons of scheduled content remaining for Ghostrunner. These will include two new bundles, a new game mode, the Ultimate DLC, and two premium Vanity Packs. 505 Games also promises the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S console upgrade will still arrive before the end of this year too.

[Source: 505 Games]

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