With all the hype surrounding Cyberpunk 2077, some might have lost sight of another cyberpunk game in the works. If Ghostrunner wasn't on your radar before, it should be now. Ghostrunner is an upcoming first-person action hack-and-slash game set in an dystopian cyberpunk universe that's being developed by One More Level. The game was first revealed in a trailer last year which promised fast-paced and high-adrenaline combat. Since then, we've only gotten mere glimpses of the game through screenshots, videos and rare demos at conferences such as PAX.
To say that the information regarding the game trickled out slowly is an understatement. However, that all changed on May 6 when the developers released a public demo on PC, available until May 13. With this sudden wealth of information, let's take a look at what we know about the game so far and what we can expect from its full release.
In terms of story, there's a lot that's up in the air. The only things we know for certain come from the Ghostrunner official website. According to the website, the world is in a sorry dystopian state where life doesn't amount to much and death is always close by. However, it also hints that the world was not always this bleak and miserable. It refers to an "apocalypse" that ruined a once shining civilization. Even more mysterious is the presence of a tower that "houses the survivors of the apocalypse."
As the main character, players are tasked with ascending the tower and figuring out the truth about what really happened to the world. This task is complicated by the fact that there are many foes adamant on hunting the player down for the augmentations and technology underneath their skin. From the cinematic trailer, we can also assume that the game will feature some kind of boss battle encounter with that Dr. Octopus-esque person. Thankfully for the player, the main character is far from a push-over.
In Ghostrunner, players take control of an augmented living weapon capable of things beyond the scope of a normal human. Imagine if you took the cybernetic ninja, Genji, from Overwatch and gave him the supernatural abilities from the Dishonored series. The result of that concoction would be the Ghostrunner protagonist.
From what we've seen in the demo, players are able to wall-run, use a grappling hook to get onto platforms, bisect foes in one clean sword swing, deflect bullets, dash, slow time and slide their way to victory. And this was all just from the demo. In the full game, it wouldn't be surprising if players could upgrade preexisting abilities or install new software to learn new skills. For example, it would be incredibly useful if players were able to unlock infrared sight to see enemies through walls. All of these abilities are necessary to survive in Ghostrunner, as combat can end in the blink of an eye.
Ghostrunner's gameplay requires players to move fast and think faster. Much like Mirror's Edge and Dishonored, there are a lot of movement mechanics in the game, all of which players must master in order to have a chance at surviving. This is clear from the demo in which players have to dodge bullets, wall run, slow time and jump all within milliseconds of each other. Movement is essential because players are only equipped with a katana, a weapon that is only effective when you're close to an enemy. There's no time to rest because, if you stop, you're going to get perforated by the trigger happy enemies.
Obviously, the game encourages players to move fast, and this is further underlined by the way death works. In most games, death is followed by a loading screen and a return to a checkpoint, but Ghostrunner takes the Hotline Miami approach. Players respawn immediately after death with little to no wait time. With one simple button press, players are back in the game, free to try again. This system helps keep the break-neck pace of the game consistent.
Overall, Ghostrunner looks to be a promising cyberpunk action game. With all the current mechanics and the possible addition of more, Ghostrunner might just be a big hit. Currently, there's no official release date, but it's slated to come to PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4 in 2020, so keep an eye out.