Back when I first heard of it, I was interested in Ghostrunner. I can’t honestly say why because that game style has never been my forte. I’m not good at the ultra-fast hacky-slashy nonsense; for the most part, I’m not good at the fast-speedy-platform lark either. Still, when I did play Ghostrunner, I enjoyed what I could, and there’s no doubt that Francesco enjoyed it when he reviewed it and then reviewed the later DLC. I’ve had a chance to play Ghostrunner 2 now, and I can’t stress enough that it has a motorbike.
To say that developer One More Level has decided that you can’t get enough of a good thing would be an understatement. Ghostrunner 2 is precisely that, more of a good thing. Now, the good thing has been expanded in ways to make it an improved good thing, but if you liked Ghostrunner, then Ghostrunner 2 will likely be the game for you. I realise that is essentially the summary of a preview or review, and I will have to explain myself, so explain I will.
Let me first talk about the world. I can’t speak from hands-on experience, but you crash out of a tower at the end of my preview build and see a sprawling world before you. This isn’t to say that I expect Ghostrunner 2 to be open-world, but even in the bit I played in the tower, areas felt more expansive. The promise for more freedom, not so much to explore but to attempt different ways to kill those in front of you, is promising.
In terms of killing, a few areas gave me multiple paths both inside combat and before. With one, you can walk through the front door and just go in, killing those in front of you, or another option is to grind a rail, jump onto what is essentially a bounce pad, break through a flimsy barrier with your dash, find a hidden collectable and then press a button to open a door, allowing you to sneak up on the enemies. It’s not revolutionary, but from memory, Ghostrunner 2 is more extensive than Ghostrunner.
Adding to the world and path options being more varied, it’s also more prominent in how you can kill what’s in front of you and what you will have to kill while speeding through the game. Adding to the grappling hook, you have shurikens and the ability to use a blast that sends weaker enemies backwards, or more importantly, an explosive barrel hurtling towards your next victim. This later ability was also used for puzzle solving, letting you blast a box to use as a platform and combine this with your shuriken to flick a switch behind a laser wall.
Add to this the fluid combat, and you have a recipe for success. Ghostrunner 2 is Ghostrunner but with more. More to see, more to do, and more ways to kill. Add to this the bike sections, which will hopefully feature enemies – not that I didn’t find it hard enough just swiping at switches – and you have something even faster to look forward to.
