Almost three years ago, Polish developers One More Level released the cyberpunk-themed Ghostrunner, which made quite an impact on hack-and-slash fans. Although Ghostrunner was fantastic and a welcome change of pace in gameplay mechanics and delivery, its release on last-gen consoles limited its potential. Despite the game's incredibleness, there was no interruption whatsoever between deaths.

This is the point where it becomes clear that all the thoughts that had been bottled up until this sequel were finally allowed to flow freely. To eliminate all of the enemies, you must continue to learn new abilities and techniques, while some old ones will return improved. Almost every facet of Ghostrunner 2 is an improvement over the original, yet the game still retains the core elements that initially made the first installment compelling. It's as near to perfection as a sequel can come.

Taking set a year after the events of the first Ghostrunner, the sequel finds Jack once again pitted against a cult of murderous AI outside of Dharma Tower, humanity's final stronghold before the end of the world. Like the original Ghostrunner, this one follows a very linear narrative. It is a first-person hack-and-slash platformer puzzle game since every encounter poses the question of which enemies to eliminate first and with what weapons.

In Ghostrunner 2, it returns, but with much greater emphasis. There's a ton more to do in the game while still enjoying the same great foundation. You have a slew of brand-new, exceptionally well-thought-out enemies to worry about, and you should not take anyone lightly. Even if you ignore the grunts in favor of more powerful foes, remember that it only takes missing one of them for you to have to respawn in no time.

As expected, after the game's foundation has been laid, the developer will add a wide variety of gameplay elements. If you pick up Ghostrunner 2 and don't pay close attention, you could assume nothing has changed since the previous game -- except maybe the controls, which are significantly different. I was thrown off by the new layout at first, but I quickly adjusted so that I could make the most of Jack's expanded set of skills. For those who have never played, Ghostrunner 2's basic features are similar to those of the original.

Jack can utilize his grappling hook to quickly launch himself across an arena or over obstacles, wall run, slow time to modify his point of view, or strategically dodge gunshots. This is a very fast-paced game, and there is always a lot happening all the time, and it can be difficult to keep up. However, similar to the original game, Jack's ability to slow time could give you some breathing room when planning your getaway. Though a few new skills are being added to the mix, the most obvious is the capacity to block and parry attacks with your sword, paired with a stamina meter.

In addition to introducing new tools, Ghostrunner 2 improves upon those already at your disposal, making them feel more rounded and infinitely more enjoyable. For instance, shurikens can now be utilized to temporarily immobilize enemies before grappling with them, and they can even be embedded in specific walls to create individualized grapple spots for either the player or other players. But you'll need to master the art of parrying to take down certain enemies, while others, like those that fire lasers at you at high speed, can be dispatched with a single, well-timed parry.

While I was initially excited with the addition of the block and parry, I've realized that it's largely irrelevant outside of a narrow set of circumstances. There are some foes and bosses that absolutely necessitate its use, leaving it an absolute must. Nevertheless, except for those times, I didn't make an effort to do it very often. It seemed more difficult to attempt a well-timed parry to parry a bullet than it would be just to avoid it in slow motion. This served as a pleasant addition but was not well enough executed to warrant its inclusion.

Having new as well as old skills, the game features a lot of clever level design, and the game's introduction of so many different types of gameplay mechanics is genuinely impressive. However, some of the game's new enemies, abilities, and traversal strategies are somewhat too challenging. But most of them are superb fun and truly stretched One More Level's stage design abilities from the beginning until the final stage.

Ghostrunner 2's most exciting new feature is Jack's motorcycle. There is a time investment of roughly 4 hours for the session to unlock, but after it does, you're in for a real treat. These motorcycle scenes go at a dizzying rate of speed and are packed with intense physicality. There are numerous exciting things to do, including using your boost to fly over environmental gaps, launching yourself off ramps, and riding the walls like they're not even there.

Although there are a few missions that take place solely on Jack's spike, the majority of the missions feature a combination of walking and motoring to superb effect. You'll feel amazing when pulling off impressive stunts like launching off your motorcycle at top speed to evade a swarm of lasers and then grappling back onto it from a safe distance. Despite how much fun I had with the motorcycle and the stages that included it, I couldn't help but think that it was undervalued.

Ghostrunner 2's most exciting new feature is Jack's motorcycle. There is a time investment of roughly 4 hours for the session to unlock, but after it does, you're in for a real treat. These motorcycle scenes go at a dizzying rate of speed and are packed with intense physicality. There are numerous exciting things to do, including using your boost to fly over environmental gaps, launching yourself off ramps, and riding the walls like they're not even there. This part of the game was great, as it included crazy stunts such as going up a wall, jumping off the motorcycle while airborne to avoid enemy fire, and slashing the upon landing.

Although there are a few missions that take place solely on Jack's spike, the majority of the missions feature a combination of walking and motoring to superb effect. You'll feel amazing when pulling off impressive stunts like launching off your motorcycle at top speed to evade a swarm of lasers and then grappling back onto it from a safe distance. Despite how much fun I had with the motorcycle and the stages that included it, I couldn't help but think that it was undervalued.

Ghostrunner 2 regularly mashes together several types of gameplay elements, and the sensation is both wonderful and somewhat chaotic. As a result, some concepts are ditched nearly as soon as they are presented, while others are expanded upon to the point where they lead to brutal platforming mayhem. The upgrading mechanism from the original game has also been revamped, allowing for some fantastic new abilities to be unlocked as your combo progresses, such as allowing you to throw three shurikens at a time or to traverse faster.

Although you are able to purchase as many skills as you want, the question of whether or not you will really use them is another matter entirely. The Tetris-style grid from the first game, in which you had to insert the skills you desired, was fun to play, but the motherboard system in Ghostrunner 2 is a bit more sophisticated. Until you get extra slots on the motherboard, your powers will be relatively limited. The game provides an array of incentives to investigate the surrounding area to ensure you are making the most of your abilities in every imaginable way.

You may be getting the impression that Ghostrunner 2 is a monumental achievement that completely outshines its predecessor. Even the simulated Cyber void sections, which were rarely entertaining due to their slow pace, have been vastly improved and are now a blast to watch anywhere in the game. However, it not only improves upon its predecessor's merits but also, strangely, exacerbates some of its weaknesses.

While Ghostrunner 2 is relatively easy compared to the original, the game's major drawback is that it is significantly harder to master than its predecessor. Though this doesn't spoil Ghostrunner 2 by any means, it does create some frustrating situations where the game pushes you beyond your capabilities in terms of precision. There are a few challenging sections that feel dreadful, and some of them are much more challenging than everything else in the game's initial run.

Ghostrunner 2 enjoys bombarding you with multiple enemy types all at once, and it never lets you forget that you'll die with only one hit. And you'll die in countless different locations, countless times. The challenge isn't the issue; in fact, I greatly valued the challenge and the emphasis on studying the stages in the original. While similar, the latter delivers a sour experience in your mouth due to its apparent mediocre quality. Many times, you would be left wondering what was going on or sometimes become frustrated because it seemed impossible to detect some enemies before they inevitably killed you.

And to add to the list, it's not quite as frequently as you'll be dying in a game like this, as it seems like it was your fault, especially in the few truly irritating moments. There are some random bugs that you might encounter, albeit they don't significantly affect gameplay. Unfortunately, I experienced a crash that caused me to lose some ground in a boss fight, and I also came across flaws, such as upgrading stations that were obviously broken. Some sections are challenging to play because the camera sometimes gets stuck in the environment shortly after through the grappling hook, the viewpoint is apparently fixed while on the motorcycle, and a few more.

And same as the original, the plot of Ghostrunner 2 is also very much forgettable and doesn't have any impact on your gameplay. There are a lot of unnecessary conversations throughout the game, making it impossible to keep track of what is going on, and none of these matter much in the end. The Hub location in Ghostrunner 2 is where you go between objectives to chat with NPCs, level up your skills, and attend to hilariously irrelevant conversations amongst them. It appears that no effort was made to enhance the standard of the writing or voice acting. While not terrible, it's hard to become interested in any of the conversations, which ultimately feels pointless. And this eventually forced me to avoid spending too much time around the Hub area.

This game's visuals, however, are just as impressive as the original's. There's a sense of corporate disregard manifested in Dharma Tower's glitz and gaudy aesthetic. Ghostrunner 2's addition of the Wasteland outside Dharma, which is something the returning players will be experiencing for the first time, is a refreshing visual change that, thankfully, doesn't drag on for too long. The sound score is also excellent, pounding in time with each destructive fragmentation and giving the player a sense of invincibility right up until they are sent back to the previous checkpoint by a single straight gunshot. Having said that, this isn't without its flaws. There were some unexpected glitches or events, though those happened only a handful of times. It's worth noting that this was the case even without Ray tracing, so a few performance patches may be in order.

Ghostrunner 2 is simply an enhanced version of the original game. It takes the core fundamentals of Ghostrunner and enhances them in every way possible, including the way it looks, the upgrade process, skills, motorcycle gameplay, and puzzles. Everything seems to be an improvement over the previous game. There is a noticeable improvement in the fluidity of movement and battle. It's a great example of a sequel that advances in some ways while also regressing in others; it has incredible highs and a few unpleasant lows. Both fans of the series and first-timers of the game can expect to have fun with this latest installment. In summary, Ghostrunner 2 is a fantastic follow-up to the first Ghostrunner, despite a few minor issues.
 

Azfar Rayan (@AzfarRayan)
Senior Editor, NoobFeed