The end of a console generation is generally signaled by a flood of subpar games that are a last-ditch effort from developers to capitalize on a quick buck by releasing games that are half-baked and not quite ready for release. 2020s Ghostrunner was a pleasant surprise that was a budget title, as these usually are, that offered a free upgrade once the new systems were released and still managed to hold its own on the older hardware. It was an experience that was on the cusp of perfection for me and its sequel, Ghostrunner 2, inches even closer to that bar.

If you missed out on the original release, the narrative follows Jack, the titular Ghost Runner, and his band of misfit comrades who are dealing with the fallout from killing The Keymaster at the end of the first game. In his absence, the remaining gangs are running amok and it’s up to you to put a stop to it. It’s nothing you haven’t seen before, and like many action-heavy games the story is just there to fill in the gaps between murders. If you happened to miss the original, there is one of those super handy videos in place that allows you to play catch up, but I would recommend dipping your toes in there first if possible as a practice session to prepare you for what will likely be one of the most challenging games you’ll play all year.

Normally sequels find some clever way to neuter the protagonist in ways that find them essentially re-earning all of their abilities and perks that were already explored in the first game, but not here – Jack comes running out of the gate like a certified badass right at the start and quickly pulls a number of new tricks out of his cybernetic sleeve. The most noteworthy is the new electric shuriken that doubles as an offensive tool that allows Jack to stun if not completely kill enemies as well as open up doors and the like by triggering switches from a distance. This is a downright game-changer that opens up a ton of new combat options that make it feel less like you have to tackle each encounter the way the developers intended and more like you’re in control of how the battle goes. Maybe you want to swing in and go nuts with your sword, which is still a viable option, but it’s just as thrilling to swing around in circles as you chuck these ninja stars at explosive barrels, taking out huge groups of enemies without ever getting in close.

In the first game, you always had to be moving at the risk of being an easy target if you stood still; this time around, the enemies should be running from you. You can now block a set number of times, dash twice, and parry enemies that in most cases don’t just stagger them, but turn them into giblets. Even when I failed, which happened a lot mind you, a staggering exact death count of 153 times in a single level, I felt like I was getting better, learning from every mistake, and taking that knowledge into the next encounter which I may not have perfected in that moment, but by the end of the game I was in a rhythm. That rhythm had me running up a wall, slicing a robot in two, sliding along a barrel that I happened to blow apart with a shuriken sending bits of four or more enemies into every direction, swinging to the next platform as I reflected a volley of bullets back into another group of enemies hitting each and every one mid-air, and ending with a carefully timed parry that culminated with Jack snapping an enemy ninjas neck. It was like I was Neo at the end of the first Matrix and no one could touch me.

The boss encounters are standout levels that will test even the most patient veterans of the Soulsborne genre that will still challenge you with memorizing the standard tells and attacks each boss has, but with the caveat of not being able to survive even a single hit. It’s akin to playing Bloodborne with Hotline Miami rules in place, but at least the checkpoints are still exactly where they should be, extremely forgiving, and load almost instantly upon death. Words really cannot express how cathartic it is to go toe to toe with a foe that is bigger, faster, stronger, and has a helluva lot more health than you and come out the victor. I felt a surreal rush as sparks flew across the screen time and time again as metal clashed with metal against foes that block and parry just as quickly and efficiently as I did.

The only thing that really holds this back from being a perfect ten for me is the new motorcycle segments, which are thrilling at first, but quickly become an exercise in patience that I had to walk away from multiple times more than any other area within the game. Sure, the easy jumps and driving up and along walls start off fine, but a number of assets that caused me to get hung up on seemingly nothing or miss a jump just barely were some of the most frustrating areas of this game or the prior release. I can appreciate the addition being an effort to fight off monotony, but this wasn’t the best way of doing it, and I can easily see it being a roadblock for some players as this still remains to be the level I have the highest death count on, and that’s a statement in itself since my running total is upwards of a thousand in a little over 13 hours with the game.

Outside of this, the game is essentially flawless, and in 2023, that’s saying something considering almost every other game on the market has a litany of bugs at release that have to be fixed last minute by day one patches. I’ve had the prerelease version for almost two full weeks before release, and I have yet to encounter a single crash, bug, or asset that was out of place. Outside of the driving segments, every death felt earned, every mistake caused by my own misdoings, and every one of them was a lesson that made me a better me for the next encounter.

If you like difficult games that push you to your limit without doing so for the sake of just being difficult, Ghostrunner 2 is the game for you. It’s got everything the original game offered and then some. Here’s hoping that when Ghostrunner 3 inevitably releases at the end of the current console cycle (sooner would be cool too I guess), we’ll be able to revisit the motorcycle chase with the same level of improvement and care that went into every other area of this release.

9 out of 10

Pros

• Top-Notch Presentation Across the Board
• An Upgraded Arsenal That Starts You Off as a Badass and Just Gets Better with Time
• The Electric Shuriken
• Loads Instantly Upon Death
• Still Uber Challenging

Cons

• The Motorcycle Stage
• Still Uber Challenging

Ghostrunner 2 was developed by One More Level, 3D Realms, and Slipgate Ironworks. It was published by 505 Games and All In! Games. It is available on PC, PS5, XBSX. The game was provided to us for review on XBSX. If you’d like to see more of Ghostrunner 2, check out the official site.

 

Here at GBG we use a rating method that you are more than likely familiar with – a scale of 1 to 10. For clarification, we intend on using the entire scale: 1-4 is something you should probably avoid paying for; 5-7 is something that is worth playing, but probably not at full price; 8-10 is a great title that you can feel confident about buying. If you have any questions or comments about how we rate a game, please let us know.

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