Thank you 505 Games for providing us with a review code!

Hack! Slash! Stab! Die! Repeat! Ghostrunner 2 takes the same successful formula as the 2020 game, Ghostrunner, and adds some new mechanics and features that the first entry does not have. You now gain permanent access to some abilities only available temporarily in the first game (shurikens, for example), and there are also new ways to travel. The story of Ghostrunner 2 takes place one year after the events of the original Ghostrunner. In the first title, a character named “The Architect” predicted a catastrophic event would destroy most of Earth soon, so he created a sanctuary called Dharma Tower to house and hold humanity’s last survivors. The Architect is eventually (spoiler alert for original Ghostrunner) killed, and Ghostrunner 2 takes place when a cult of AI cyber-ninjas has taken over Dharma Tower. Jack, the ghostrunner who took down The Architect, makes it his goal to reclaim the sanctuary and save what’s left of his world; interestingly enough, he is a robot that can experience feelings of empathy and emotion. Throughout the story, Jack works together with the few friends he has to invade Dharma Tower and destroy the network of artificial intelligence that has seeped into the last safe place on Earth. Both Ghostrunner games have a surprising amount of lore woven throughout; the main ghostrunner, Jack, is controlled by The Architect, so his death brings about Jack’s demise. In some unexplained way, Jack does not die and becomes partly “human” in the whole experience. This is where the events of Ghostrunner 2 finally pick up. Now, a cult of AI cyber-ninjas has taken over Dharma Tower and wants to eliminate any remaining survivors. Most of the gameplay takes place in this tower, where you fight your way up to break free of AI’s grasp.

Ghostrunner 2 plays very differently from your typical action-adventure; the whole story is split into various levels that create a linear experience. The game’s difficulty is built on a “one hit and you die” mechanic. If you get hit by anything, whether it’s a sword, bullet, laser, etc. you respawn from your last checkpoint. Similarly, any enemy that gets slashed with your sword dies after one blow. This makes it somewhat challenging but adds an extreme amount of satisfaction after each section is completed. Not all areas are about fighting enemies, and there are a handful of well-constructed parkour areas. Ghostrunner 2’s most unique addition is a motorcycle: some levels are only traversable by motorcycle but you still have many obstacles to overcome, and enemies to defeat via sword and laser guns. Compared to the first title, a lot more variety is added so it doesn’t feel repetitive. New skills have been added, including shurikens, the ability to duplicate yourself, and more; this enables each obstacle to have an added level of difficulty. You might need to throw a shuriken at an electrical box to disable a door, for example. Or, you may need to clone yourself so one copy of you enables a switch to disable a set of lasers while your other copy runs past.

My RX 6700 XT and Ryzen 7 5800X handled the game pretty well. The graphics are stunning on epic settings in 4K, but the framerate is very inconsistent (my graphics card is not built for 4K, so this is technically a feat in itself). Some areas would play with 40-50fps, while other places would dip down to 20-30fps. I couldn’t pinpoint any specific triggers; it was seemingly random when frames would drop. Thankfully, AMD’s Fidelity SuperResolution 2.0 is included, which allows you to squeeze some more performance out of any card, regardless of manufacturer. Using “Quality” mode, which renders at 1440p, I could play in over 60fps, with dips occasionally going down into the mid-40s. Regardless, the textures and reflections are absolutely beautiful and the environments are a treat to look at. If I were to make some complaints, I would say that the character models could have more detail and shadows could have more layers. I did not encounter any crashes or freezes either, which is a major plus.

I played using a mouse and keyboard and found it pretty simple to learn. A mandatory tutorial is played at the beginning, so new players will have no trouble getting accustomed to the key mappings. I tried switching to a controller mid-way through and found a lot of trouble trying to use it. Ghostrunner 2 relies heavily on your muscle memory, and I suspect I would’ve been able to play without issue if I initially started with a controller. I found myself getting frustrated due to the quick timing required to pass some areas, but also found that this helped strengthen my gaming skills. I don’t have any complaints about the controls, and found them to be easy to learn; the difficulty is not part of a poorly designed control scheme.

Ghostrunner 2 has a lot of blood and guts that get spilled on your journey. As you attack various enemies with your sword, gallons of blood splash all over your screen. Some attacks will result in your foe getting cut through the midsection, and their innards are visible. If you perform a perfectly timed parry, your sword will pierce through the cranium of an unfortunate ninja with associated blood splattering. Some scenes are also performed in slow motion, which gives you even more time to witness the graphic acts of on-screen violence. In one cutscene, a character’s head is graphically decapitated; his arteries gush fervently, and you can even see his heart rhythmically pump out the remaining blood in his body. There is an option to disable gore in the settings, but nothing changed. Hopefully this will be fixed in a future update. Language consists of infrequent uses of f**k, s**t, God’s name in vain (also paired with d**n), a**, h**l, and b****rd. Sexual content is restrained, but still present: the main antagonist is an unclothed AI. While no genitals are present, you can still see the curves in his body and his groin area. He is not presented in a sexual nature, but it’s worth noting. Sexually suggestive comments are very infrequent but present. While one character describes the loyalty of the architect’s followers, he calls them “five guys in robes jerking off to a poster of the architect.” Spiritual content is also of concern in this post-apocalyptic world: the architect is referred to as a “god” that is worshipped. One of the main missions takes place in a cathedral. The cyber ninjas are comprised of a cult that worships their AI leader.

Ghostrunner 2 is dramatically improved compared to the original. I found the new areas, abilities, and traversal options refreshing, and they keep the game engaging throughout the story. Even though the story is similar to the first one, plot twists and new antagonists will keep you connected without getting bored. I have not played the first entry for about 2 years and still found the controls relatively easy to pick up. The graphics are pretty stunning, especially considering the relatively small budget of $6 million; I definitely would find some games more visually appealing (take Ark: Survival Ascended for example), but this is not a triple-A title. Moral content is the most concerning in this dystopian future; violence is simply seen as a stepping stone to your goals. While infrequent, language and sexual content are still present. Ghostrunner 2’s dystopian future has various hokey religions, where various leaders are just “gods” to look up to and worship. Jack has a true desire to save the ones that he loves, but there are a lot of body parts and pools of blood to wade through to get there.