Introduction

The primary-person motion parkour sub-genre of video games is a small however nice one. It options the likes of EA’s Mirror’s Edge sequence, Respawn Leisure’s Titanfall franchise, and One Extra Degree’s Ghostrunner – one in every of my fav orite video games. I first performed this sport two years after its 2020 launch, in the summertime of July 2022, jobless and depressed. It felt good to exist in a world the place capitalistic enterprise executives make inhumane choices concerning the final of humanity dwelling of their Dharma Tower, besides as a substitute of struggling below their thumb, I, or quite, protagonist Ghostrunner, took a katana straight to the highest to deliver all of it down. The sport concludes with humanity free and Ghostrunner liberated from the A.I.-powered Cybervoid trappings below a brand new identify: Jack.

I performed a roughly 30-minute vertical slice of Ghostrunner 2, the upcoming sequel hitting current-gen consoles and PC later this month, and got here away impressed. This demo didn’t encompass a lot – quick tutorial sequences, a number of enemy-filled arenas to parkour destructively by means of, and a finale I’ll get to shortly. However this demo was additionally exactly what I wanted: affirmation that Ghostrunner 2 is, in actual fact, extra of this glorious world One Extra Degree crafted three years in the past.

It is Good to be Jack

It is Good to be Jack

Instantly, Ghostrunner 2 simply feels proper. It’s quick as hell, jaw-droppingly beautiful with neon-lit rain turning the glass of skyscrapers into cyberpunk watercolor canvases, and extremely tactile. Core to the whole expertise of Ghostrunner 2, although, is its parkour. It feels simply nearly as good as Ghostrunner, maybe even higher, however options some tweaks studio head and CEO Szymon Bryła describes as an evolution of the sequence’ method, not a revolution.

“You will note that [evolution] on every layer, in gameplay, visuals, the fight system, and plenty of others,” he tells me.

Gameplay director Radosław Ratus znik says the group knew it couldn’t swap out Jack’s parkour talent set with one thing new, as a substitute opting to enhance on what’s already there. “The participant enjoying the primary sport feels at dwelling enjoying the second Ghostrunner, however for the newcomers and the individuals who prefer to experiment with their playstyle, there are new methods to play,” Ratusznik says.

One of many largest and most instantly impactful modifications is the brand new blocking mechanic. You’ll be able to deflect bullets within the first Ghostrunner, however solely after unlocking the precise means, and even then, it’s a must to time the power’s use with the bullet’s contact to take action. Ghostrunner 2 options bullet-blocking, activated by holding down a button. It contains a gauge, which prevents you from blocking endlessly, but it surely’s sufficient time to get a really feel for what’s taking place within the in any other case lightning-fast fight enjoying out round you.

Ratusznik says blocking works very well for gamers who struggled within the first sport. Nevertheless it’s non-obligatory – veteran Ghostrunner gamers can persist with the in-and-out-style of fight required within the first sport. I combine the block simply into my playstyle, utilizing it to cowl Jack from an onslaught of machine gun fireplace whereas scoping out different enemies I can take out with a hop, sprint, slash, and a few shuriken throws. What I like most is obstructing feels non-obligatory, even within the puzzle-like fight arenas.

Cyberpu-zzle

Cyberpu-zzle

“It’s extra like, ‘Strive completely different choices,’” Ratusznik tells me. “You now have entry to skills that you should use very often, not like within the first sport the place there have been solely final skills that you would use not so usually. [So] now you might have an opportunity to someway join all these mechanics collectively and blend them the way you need, and it’s actually satisfying when you’re profitable with that. And naturally, you’re enhancing after every restart; you’re turning into higher and higher, and then you definately attain the candy spot the place you understand all the things concerning the sport and may use all of your instruments that we offer and really feel actually highly effective.”

In a single puzzle, I exploit a particular force-like push means to maneuver an air vent that shoots Jack into the air close to a gap in a wall. I soar on it and, after being shot into the air, shortly equip a shuriken to hit a swap by means of the opening, which opens the door to maneuver ahead. It’s a well-recognized puzzle on the planet of Ghostrunner, and I smile at its return. The sport is a first-person motion sport, but it surely’s as a lot a puzzle sport, too. Past puzzles just like the one I describe above, each fight situation is a puzzle due to the sport’s problem.

If Jack is hit as soon as by a sword, bullet, shockwave, or one thing else, he dies. Each assault, motion, sprint, slow-mo in-air directional shift, and grapple issues as a result of it’s one piece of the equation that takes you from X to Y and at last, to Z. That glorious fight method returns in arenas even greater than those within the first sport and in different, smaller areas the place enemies await.

“At first, when growing [Ghostrunner 1], that was new to us,” Ratusznik tells me, remarking on the group discovering that its first-person motion parkour sport additionally performs like a puzzle sport. “When growing a top-down sport [referring to One More Level’s 2019 game, God’s Trigger], you’ll be able to plan your motion earlier than coming into a room. Like in Hotline Miami, you possibly can verify what’s in entrance of you however right here, when coming into a room, all the things is new for you. You need to run by means of the sector and verify for enemies and see their placement. When coming into new areas, it’s positive you’ll die.”

However the great thing about demise in Ghostrunner is now you understand what’s coming and the way it’s coming. So that you attempt once more and doubtless die once more, however this third time, you turn up your techniques. “What works? What doesn’t? If I assault this enemy first, I can throw a shuriken to that explosive barrel to take these two out earlier than hopping onto the zipline above to take out the tankier man up right here.” These are the sorts of ideas going by means of my head a number of instances on this quick preview, and so they’re precisely what One Extra Degree desires me to suppose whereas enjoying, Ratusznik and Bryła say, calling Ghostrunner 2 “a super-fast puzzle sport.”

A New Set of Wheels

A New Set of Wheels

When growing this sequel, the group knew it wanted to up the ante in a number of methods, each in fight and in its puzzle sequences. And whereas it tackled this by evolving what’s already there, it added one thing model new: a motorcycle. After simply 10 minutes sitting within the driver’s seat, I already like it.

“We determined that Ghostrunner was a very fast-paced sport and requested ourselves, ‘Alright, what if we need to have one thing even quicker than Jack?’,” Bryła says. “We determined, ‘What if now we have a motorbike within the sport and use it as a instrument to go from one level to a different and use it within the exterior world?’”

Virtually instantly after utilizing the motorcycle, it’s clear it’s One Extra Degree’s greatest addition. As I barrel down a futuristic freeway, utilizing my controller’s proper set off to throttle it ahead, I have to suppose shortly. There’s an in-world timer I’ve to remain forward of to stay alive. There are jumps to hit, however I can solely clear the hole if I increase off the ramp first. There are unavoidable boundaries earlier than me till I notice this motorcycle can journey on the round partitions to avert them altogether. The motorcycle looks like an extension of Jack, and I look ahead to seeing how else it’s used. One Extra Degree teases sequences the place Jack should soar off the motorcycle mid-air to slash a swap that opens a pathway forward and land again on the motorcycle to advance, and I can’t wait to see this and the inevitable Akira-slide that may accompany these moments.

“It was extra like, ‘Okay, let’s not deal with this too significantly, let’s prototype it first,’” Ratusznik tells me. “We knew we wished to maneuver away from the Tower for lots of the sport [and] have ranges exterior the Tower. [Jack] wouldn’t journey too far [on foot] so we gave him one thing to journey there quicker.”

He says they knew immediately the kind of transportation Jack wanted could be a motorcycle, which has a flashy reveal second in-game. Bryła says the motorcycle is already an enormous a part of cyberpunk media and tradition, so including it was a no brainer. It was additionally a no brainer to disregard physics in the course of the motorcycle sections, too, he provides, remarking that arcade racing video games like Mario Kart encourage it.

“It’s all the time about connecting to Ghostrunner 2’s gameplay,” Bryła says. “We’re wall-running; let’s add wall-riding to the bike, however let’s not put an excessive amount of consideration into physics and it being reasonable. We took a pure arcade-ish strategy as a result of you want to have enjoyable, not simulate an actual motorcycle, and I feel it’s an excellent addition. It makes for a very contemporary strategy to Ghostrunner.”

Prepared for Extra

Prepared for Extra

The bike is the breakout star of my quick preview with Ghostrunner 2, but it surely’s additionally essentially the most distinguished addition; I’m not stunned it’s the foremost takeaway from my time with the sequel. What I would like out of Ghostrunner 2 is extra – extra of Jack’s story, extra characters to work together with, extra of this dour however stunning cyberpunk world to discover, and 1000’s extra enemies to parkour round and slash by means of. Thus far, Ghostrunner 2 is delivering on that, and new additions just like the bike, blocking, a brand new in-world hub to speak to characters in-person (not as floating heads like within the first sport), and extra have me craving for the sport’s launch this month once I can transcend only a meager half-hour of play. Jack is again and I couldn’t be extra excited.

This text initially appeared in Difficulty 360 of Recreation Informer.