News

Ghostrunner: Always Bring a Sword to a Gunfight

Published

3 years ago

November 2, 2020

We are living in a bit of a cyberpunk-issance. The Rutger Hauer starring vehicle, Observer, CD Projekt Red’s Cyberpunk, and now the kinetic roller coaster ride that is 505 Games studios’ Ghostrunner. This one takes a very different approach to the cyberpunk subgenre and explores an explosive fast-paced parkour based gaming.

Ghostrunner is an first-person experience that is just as much an action parkour game as it is a puzzle game. It challenges you to dodge bullets, slice your enemies in twain, all while maintaining a careful enough vantage point on the battlefield to figure out how to get access to the next area.

Developers, One More Level and All In! Games’ Ghostrunner focuses on Jack, a Ghostrunner by profession who must traverse Dharma Tower, the last bastion of humanity following an apocalyptic event known as The Burst. Even though Ghostrunners are badasses by trade you are overpowered and all but destroyed by The Keymaster at the start of the game. You wake up barely alive, brought back to life by The Architect a powerful force in Dharma Tower. Ultimately, you are tasked by The Architect to go out and destroy The Keymaster.

Ghostrunner is built up of figuring out how to traverse certain arenas by wall running, jumping, grappling, and taking down The Keymaster’s gang by dodging bullets and striking.

Throughout Ghostrunner, you are able to upgrade your systems. This is done through an inventive Tetris inspired grid, where you place as many upgrades as you can fit in place. This allows you to execute enemies by slowing time and slashing through multiple enemies at once. Several times though the game, you receive these upgrades and they seem to be perfectly timed to reinvigorate gameplay to make everything fresh again.

Ghostrunner

Controls are a mixed bag. I reviewed the game on Xbox One X. So, naturally, I was playing with a controller. I’m sure that this is a little more well built playing on keyboard and mouse. The starch feeling of the controller doesn’t allow the game to fully bloom. But, it doesn’t totally kill the experience either.

Now, there are moments where I don’t think that keyboard or controller would have had a large impact on things either way. There are some parts in the game where controls take a back seat to bad level architecture. This is especially true in a level that has you seeking out items in a stage filled with rotating platforms. It gave me one of the most frustrating moments in the game, one where I didn’t feel that skill had anything to do with dying or making it out of the level alive.

The game is built on repetition, prepare to die a lot. But, there are also moments that you can get in sync with this game and play to its beat, and those moments are by far the high points. Plus, dying isn’t too much of a hindrance thanks to forgiving load times and checkpoints.

The soundtrack drives this game. The electronic synth beats are a perfect match for your cold steel slicing through your many enemies combined with all that kinetic ninja work that you do. The electronic score fits well in a game that itself is inspired by the whole cyberpunk movement of the 1980’s that exuded this sort of electronic synth menagerie. But, it one hundred percent makes you want to not only play as the Ghostrunner but to be the Ghostrunner.

Ghostrunner

The abilities in this game never make you feel overpowered. Once you gain enough ability to take on enemies too easily you can always count on Ghostrunner upping the level difficulty on a new set of enemies. Some with automatic machine guns or some with forward facing shields that make use of your powers to figure out a way to quickly move behind them to lay a dispatch.

The world and color scheme of Ghostrunner is beautifully designed. Lighting and the cyberpunk beauty is front and center and looks just as good as the films of the 80s that inspired it. Not to mention the level design is constantly coming up with new ways to challenge you to traverse it in a number of approaches that are almost entirely up to your choosing.

Ghostrunner makes you feel like a ninja. A bad ass cybernetic ninja. That’s why you wanted to play Ghostrunner and that’s what it delievers on. It’s fast-paced rewarding and sears with kinetic action. Death never becomes too much of an issue thanks to smart checkpoints and almost zero load times after death. The 8 hour campaign is a blast even if you run into a bit of unrewarding frustration in some of its makeup. Ghostrunner delivers on exactly what you want, and makes it entirely okay to bring a sword to a gunfight.

Ghostrunner is out now on Xbox One, PS4 and PC and is priced at $29.99.

Peep our review for G.I. Joe: Operation Blackout.

'Civil War' Review: Is It Worth Watching?

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Related Topics:505 Games Cyberpunk Ghostrunner PC PS4 Xbox One

Movies

Trailer for ‘The Exorcism’ Has Russell Crowe Possessed

Published

5 hours ago

April 25, 2024

Timothy Rawles

The latest exorcism movie is about to drop this summer. It’s aptly titled The Exorcism and it stars Academy Award winner turned B-movie savant Russell Crowe. The trailer dropped today and by the looks of it, we are getting a possession movie that takes place on a movie set.

Just like this year’s recent demon-in-media-space film Late Night With the Devil, The Exorcism happens during a production. Although the former takes place on a live network talk show, the latter is on an active sound stage. Hopefully, it won’t be entirely serious and we’ll get some meta chuckles out of it.

The film will open in theaters on June 7, but since Shudder also acquired it, it probably won’t be long after that until it finds a home on the streaming service.

Crowe plays, “Anthony Miller, a troubled actor who begins to unravel while shooting a supernatural horror film. His estranged daughter, Lee (Ryan Simpkins), wonders if he’s slipping back into his past addictions or if there’s something more sinister at play. The film also stars Sam Worthington, Chloe Bailey, Adam Goldberg and David Hyde Pierce.”

Crowe did see some success in last year’s The Pope’s Exorcist mostly because his character was so over-the-top and infused with such comical hubris it bordered on parody. We will see if that is the route actor-turned-director Joshua John Miller takes with The Exorcism.

'Civil War' Review: Is It Worth Watching?

News

Win a Stay at The Lizzie Borden House From Spirit Halloween

Published

7 hours ago

April 25, 2024

Timothy Rawles

Spirit Halloween has declared that this week marks the start of spooky season and to celebrate they are offering fans a chance to stay at the Lizzie Borden House with so many perks Lizzie herself would approve.

The Lizzie Borden House in Fall River, MA is claimed to be one of the most haunted houses in America. Of course one lucky winner and up to 12 of their friends will find out if the rumors are true if they win the grand prize: A private stay in the notorious house.

“We are delighted to work with Spirit Halloween to roll out the red carpet and offer the public a chance to win a one-of-a-kind experience at the infamous Lizzie Borden House, which also includes additional haunted experiences and merchandise,” said Lance Zaal, President & Founder of US Ghost Adventures.

Fans can enter to win by following Spirit Halloween‘s Instagram and leaving a comment on the contest post from now through April 28.

The prize also includes:

An exclusive guided house tour, including insider insight around the murder, the trial, and commonly reported hauntings

A late-night ghost tour, complete with professional ghost-hunting gear

A private breakfast in the Borden family dining room

A ghost hunting starter kit with two pieces of Ghost Daddy Ghost Hunting Gear and a lesson for two at US Ghost Adventures Ghost Hunting Course

The ultimate Lizzie Borden gift package, featuring an official hatchet, the Lizzie Borden board game, Lily the Haunted Doll, and America’s Most Haunted Volume II

Winner’s choice of a Ghost Tour experience in Salem or a True Crime experience in Boston for two

“Our Halfway to Halloween celebration provides fans an exhilarating taste of what’s to come this fall and empowers them to start planning for their favorite season as early as they please,” said Steven Silverstein, CEO of Spirit Halloween. “We have cultivated an incredible following of enthusiasts who embody the Halloween lifestyle, and we’re thrilled to bring the fun back to life.”

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Spirit Halloween is also preparing for their retail haunted houses. On Thursday, August 1 their flagship store in Egg Harbor Township, NJ. will officially open to start off the season. That event usually draws in hordes of people eager to see what new merch, animatronics, and exclusive IP goods will be trending this year.

'Civil War' Review: Is It Worth Watching?

Movies

’28 Years Later’ Trilogy Taking Shape With Serious Star Power

Published

8 hours ago

April 25, 2024

Timothy Rawles

Danny Boyle is revisiting his 28 Days Later universe with three new films. He will direct the first, 28 Years Later, with two more to follow. Deadline is reporting that sources say Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Ralph Fiennes have been cast for the first entry, a sequel to the original. Details are being kept under wraps so we don’t know how or if the first original sequel 28 Weeks Later fits into the project.

**Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Ralph Fiennes**

Boyle will direct the first movie but it’s unclear which role he will take on in the subsequent films. What is known is Candyman (2021) director Nia DaCosta is scheduled to direct the second film in this trilogy and that the third will be filmed immediately afterward. Whether DaCosta will direct both is still unclear.

Alex Garland is writing the scripts. Garland is having a successful time at the box office right now. He wrote and directed the current action/thriller Civil War which was just knocked out of the theatrical top spot by Radio Silence’s Abigail.

There is no word yet on when, or where, 28 Years Later will start production.