Ghostrunner 2 review: A sequel with style and substance

The original Ghostrunner game remains one of the best sword-swinging power fantasies out there. The sequel builds on that while also expanding on story, characters, and lore – but is it a little too much?

It’s important to understand just how exhilarating the combat in the original Ghostunner was. You kill enemies in one hit, you die in one hit. You had so many different ways to close gaps to enemies, with a plethora of options for every execution.

The core of Ghostrunner is an absurd sense of momentum, all in service of cutting your way through a cyberpunk dystopia. Hilariously effective movement techs like the Dash-Slide-Jump (DSJ) make Ghostrunner one of the fastest-moving games you’ll ever play. The sequel understands this, which is why gameplay will feel very familiar to anyone who played the first game.

Ghostrunner 2: Key details

• Price: €39.99 | $39.99 | £34.99
• Developer: One More Level
• Release Date: October 26, 2023
• Platforms: PlayStation / Xbox / PC

Ghostrunner in the machine

When the fundamental mechanics of your game are so solid, how do you approach making a sequel? Well, the devs over at One More Level took the smart approach: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Ghostrunner 2 keeps all the same mechanics from the original and builds on them.

You can now throw shurikens on demand, then dash to the target for a quick kill. There are new stealth options, better upgrades for abilities, and best of all, the time-slowing power-up is now one of your “ultimate abilities”.

Resources like stamina and your sensory boost recover quickly and the gap-jammer grappling hook is a very forgiving tool. The instant respawn on death means you’ll be getting back into the fray as quickly as possible too.

All of these changes and additions are in service to the most important part of the game: momentum and speed. Not every new ability is a winner, but enough are to be a great addition to the sequel.

Picking up speed

When you die in one hit, you’ve got to keep moving. The best moments in the original were when you moved through areas conserving your momentum, while still taking down enemies. Ghostrunner 2 knows that and expands on it. Even in the more open levels in the mid-game, the are still countless ways to keep that speed up.

To make things even faster, Ghostrunner 2 adds lengthy motorbike segments to the game in some surprisingly open environments. These are real highlights, and they all exist in the service of that goal of keeping up speed. It’s all about momentum. If you’re looking for some great additions to the original game’s already stellar combat, Ghostrunner 2 delivers in spades.

505 Studios

That’s before we get into the upgrades that give you stacking move speed on each kill. Combos are a lot more important in Ghostrunner 2, as they generate the currency that you use to buy new tech and upgrades. These are quick to navigate as you’re encouraged to spend as little time as possible between taking down enemies.

The parkour sections have received just enough new content without upsetting the original flow, and the setpieces you’ll be jumping through are more distinct than those in the first game. Levels are vastly different in terms of tone and style. They’re designed with a large enough scale that you can appreciate them even when you’re moving through at quick speeds.

The soundtrack changes to reflect this as well – an early highlight is a tech cathedral where religious chanting mixes in with powerful synth music.

Grinding to a halt

However, it does feel like some of the new additions counteract that breakneck pace. The original Ghostrunner and the Project Hel DLC were both very streamlined – one mission leads into another, you speak to a few characters over the radio, and there’s never anything standing between you and more exciting hack n’ slash gameplay.

The sequel complicates things, especially when it comes to new a hub area. While it is cool to see characters like Zoe in the flesh, new additions to the cast aren’t as developed. In its attempt to add on all the things that people expect from a sequel, more story and new characters, Ghostrunner 2 bites off a bit too much, and ends up feeling a bit bloated between missions.

This also extends to how Ghostrunner 2 handles upgrades. The Jenga-like interface from the first game has been replaced with a motherboard that needs to be upgraded with purple chips found around levels. If you want to make the most of all the upgrades available, you’ll need to take a not-insignificant amount of time to search for them. It can sometimes feel like you’re being punished for going at the speed the game wants because it means you’re missing out on big power-ups.

Things also slow down a bit during larger encounters. The boss fights in the first game and its DLC usually felt like a step down from regular combat, as the one-hit kill focus of the combat system doesn’t translate amazingly into extended fights. That’s also true in this sequel.

With the exception of a couple of bosses that focus more on parkour and the new motorbike mechanics, one-on-one combat can feel imprecise and much less satisfying than killing people in one swing.

Verdict: 4/5

While some of the story and side content could have been integrated into the game more smoothly, none of that comes close to stopping this sequel from doing what the original did best: unbeatable power fantasy at crazy speeds. Ghostrunner 2 is confident, cool, and brings a killer soundtrack along for the ride.

This is a game that knows how good its core mechanics are, and it creates even better setpieces and scenarios to make the most of them. For fans of the first game, or players looking to start the series, this is an easy recommendation.

Reviewed on PC