Ghostrunner Is The Cyberpunk Game You Should Have Played In 2020

Cyberpunk was big in 2020, when the long-awaited and eagerly-anticipated Cyberpunk 2077 finally came out. However, it wasn’t the massive generation-defining game CD Projekt Red (and admittedly, many of us fans) propped it up to be. 

It ran well enough on Xbox Series X that I was able to roll credits, thinking that it had been a great game. However, getting an Xbox Series X or a PlayStation 5 around the time Cyberpunk 2077 was released in 2020 was challenging, and many had to play CDPR’s latest RPG on last-gen consoles. You probably already know the story of how that went – it was not a good game to play on last-gen consoles at all. CDPR’s decision not to provide codes to reviewers for these consoles, along with the fact that the studio chose not to discuss Cyberpunk 2077 last-gen, was dishonest and disrespectful to the consumers. 

No matter whether you played it on a powerful PC or a console of newer generation, Cyberpunk 2077 was the most talked about cyberpunk game that year. Ghostrunner was a far better cyberpunk video game than the one that it replaced. 

Ghostrunner was out October 2020. I had the opportunity to test it. But, because of work/freelance obligations I had to put it aside to focus on, ironically, Cyberpunk2077’s massive guide project. This past weekend was the first time I had been able to return to Ghostrunner. After reading about the PlayStation 5 upgrade, which included a 60 FPS Ray-tracing mode as well as a 120 FPS mode for 120 FPS, it felt like I had to get back into Ghostrunner. A few days later I was able to roll credits for not only the greatest cyberpunk title of 2020, but also one of my all-time favorite games. 

Ghostrunner isn’t an RPG that sprawls across countless hours. Nevertheless, it’s a tight, seven-hour first-person samurai sword slasher that I already can’t wait to replay one day (fortunately, I have the Project_Hel DLC released earlier this year to play through for now).

Ghostrunner is, as the name implies, about a ghostrunner who has been reactivated to take down an authoritarian leader in a devastated-by-capitalism cyberpunk metropolis. Although there are twists to the story that I won’t spoil, at its core, Ghostrunner is about someone trying to figure out what it means to be human. It is consciousness or do we call it consciousness? Does it have a pulse? Is it possible to be human when most of your body works in a machine-like fashion? Ghostrunner answers these questions with a vengeance. While it may not be the best or most interesting story in cyberpunk, Ghostrunner does a great job of delivering. 

Ghostrunner is a combination of the hyper-fast Mirror’s Edge with 3D Katana Zero. One hit is enough to make you die. As you can see, there will be many deaths. You will die a lot. Like Katana Zero’s one-hit mechanics however, the game immediately reloads to get you back in the action. Each combat scenario or parkour is viewed initially as a first-person shooter. This could be reminiscent of Call of Duty. So, you might say “There are enemy here, so I’ll fight them here,” etc. Ghostrunner is a puzzle that must be solved in order for you to understand the meaning of each scenario. 

It’s possible to find the best path for each encounter. However, it is not always optimal. This was something I found very satisfying. You must learn how to jump around a stage, grappling to hanging hooks or grinding onto Sonic-like rails – reach the enemy over here before wallrunning to the enemy over there. There’s a chance that you will miss a beat and end up dying. In this way, you will find yourself stuck into the run you thought could work. You’ll keep trying it until you succeed and conquer every opponent in the room. The experience is exhilarating and I felt like I was a master parkour instructor every time I won a battle. Gameplay is king in Ghostrunner, and for good reason – it’s some of the best in-game movement and combat out there.

Even better, Ghostrunner’s story and top-notch gameplay are wrapped in an amazing synthwave score and stunning cyberpunk visuals. Ghostrunner is for you if you love neon lights. 

This is all to say Ghostrunner has been one of my most memorable gaming experiences and is the top cyberpunk title of 2020. It was a shame that I didn’t play it all the way through, and I waited two years for a new game to be discovered.

You can read more about Ghostrunner by clicking here. 

Are you a Ghostrunner player? Comment below to let me know your thoughts!