After its initial demo caught the attention of the gaming community, Ghostrunner became one of 2020's most anticipated non-AAA titles and was generally well-received at launch. The first-person cyberpunk ninja simulator offers a fast-paced and violent experience that takes a combination of quick reflexes and unyielding perseverance to complete. Much like its PS4 counterpart, Ghostrunner for the PS5 succeeds in style and vision, but falls short in the consistency of its mechanics.
Ghostrunner opens with a cinematic in which the Ghostrunner, later dubbed "Jack," is fighting his way up Dharma City's central tower. The Dr. Octopus-like villain, Mara "The Keymaster," has successfully taken control of Dharma City and rules over it as a brutal authoritarian. Jack attempts to kill her and end her reign, but is quickly overpowered when Mara literally traps and disarms him before throwing him off the tower. He's eventually reactivated and as he examines his new cybernetic arm, a voice in his head wastes no time in telling him to get up and move.
This leads seamlessly into Ghostrunner's tutorial in which players learn to wall-run, slide, dash, enter bullet time, attack, and die when he is hit by a single bullet. Likewise, enemies are dispatched in a single swing and Ghostrunner's clever level design allows players unique and stylish ways to clear each area. This upgrade even provides new game modes such as Assist Mode, Kill Run Mode, and the roguelike-style Wave Mode so that players can experiment with Jack's various abilities.
However, it doesn't take long for the player to encounter Ghostrunner's biggest issue, which is the consistency of its mechanics. Platforming is the worst offender, as Jack will often refuse to wall-run, tether to a point, or grab onto the yellow speed rails. While the combat can also feel unfair at times, it's easy to adjust to as the player tries and tries again; but the platforming issues can easily make someone put the controller down for a bit. Having been reworked to better integrate with the PS5, one would expect these issues to be less present but that is sadly not the case.
When it comes to PS5-specific features, there isn't much to say. Unlike the Ghost of Tsushima upgrade, Ghostrunner doesn't take advantage of the DualSense controller and instead keeps the same rumbles and audio cues found in the current-gen version. The graphics, however, are completely overhauled thanks to the PS5's ray-tracing capabilities and higher frame-rates which makes the newly implemented Photo Mode intriguing to play with. The loading times are also short, which is helpful since players will be dying a lot.
While the fast loading times and updated graphics show off the beauty of Dharma City's neon-grunge aesthetic and keep players in the action, it's ultimately the same experience. Screen Rant's first Ghostrunner review perfectly sums up the PS5 version's experience, in that it's "Sometimes Fast, Sometimes Slow." Ghostrunner is a great game that provides a proper adrenaline rush when everything works as intended, but those hoping for any significant changes in this next-gen version will be disappointed.
Ghostrunner is available now for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, with a free upgrade path for current-gen owners. Screen Rant was provided with a PS5 download code for the purpose of this review.
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