Cyberpunk 2077’s impending release next year has opened a ton of new possibilities for the dystopic genre, especially those looking to create their own bleak future experiences as well. One of the coolest and most intriguing of these was revealed at Gamescom by publisher All In! Games as well as developer One More Level, and it’s also probably one of the sleekest games in the pipeline of future releases. Titled Ghostrunner, this first-person cyberpunk action title is set for release on the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC next year, and it’s also incredibly unique in its game design and mechanics. Check out the first ever gameplay footage for Ghostrunner below.
The game is an incredibly potent mix of Katana Zero and Mirror’s Edge, and it uses those elements extremely well for a very flashy, yet challenging style of play. The mission in the video features your character being dictated by a voice named Whisper, who wants you to free him from his prison. As the only one who can fix your malfunctioning systems, you oblige, and what follows is an absolute marvel of parkouring and one-hit kills through glorious slashes with an incredibly sharp katana.
Ghostrunner features a ton of wall-running, and it looks to be very well-done. In addition to this, your character can air dash, as well as slide down surfaces to gain momentum. However, it looks like one hit will be enough to kill you, and so to combat enemies you have access to an ability that slows down time in mid-air, allowing you to strafe away from bullets before being hit and counter with a slash that bifurcates any unfortunate soul within its reach.
All of these aspects make Ghostrunner quite the spectacle to watch, and it certainly does enough to make itself known with that gameplay snippet. There seems to be a lot of challenge involved, especially as one hit is enough to kill you, but it makes all that zipping around worthwhile and much more relevant now. All that’s left is to wait for a proper release date, and the hope that it doesn’t get buried in the Cyberpunk 2077 hype.
Ghostrunner is set for release on the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC sometime in 2020.