Ghostrunner

Vorlage:Short description Vorlage:Italic title Vorlage:Infobox video game Ghostrunner is a cyberpunk action video game developed by Polish development studio One More Level and co-published by All In! Games and 505 Games. It was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in October 2020, for Nintendo Switch in November 2020 and will also release for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S in 2021. Ghostrunner is co-produced by 3D Realms and co-developed by Slipgate Ironworks.

Gameplay

As Jack the Ghostrunner, the player must traverse dangerous environments by dashing, jumping, wall-running, and grappling. The player will also encounter enemies, which must be handled carefully, as both enemies and the player can be killed in one hit. Jack can use a mechanic called Sensory Boost, allowing him to slow down time and dodge and deflect bullets in midair. As the player progresses through the story, they will unlock new abilities and upgrades, which they can apply using tetramino-like pieces on a grid system.

Plot

Vorlage:Long plot Ghostrunner is set in Dharma Tower, a massive skyscraper-like arcology housing the remainder of humanity after an unspecified global calamity known as the Burst. The Ghostrunner awakens with no memory, but is directed to liberate a digital intelligence known as the Architect, the preserved mind of Adam that created and ruled Dharma Tower and designed the Ghostrunners, technologically enhanced supersoldiers that served as a peacekeeping and policing tool. The Architect was betrayed by his confidant Mara in a coup which destroyed all but one of the Ghostrunner units. Mara, now known as the Keymaster, rules with an army of brutal thugs, with her general disinterest in the Towers systems affecting the living conditions of the Dharma's society. The Ghostrunner was found by a group of rebels known as the Climbers for repairs, though the rebellion was brutally exterminated immediately prior to the Ghostrunner's reactivation. The Architect tasks the Ghostrunner with defeating the Keymaster.

The Ghostrunner accesses several remaining Cybervoid systems, the digital network conecting the Dharma towers, and the foundation upon which the Architect's intelligence is supported. Doing so allows the Architect to correct damage to the Ghostrunner's code. The Ghostrunner is contacted by Zoe, a surviving Climber who aids the Ghostrunner with access of the various systems of the Base district. Zoe also names the Ghostrunner, 'Jack,' a codename the Climbers used while they attempted to make repairs. Mara disables the air filtration systems of the district the rebellion took place in, which would result in all residents of the district dying to the radioactive dust present in the Outside atmosphere. The Ghostrunner complies with Zoe's request that he reinitialize the turbines to the Architect's dismay, who considers such matters a distraction.

The Ghostrunner uses the Amita elevator to reach Dharma City, a more privileged region housing industrial equipment. The Ghostrunner moves to access the Repository, a secured Cybervoid server containing Pre-Burst information, as well as some data on Project Ghostrunner. Zoe notices a distortion in monitoring systems which turns out to be a facsimile of the Ghostrunners built by Mara, who originally collaborated on their design. This unit steals the data, forcing the Ghostrunner to defeat it to gain further upgrades. The Ghostrunner then proceeds to the Core, former home to its cutting edge research under Mara and the Architect, and the current heart of the Keymaster's power. The Architect continually expresses disdain for the Ghostrunner's camaraderie with Zoe, and considers the Ghostrunner's willfulness to be a deficiency from the perfect weapon the Architect intended. The Keymaster announces to the Architect and his 'puppet' that when she defeats the Ghostrunner, she will make sure to destroy all remaining cybervoid systems, removing the Architect intelligence.

The Ghostrunner accesses the Core, which has mostly fallen into disuse and disrepair as the Keymaster cares for nothing but her own research. While traversing the Core, Zoe receives a distress signal, causing her to leave her safe area in the hopes of rescuing a fellow Climber, despite Ghostrunner suggesting that it could be a trap. Nevertheless, she bids farewell to Jack. The Keymaster addresses the citizens of the Tower directly, explaining her end goal; invasively modifying the human body to be able to tolerate the conditions of Outside, allowing humanity to leave. The products of her research are indeed capable of this, but the nature of the augments damage their minds, leaving little that can be recognized as human. The Keymaster announces that mandatory augmentation will begin within the hour. The Ghostrunner stumbles upon a final Cybervoid server, and gains the ability to hack the ubiquitous 'Atma' neural implants of his foes. This capacity causes the Ghostrunner to realize the Architect had the ability to control people, and comments that the Architect is worse than Mara. As the Ghostrunner closes in, Mara addresses him and the Architect, who she considers monstrous. Mara realizes the only reason why the Ghostrunner would have saved the sector from earlier instead of confronting her right then and there is because the Ghostrunner was not perfectly obedient, and attempts to convince him that the Architect is little more than an insane machine. When the Architect silences her, the Ghostrunner in turn realizing the Architect has been lying about his capacities within the Tower.

The Ghostrunner reaches and finally defeats Mara, upon which the Architect becomes strong enough to force the Ghostrunner into Cybervoid, intending to completely assimilate the Ghostrunner into itself as the Ghostrunner is now independent and sentient. The Ghostrunner resists and traverses the landscape, as the goal of both the original Adam and the Architect is revealed to be complete control of humanity. The Architect considers this for the greater good, while the Ghostrunner considers Mara's initial coup to have been correct. The Ghostrunner reaches the manifestation of the Architect, who insists that without him, Cybervoid will cease to exist, killing the Ghostrunner. The Ghostrunner destroys him anyway, telling the Architect that his name is Jack. Zoe narrates the epilogue, stating that humanity was now free to choose its own path without being controlled by the delusional Architect or Mara. She expresses gratitude for Jack, who is shown to be re-activated.

Development

Polish developer One More Level worked with 3D Realms to create the game. The game is being made using Unreal Engine 4 and supports Nvidia's RTX technology. Publisher All In Games and 505 Games were set to release the game worldwide on October 27, 2020 for Microsoft Windows, Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and on November 10, 2020 for Nintendo Switch.

Release

Ghostrunner was announced during Gamescom 2019. A demo was available May 6 - May 13, 2020 on Steam. The game received positive comments prior to its release. Forbes called the game a mix of Titanfall, Dishonored and Superhot. Andy Chalk from PC Gamer called the game a mix between Mirror's Edge and Dishonored. The game was released for Microsoft Windows, Xbox One and PlayStation 4 on October 27, 2020 by All In! Games and 505 Games, for Nintendo Switch on November 10, 2020 and will also release for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S in 2021.

External links

• Vorlage:Official website