A year ago, I reviewed Ghostrunner. You really should go check out that review. This game is freaking fantastic and does so much right. If you lack patience however, it will definitely frustrate you.
With that said, Ghostrunner has received numerous updates now and the latest one has added a brand new “Wave mode” to the game. The wave mode, as the name implies, features waves of enemies for you to face off against. It’s not as straightforward as it seems though and I’ll explain why in a bit.
In the newly added wave mode, players will be presented with 3 perk cards to pick from. These impart a special perk to your character which you can then use in the wave mode’s arena environment. Players will have to get through 20 waves and will be able to unlock an exclusive sword from the wave mode should they be able to complete it.
This is where things get spicy though. The wave mode features procedural generation. Each wave in the wave mode’s 20 levels is completely unknown to you and as such, each run through the wave mode will be a fresh experience. This adds so much longevity to Ghostrunner than this mode alone could honestly have been a game in itself. The fact that it’s freely accessible to all players is great too though! Massive props to the developers and publisher here for doing this.
I picked up the Neon Pack though so this did give me access to some brand new sword skins as well as glove skins for my character. These sword skins are not exactly super amazing with some of the skins earned through playing the main game itself still looking far more appealing. However, the Neon Sword skins do still look flashy in-game and the glove skins honestly add a lot more flavour to your character. Seeing a glowing hand with a luminescent sword blade while slashing away at waves of enemies is super cool after all!
The wave mode levels themselves are extremely challenging. Depending on your luck, you may end up with some truly brutal waves to get through in the later levels when the difficulty is clearly ramped up. The perks you pick at the start of each level also carry over unless explicitly mentioned to be once off so be sure to pick wisely. You need to build your character to be able to survive an onslaught of extremely tough foes from the Ghostrunner campaign.
Yip, that means that you’ll be fighting the mechs, the shield troopers, the jumpy guys as well as the enemies that make copies of themselves and the sword users too. The level of challenge in the wave mode is intense but if you’ve played through the campaign of the game, you should be skilled enough to take this on. If not, I suggest diving back into the campaign for a bit to get back up to speed with the game’s mechanics before going into the wave mode.
Depending on the perks you can get at the start of each wave level, you can change up your playstyle completely in the wave mode. Opting for the “Tempest” ability for example will mean that you can simply blow away some enemies while opting for “Blink” instead means you can dodge laser fire easier. These perks stack up with both passive abilities as well as rarer bonus charges and more and the wave mode’s procedural generation combined with this means that gamers will have an immense amount of addictive fun with this mode. It’s oh so challenging but oh so enjoyable too. You’ll keep going at a level and the sense of success you feel upon beating one is undeniably euphoric. Getting through all 20 levels will feel like a massive achievement and kudos to the developers for getting this done just right.
If you’re looking to dive into Ghostrunner, now’s the perfect time to do so. There’s plenty of post-launch content that has enhanced the game and the main game’s campaign is amazing too. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, this is definitely a “Must own” game. And if you’re still on the fence, there’s a demo available on Steam too.
This review is based on the PC version of the game.
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