Part of this blog is about coming across cool things that I want to share with the ether, and sometimes that the sort of stuff that doesn't get the main stream attention that it perhaps deserves, so in that vein, I've came across a pretty cool looking upcoming game. 3D Realms' 'GhostRunner'. Details are pretty sparse thusfar, with the game having only been announced a few months back, but I feel the need to give this game a lookie lou purely due to the fact that it threatens to cover a genre which I'm always happy to pursue; Cyberpunk.
Somehow, despite the fame of the company in question and how cool the game itself looks, this project has yet to pick up mainstream attraction. I mean, you'll find the odd article covering it don't get me wrong, but the trailer posted by the official YouTube channel only has about 15,000 views. (And YouTube seems to automatically mislabel the game as being Cyberpunk 2077. Whoops.) It is for that reason that I was initially shocked when I first discovered the game and then realized that I'd somehow gone several months in ignorance of it's existence despite how promising it all looked. What is wrong with me? How were my eyes so firmly closed? Well they're open now and I'm starting my hype train by going over all we've seen so far regarding this game who's title and subject matter seems dangerously close to receiving a lawsuit from Ridley Scott.
First, some history. Anyone who knows their gaming has heard of 3D Realms. Chances are that even if you are just passing the video game scene you will have heard of them in passing and are just trying to put your finger on it, so let me refresh your memory. 3D Realms are the pioneers behind such influential and legendary shooters like 'Wolfenstien 3D', the 'Duke Nukem' games, 'Rise of the Triad', both 'Shadow Warrior' games, and they even helped with the original 'Prey'. With all that in mind, you can imagine how legendary these guys are. Most of those games that I just mentioned are considered direct influences for many tried and true FPS tropes of today, with Wolfenstein 3D often considered the grandfather of the genre. Recently, however, they have not been quite at the forefront of the industry anymore and you won't find their label plastered on the front of every best seller like you used to. However they haven't stopped making games, and exciting looking ones at that; point in case, GhostRunner.
On Nov 18th the official 3D realms YouTube channel put out the Reveal trailer for a brand new game that pundits are already calling a mix between 'Dishonored' and 'Mirror's Edge'. (Not the most imaginative comparison in the world but give these guys some slack, it's not like they write about video games for a living...) From what we have been presented with so far, it would seem that this game intends to bring to life the gritty, dirty edge of the Cyberpunk genre that people usually expect when they think of the genre. We've seen heavily industrial areas, faded out colour palettes and the oh-so-indicative mixture of Asian culture and characters in the environment. This lends well with the gameplay from the trailer (which is what inspires those aforementioned comparisons) in which we see the player wielding a futuristic-ally minimalist katana and parkouring over heavily vast spaces and wall running over chasms. (Every basement dwellers dream, right?)
This first look at the game was very vague and understated, with little given in the way of story or themes and everything seemingly thrown into invoking the correct visual flair that this genre demands, similar to Cyberpunk 2077's first trailer. (Although in that CDPR were trying to prove that the genre's palette could withstand a lot more variety then is typically depicted. An exact contrast to this trailer.) But we can pick out the way in which this game seems to focus around movement and assassination, based on the way we see an abundance of both in the gameplay sections. Dropping down on enemies and skewing them with you blade seems to indicate that your character is perhaps not the 'shoot'em up' powerhouse that we usually expect in 3D Realms games, as his moves seem tailored to avoid bullets rather than withstand them. In this way, I suppose that 'Dishonored' and 'Mirror's Edge' are apt comparisons as the same could be said for both titles.
If the assumption I, and others, have made is true then that could mean this game will end up being a stealth action game. (And if you've read any of my previous posts on similar games, you'll know how much of a nut I am for stealth action games.) Although the plethora of movement options that I have seen available (dashing, bullet blocking, and using a whip to pull yourself around) seem to hint at a more 'trail and error' gameplay that you would see in games like 'Ruiner', 'Hyper Light Drifter', 'Hotline Miami' and 'Enter the Gungeon'. All those games feature a fragile, but agile, protagonist flying their way through bullet-rich environments. These games are built around the concept of forcing the player to use their skills to avoid projectiles and expecting them to die often, throughout your playthrough you are expected to learn the quirks to all your movement powers and enemy attacks and use them against increasingly insane odds. A genre that is very 'skill based' in contrast to stealth games which are more 'patience-based'.
That trailer is not, however, the only piece of content that we have to view regarding this game. As I hinted at earlier, there has existed some gameplay for this game as far back as August, (which is odd considering the 'Reveal trailer' was this month) through which we can get a greater idea of what to expect from the full release. In this gameplay we see that the gameplay, at the time of that video, was much more in the wheelhouse of the 'fragile protagonist' with alert but stationary enemies, slow firing energy weapons, instant deaths and instant respawns. Once can also hear the droning techie beat accompanying everything bringing a sense of continuity to gameplay similar to how those other games that I mention do.
GhostRunner proposes a fun Cyberpunk take on the first person shooter that I find myself curious to check out for myself at some point. The gameplay doesn't feel like it'll go up against 2077, making the '2020' prospective release date fine, and the rhythmic bounce of the movement and music makes me feel like this will become one of those staple 'relaxation games' that people come back to time and time again. (Albeit, with considerably more blood than 'Clustertruck'.) I'm eager to put this one on my 'must watch' list and slowly transform next year into my personal 'year of technological dystopias'. All I need now is another ShadowRun game and I'll be set!
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