What am I?–What you as an android are probably thinking.

A Combination of Great Gameplay Mechanics

If you’re someone who liked Dishonored but wanted a faster pace in the action, and you liked Mirror’s Edge in its landscape-crossing Parkour action, then you may like Ghostrunner. It’s not due until August of 2020, but it apparently stole the show in its reveal in Cologne’s Gamescom last year.

Ghostrunner is a first person hack-and-slash using bullet-time and wall-running to cross (or ascend) levels.

Check out its release trailer below.

Recognizable Inspiration

It also wears its inspirations with pride.

“We obviously drew from several works of pop culture,” admits lead designer and producer Radoslaw Ratusznik. “For example, similarities in the life of a society living in a closed off area can be found in, among others, the movie Snowpiercer. The idea of a superstructure in which everyone lives was depicted really well in Dredd, while the notion of being a savior and the “bullet time” effect may remind you of The Matrix. There will definitely be more references and similarities to other works in the final product.”

Release Timing

But what about its release date? Isn’t the team concerned about releasing a Cyberpunk video game the same year as Cyberpunk 2077? Apparently not. What’s more, they’re as excited about the blockbuster release as anyone else.

“We’re players ourselves and we can’t wait to get our hands on the game. We don’t really perceive Cyberpunk 2077 as competition, it’s a gigantic AAA production, while we’re targeting hardcore players.”

The Game Itself

This game looks absolutely amazing, and I for one can’t wait to get my hands on it. The classic Cyberpunk visuals, the music, the story…

The wall-running aspect reminds me a lot of the campaign in Titanfall 2, where you had to solve problems to figure out how to cross each platform. Combining that idea with a vertical high-rise superstructure like the one seen in Dredd seems brilliant. Besides, what’s cooler than katana swords glowing neon blue? Using it combined with bullet-time slow motion in order to take on the challenge of bringing a knife to a gun fight–all while performing split-second moves to the sound of killer synthwave and retrowave tracks.

The Story

The story goes as follows: Set in the future after a global cataclysm, the remains of humanity live in a tower built by someone called The Architect, who died mysteriously some years ago. In this world, a person’s worth is only determined by the number of implants they have. However, these implants are given at birth, and also determine which social group they will belong to.

You play as a cyber-warrior who is capable of fighting both in the real and virtual worlds, something incredibly rare in this dystopian future. Your mission: to ascend the tower to take out the despotic ruler called The Keymaster while uncovering more about yourself and the tower itself.

The story itself is a classic story of revenge, redemption, and antiheroism, along with class conflict and transhumanism–all common tropes in Western Cyberpunk.

To get a taste of what’s in store, check out this incredible 5-minute gameplay trailer, and you’ll see what I mean.

So what do you think? Will this game compete with Cyberpunk 2077 or will it benefit from the publicity of its AAA-rated Cyberpunk sibling? And are you as excited about trying out this game as I am? Let me know in the comments below.