Ghostrunner Video walkthrough.

[Frag Maniac]

OK, as promised, here's my Ghostrunner video walkthrough. As before with the other walkthroughs, I'm a good ways into this one as well, so I'll again post a link to the playlist up to this point, and embed the one just finished. Apologies for not having captured the 1st 2 levels, as it was a spur of the moment decision once I stated getting used to and hooked on the game. However the 1st 2 levels don't have any combat.

Playlist up to this point - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLHB6vX_n-5BMQxXqsLxCHWO4-KH9z7wP_

This one's called The Forbidden Zone, and introduces turrets.

This level is not too hard, so it was tempting to try for another no death run like I managed in level 9 Dharma City and level 12 In Her Own Image. On this run I made it a little over 5:30 into it, but got killed by the very last enemy, which would have left only one tough environmental hazard to get through had I not died. Numerous attempts to better it weren't producing the results I got, which was an 11 death run at 9:36, and about 7:30 after editing out the deaths.

This level mostly has turrets, which only take a bit of patience to get past, as once you so much as touch their field of aim lasers, you're instantly killed. It does have some narrow corridor sections that can be frustrating until you work out a system where you can avoid unintentionally clinging to walls when Sensory Boost dodging in slow mo. I simply chose to Deflect Reflect the shot back at the first enemy at the end of a corridor vs getting hung up on the walls (1:53), and jump forward for the 3rd enemy, then dodge a little ways right, then left, staying away from walls, until he shot (2:11).

This level was a bit buggy, as every 10th or so attempt at a no death run, the Sluggers (melee guys that leap a long ways then smash you or the ground near you for an insta kill), would not attack. Unfortunately at times it happened in the middle of a good run like this one (2:56). I missed a jump to a rail at 3:24, but at least I got all the enemies in that area without dying, and it's the first one in this area with shield guys.

One of the reasons I wanted to keep trying for a better run, is I think I might be able to clear the 1st of the 2 turrets in the big room at 4:18, without waiting. It's very close to being in the ideal position as you enter the room for you to be hidden from it's lasers if you start the wall run immediately. Considering that and that I missed that rail jump, 9:00 (7:00 edited) seems doable.

In the next area that starts at 4:52, I got killed by the 2nd big mech, and the first ninja after jumping up to the high catwalk, at least once each, after loading the checkpoint that starts at the ramp at 4:18, following my death by aforementioned last enemy. That last enemy is a shield guy in a room with 2 other shield guys, and the time I died there the slow mo bugged a bit and kept going, which also made the controls hard to use.

What was most frustrating though, is the place I died the most times was the electrical hazard in the narrow corridor at 5:46. At times those are like the worst enemies in the game. That said, I managed the whole run without using any insta kill abilities, and Surge, the newly acquired one from the end of the last level, even works through shields. Maybe I should have used it.

 

[Sarafan]

I'm currently on a boss fight with another type of Ghostrunner (just before Dharma City, I believe) and man... it's hard as hell! You need to have perfect timing in blocking series of enemy attacks and this has to be done 4 (?) times in a row. That gives us 16 perfect blocks without an error in overall. I'll probably spend a lot of time on this one...

 

[Frag Maniac]

I'm currently on a boss fight with another type of Ghostrunner (just before Dharma City, I believe) and man... it's hard as hell! You need to have perfect timing in blocking series of enemy attacks and this has to be done 4 (?) times in a row. That gives us 16 perfect blocks without an error in overall. I'll probably spend a lot of time on this one...

You must be mistaken, the fist boss in the game is a big security machine with lasers (Gatekeeper), which is the only one before Dharma City. The next boss fight, and the one I believe you're referring to, is actually a few levels after Dharma City. And while that boss does have similar skills and fighting styles to a Ghostrunner, it's more of a robot actually.

I also found that boss I believe you're referring to, in the level In Her Own Image, was the easiest level of the game. It only took me a few tries to get the timing down. Just make sure you strike when her sword glows. Eventually you'll see a pattern to the moves she does, which is how I anticipated what the timing would be. You also need to make sure you notice which direction it retreats to after landing a successful strike.

The last Surge obstacle at the end where you have to target 3 enemies midway through a jump pad leap while looking sideways, was the only part of the level that at first kept me from getting a no death run after I had the boss fight figured out. It was mainly because a couple of times I accidentally landed on the jump pad on the other side of the gap (which you use to go back and try again if you missed), and it sent me back only half way, falling to my death in the gap.

 

[Sarafan]

...

Yeah, you're right. I wasn't sure which level is called Dharma City. Anyway, I've beaten the boss today. It wasn't that hard after all, but it provided me some difficulties given the fact that each stage had a different timing. I wouldn't call this the easiest level, but it wasn't as hard as I expected it to be.

 

[Frag Maniac]

Yeah, you're right. I wasn't sure which level is called Dharma City. Anyway, I've beaten the boss today. It wasn't that hard after all, but it provided me some difficulties given the fact that each stage had a different timing. I wouldn't call this the easiest level, but it wasn't as hard as I expected it to be.

It's easy if you're good at recognizing her different patterns she attacks with. Once you get those rhythms in your head, it's just a matter of timing her first strike right, then following that pattern. Meaning each pattern starts out differently, so it's not hard to tell which one it is.

How did Dharma City go for you btw? Did the game crash on you in that level? It crashed on me numerous times, but that's the only level I've had that problem with.

 

[Sarafan]

How did Dharma City go for you btw? Did the game crash on you in that level? It crashed on me numerous times, but that's the only level I've had that problem with.

It was fine. No crashes for me on that level. I had only a single crash while level 4 was loading IIRC. And it was related to not big enough virtual memory file. No crashes after that.

 

[Frag Maniac]

It was fine. No crashes for me on that level. I had only a single crash while level 4 was loading IIRC. And it was related to not big enough virtual memory file. No crashes after that.

Well I'm using plenty of Virtual Memory on an SSD, so I'm pretty sure that was not the cause of it. When I searched I also found others having crashes on that level, so I assumed it was prone to it. That said, if you go through in chunks and pick up at each checkpoint where you failed, there's a much greater chance each attempt will be less than 4 min. I was restarting the whole level each time I failed to attempt a no death run, and when the attempts took longer than 4 min, it usually crashed.

 

[Frag Maniac]

I have the next level done now, it's called Reign in Hell. This level introduces two new enemies, Wrecks, and Shifters, or Phase Shifters when not abbreviated. Wrecks are small, fast crawling creatures that self destruct when near you. At first these seemed difficult, but it's really not too hard to evade them. Shifters are enhanced humans as far as I can tell, whom can teleport away if you get near them. They also have a pretty powerful attack similar to the last boss I fought called HEL, which is also similar to the Surge ability you get after defeating HEL. They are not too difficult to take on one at a time, but there are two very tough battles at the end where there are more than one of them and other enemies mixed in.

This level also introduces the Overlord ability, which basically makes any AI you hit it with fight for you for a brief time. This comes in handy for the end of the level, but the problem is, I found it very hard to use it on both end battles without dying, as it's slow to recharge. I was relatively satisfied with my clear time and number of times dying, but what was aggravating is I counted 5 deaths that were silly mistakes platforming or not paying attention to my Overlord attack wearing off on one enemy.

I purposely kept in all footage this time, including the deaths, to show what it takes to refill the ability meter. I thought this was necessary since Overlord in particular is so helpful on this level.

There are now only 3 levels left in the game.

 

[Frag Maniac]

Here's the next level, which is called Things You Wouldn't Believe. This level introduces a new enemy called the Splitter. Splitters are basically similar to the first enemies in the game, Keys, as they are equipped with just single shot pistols. The difference is they can split themselves into 5 identical forms. They are relatively easy to deal with though, even in groups of two. This is for two reasons, only the original form of the 5 actually shoots harmful projectiles at you, the rest just shoot ones that affect your vision a bit if hit by them. Also, it's easy to see which is the original form merely by using Sensory Boost, as the other 4 will be the only ones highlighted. Once the original is killed, all others vanish.

This level has an interesting layout, with many optional paths through it, including lots of grapple points placed high on wall run panels. After completing, compressing, and uploading this run, I noticed in watching someone's speedrun I missed an opportunity for a possible way to more easily and quickly kill all the enemies in the battle at the 1:45 mark, via a shuriken cache high on the far wall I was unaware of. This could have possibly avoided at least two deaths.

I also made a mistake at the 3:00 min mark where after respawning from a death where I had just prior filled my Overload meter via a kill, did not notice that after respawning, the game took away my full meter, yet replenished it after dying yet again, this time with no kill achieved. That seemed strange to me, and the 2nd death happened because I was expecting my Overlord to work (you can hear me trying to use it).

I also had the game seriously glitch on me on a previous run attempt at the start of the toughest battle, which is shown here at the 7:08 mark. I was stuck not being able to look up or down much. Fortunately, this run I aced that battled first try with no deaths for the first time, and no glitch.

This level has hard platforming sections, some obvious, some not so obvious. Thus many of my deaths were silly mistakes, or not being precise enough where there were more of those nasty electrified wall run panels like near the end of The Forbidden Zone two levels ago. I finished with just under 17:41 clear time and 34 deaths, which I was reluctantly OK with given how hard it felt. I again included any deaths following kills that filled my ability meter, and edited out the rest.

 

[Sarafan]

I'm stuck on the final level (the one after beating Mara). Generally it's a very hard platformer-like level. I will try to finish it however. Don't like to leave the game not finished just before the end.

 

[Frag Maniac]

I'm stuck on the final level (the one after beating Mara). Generally it's a very hard platformer-like level. I will try to finish it however. Don't like to leave the game not finished just before the end.

Yeah I've seen videos of that level, and it indeed looks like a ton of non stop hard platforming.

I've already beaten Mara, but it was just a test run with more deaths than I think I can end up with if I study it some more.

 

[Sarafan]

Yeah I've seen videos of that level, and it indeed looks like a ton of non stop hard platforming.

I've already beaten Mara, but it was just a test run with more deaths than I think I can end up with if I study it some more.

And... It's over! I've finished the game. It wasn't as hard as it seemed in the first place. If you find a way to get through the final level's platformer elements it's definitely doable. Very good game. I haven't felt so much satisfaction after finishing a game for quite a long time. Let's hope there will be a sequel!

 

[Frag Maniac]

And... It's over! I've finished the game. It wasn't as hard as it seemed in the first place. If you find a way to get through the final level's platformer elements it's definitely doable. Very good game. I haven't felt so much satisfaction after finishing a game for quite a long time. Let's hope there will be a sequel!

Congrats, and yes, word is they're planning on a sequel.

 

[Frag Maniac]

Alright, here's the penultimate level called The Summit. It's a boss fight against Mara, and I'm delighted to say my 3rd no death run of the game, and likely the last given how tough the platforming is in the final level.

It starts with an easy enough intro through a building with labs where Whisper tells the Ghostrunner his workshop where our hero was created is located. A little over a minute later we grapple down to a circular arena where Mara waits.

Mara is part machine, as she has many big tentacles attached to her which she attacks with. Her attacks are, a sweep, an overhead slash, a jab, an attack where she stabs the ground in front of her then the tentacle pokes up from the floor at you, and an Area of Effect attack where she electrifies a large part of the floor.

There are 3 phases to this fight, so she has just 3 large health bars. Oddly enough, the last phase is the easiest, with only jab attacks, the 2nd a bit harder, with sweeps and slashes, and the 1st the toughest. The reason the1st is the toughest is it's hard to predict what kind of attack she'll do, and if you're caught in the middle of her large AOE attack, which is easiest escaped by looking sideways and dashing out of it, you can get stuck not seeing what kind of attack she'll do next.

You generally jump and sensory boost dodge many of these attacks, but sweeps you must time just a jump well. Thus I died many times on earlier runs jumping too soon after escaping her AOE. The goal to get through this fight expediently is to at the end of phase 1 and 2, and any time in the 3rd phase, stand in front of a working control panel, then dodge as she jabs at you. This causes her to get a tentacle stuck in it, which allows you to cut it off.

I counted just 3 unsuccessful control panel lures, so for me, this was a near perfect run. I finished with a clear time of 4:16:91, and as mentioned, with no deaths.

 

[Frag Maniac]

Now we arrive at the final level, called The Monster. This is a fairly short level, but can feel much longer than it is. There's no combat to speak of, just a lot of tough platforming. It's also unique in the sense that for the first time, we see tough platforming in the virtual world. This can also mess a bit with your perception and timing, due to slight distortion and panels that can dissolve. It takes pretty good timing and precision, and you're tasked to stay at it almost non stop the whole level.

I can't say my finish time and death toll was amazing, but not disastrous either. Knowing how tough it was, I was really only hoping for something under 30 deaths. Since it's definitely harder than the last level I suffered deaths on though, where I had 34, the 38 I wound up with here seemed about right. The finish time was also similar to that level, at just over 17.5 min. It also felt plenty adequate since I only made two full level attempts. I was also OK with how it looked edited.

The first attempt took a bit over an hour of play time, and resulted in well over 200 deaths. Most of the deaths by far were the first spot with the red orbs you have to dodge, where you have to use floating platforms that move laterally both directions. The second run I made it through that spot pretty well, with only 2 deaths by the checkpoint after. Most of the deaths on the 2nd run seemed to come at the shorter red orb sections near the end, where the space is pretty confined.

This was a fun game, and I look forward to the sequel they have already greenlit. You get a message after the credits saying Hardcore mode is unlocked. I may give it a go for a few levels, but I'm not sure I'll be able to do it. If I can manage to beat any levels on that mode, I'll post them though. Thanks to those of you whom took the time to watch these videos.