Ghostrunner

Ghostrunner is a first-person cyberpunk action slasher for PC built around wall-running, lethal katana combat, and precision platforming. The current storefront name remains Ghostrunner on Steam and GOG, while Epic Games Store also lists a Ghostrunner: Complete Edition. There is no verified rebrand replacing the original title.

Developed by One More Level with 3D Realms and Slipgate Ironworks, and published by 505 Games, Ghostrunner puts you inside Dharma Tower, humanity's last refuge after a world-ending catastrophe. You play a cyber-warrior climbing from the bottom of the megastructure toward the tyrannical Keymaster.

Fast movement is the real weapon

Ghostrunner's core loop is simple to describe and difficult to master: enter an encounter, read the arena, find a route through gunfire and hazards, kill every target, and restart instantly when one mistake ends the run. The game is a single-player first-person platformer as much as it is a melee action game.

Your katana usually kills ordinary enemies in one strike, but the same rule applies to the Ghostrunner. A single bullet, missed parry, bad landing, or mistimed jump can end the attempt. That one-hit combat design keeps encounters compact and makes movement, positioning, and timing more important than health management or equipment statistics.

Traversal combines wall-running, sliding, jumping, grappling between anchor points, and air movement. You can use Dash to reposition around attacks and activate Sensory Boost to slow time while steering through dangerous gaps. The strongest routes often combine several actions without stopping, turning each combat room into a movement puzzle.

Enemy encounters are built around recognition rather than random damage trading. Rifle units control open lanes, shielded opponents restrict frontal attacks, melee enemies pressure your timing, and specialized machines force you to change your approach. The result is closer to solving a lethal sequence than clearing a conventional shooter arena.

Abilities, upgrades, and route mastery

Ghostrunner gradually expands the protagonist's toolset with abilities that create new solutions without removing the need for precision. Blink lets you line up and cut through targets, while Tempest provides a forceful ranged option for disrupting enemies and manipulating encounters. These powers are most useful when they support movement rather than replace it.

Defensive timing matters just as much as aggression. Sword parries can interrupt or defeat particular threats, and Sensory Boost can help you dodge projectiles when a direct approach is impossible. The game rewards players who learn which enemy can be rushed, which one must be isolated, and which attack should be avoided entirely.

Exploration also has a practical purpose. Dharma Tower contains hidden collectibles and upgrade items, giving careful players reasons to inspect side paths instead of sprinting directly toward the next checkpoint. Frequent checkpoints and instant restarts keep experimentation moving, even when a section takes many attempts to complete.

Between missions, the upgrade interface lets you arrange collected pieces to improve abilities and movement options. This grid-based upgrade system introduces a light build-planning layer: you decide which benefits deserve limited space, then adjust the arrangement as your priorities change.

Campaign structure and extra modes

The main campaign is a linear ascent through Dharma Tower, with story scenes, environmental exploration, combat arenas, traversal sequences, and boss encounters. It does not use an open-world structure or a conventional loot loop. Progress comes from learning the designed spaces and executing cleaner runs.

Its narrative follows the Ghostrunner's attempt to reach the Keymaster while communicating with the Architect and uncovering the history of the tower. The setting mixes post-apocalyptic science fiction, class conflict, machine intelligence, and neon industrial architecture. Story details are delivered through dialogue, environmental context, and the relationships surrounding the tower's rebellion.

Additional modes give the movement and combat systems more focused replay value. Wave Mode is a randomized combat gauntlet built around 20 waves, enemy formations, and upgrades selected between rounds. It is closer to a roguelike challenge than a second campaign.

Kill Run Mode emphasizes route efficiency and time-focused completion, while Photo Mode is available for players who want to pause and frame Dharma Tower's environments. The package also includes an Assist Mode with options designed to reduce reaction pressure without turning the game into a standard difficulty-selection experience.

What the Complete Edition includes

The standard PC game contains the main Ghostrunner campaign and its additional free gameplay updates. The commercial add-on lineup is primarily a mixture of one story expansion and cosmetic packs rather than a long series of separate campaign chapters.

Project_Hel is the substantial expansion. It places you in control of Hel, a major character from the original campaign, and provides new levels, bosses, abilities, and a separate story perspective. Its combat emphasis differs from Jack's campaign, making it more than a cosmetic character swap.

The cosmetic catalog includes the Neon Pack, Winter Pack, Halloween Pack, and Metal OX Pack, which add sword and glove designs. Steam's Complete Edition also bundles the digital artbook and soundtrack alongside the base game, Project_Hel, and the cosmetic content.

Players comparing editions should separate gameplay content from presentation extras. The major paid gameplay addition is Project_Hel; the other named packs focus on visual customization, while Wave Mode, Kill Run Mode, Assist Mode, and Photo Mode are part of the broader updated Ghostrunner experience.

Who should play Ghostrunner?

Ghostrunner is a strong fit for players who enjoy demanding movement, fast retries, first-person parkour, and combat where success depends on execution. It is especially suited to people who like replaying a short section until a route becomes automatic rather than gradually overpowering enemies with better gear.

The game also works for players interested in cyberpunk fiction but does not behave like a role-playing game or an open-ended city sandbox. Its world is a directed obstacle course, and the tower's architecture exists primarily to shape traversal, combat, and pacing.

It is less suitable if you want forgiving melee battles, extensive character customization, cooperative play, or a wide range of traditional difficulty settings. Even with Assist Mode available, the central appeal remains precision under pressure.

Players who enjoy the instant-death swordplay and time manipulation of neon 2D action platformers like Katana ZERO may recognize the same restart-and-refine rhythm, although Ghostrunner expresses it through first-person movement and three-dimensional arenas.

PC features and storefront differences

The PC version is designed for keyboard and mouse, with controller support available through the storefront and input configuration layer. Keyboard and mouse provide direct camera control for wall-running, air adjustments, and projectile dodges, while an Xbox-style controller can suit players who prefer analog movement.

Ghostrunner is available through Steam, Epic Games Store, and GOG. Steam's edition includes achievements, cloud support, trading cards, and family sharing. Epic lists achievements and cloud saves for its Complete Edition. GOG identifies its edition as DRM-free, with an offline installer and no requirement to use GOG Galaxy for the single-player game.

Localization is broad on PC. The storefront listings include English audio and text support for languages including French, Italian, German, Japanese, Polish, Portuguese-Brazil, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Korean, Traditional Chinese, and Ukrainian, with exact availability varying by storefront listing and language component.

For a different kind of first-person movement sandbox, parkour-focused dystopian games such as Mirror's Edge offer a useful comparison. Mirror's Edge gives traversal more room to breathe, whereas Ghostrunner compresses parkour and combat into lethal, tightly authored sequences.

Similar PC games and final verdict

Ghostrunner sits between a first-person platformer, a sword-focused action game, and a trial-and-error challenge. It shares parkour DNA with Mirror's Edge, instant-death structure with Katana ZERO, and some of the high-speed combat satisfaction associated with precision action games, but its combination of wall-running, one-hit kills, and cyberpunk tower design remains distinct.

Players who want freeform city exploration may prefer a broader parkour sandbox such as first-person obstacle-course games like Hot Lava. Ghostrunner is more controlled and combat-driven: every platform, enemy placement, and checkpoint is arranged around the question of whether you can maintain momentum.

The best way to approach Ghostrunner is to treat failure as information. Watch the projectile angles, identify the safest first target, test the available route, and use abilities to remove specific problems rather than firing them randomly. Once the sequence clicks, a room that seemed impossible becomes a short, repeatable line.

Ghostrunner FAQ

Is Ghostrunner still called Ghostrunner on PC?

Yes. Steam and GOG list the game as Ghostrunner, and Epic Games Store lists both the base product and Ghostrunner: Complete Edition. No verified storefront rebrand has replaced the original title.

Does Ghostrunner have multiplayer or co-op?

No. Ghostrunner is a single-player game. Its extra modes expand solo replayability through randomized waves, time-focused challenges, photography, and accessibility options rather than online or split-screen multiplayer.

What is included in Ghostrunner: Complete Edition?

The PC Complete Edition bundles the base game, Project_Hel, the Neon, Winter, Halloween, and Metal OX cosmetic packs, plus the digital artbook and soundtrack where listed by the storefront. The major additional story content is Project_Hel.

Is Ghostrunner a first-person shooter?

It uses a first-person camera, but its primary identity is a first-person action slasher and platformer. The katana, wall-running, grappling, dodging, parrying, and ability timing are more important than conventional gunplay.

Does Ghostrunner have an easier difficulty?

Assist Mode provides adjustable options that can reduce the reaction-time demand, including slower gameplay, shorter ability cooldowns, and an extra life. The game's standard structure still revolves around one-hit combat and repeated attempts.

Can Ghostrunner be played without a launcher?

The GOG edition is advertised as DRM-free and supports an offline installer, so GOG Galaxy is optional for the single-player experience. Steam and Epic versions use their respective storefront ecosystems for installation and platform features.