![]() ![]() ![]() The visuals are great, and the engine is quite scalable to allow for high frame rates on several PC configurations, in addition to ray tracing and DLSS support for those who can use those technologies. On the technical side, Project Hel looks and plays as well as Ghostrunner did. It doesn't break anything, and if I hadn't played the original release, I may not even have noticed, but in comparison, the DLC feels like a decent challenge level pack rather than a story DLC that builds on top of the core experience. ![]() What's irritating is that Ghostrunner was that and so much more, so the DLC feels like a bit of a regression. Overcoming or completing any stage is still tricky, but you feel similar endorphin highs when you finally complete a section that has perplexed you. The level design is excellent, with open areas that offer different paths to solve a given combat scenario while providing a consistent challenge. I wouldn't recommend starting with the DLC if you haven't played the main campaign, since it reuses many of the main campaign enemies. The result is a short but satisfying campaign that stands on its own and can be played separately from the main story. They were fine but felt easier than many of the main segments, since they relied heavily on the new projectile attack. This isn't necessarily bad, but coming from Ghostrunner, I had hoped that Project Hel would mix up its gameplay more, rather than restricting it. It also strips power-ups from the gameplay formula, replacing them with a special projectile attack that is heavily used, again at the expense of a more varied arsenal. ![]() While I enjoy the encounter design, which remains consistently challenging, it didn't feel as fresh and varied to me. While new enemy types are introduced, you'll mostly encounter the same old foes in new constellations and with a different ability set. It feels much more concerned about combat than stand-alone platforming, so it doesn't do as good of a job in pacing the gameplay sections. Project Hel doesn't emulate that same experience in a shorter form factor. You gradually saw new enemy types and platforming abilities of increasing challenge. One of the strongest parts of the original campaign was its ability to vary the action. However, Project Hel plays it safe and is regularly held back in areas where Ghostrunner succeeded. Hel jumps higher and dodges farther, and there's even an indicator of where you'll land after dodging it makes the gameplay feel faster and more agile - and Ghostrunner wasn't exactly slow to begin with. A single hit no longer means game over Hel has a rechargeable shield that can negate one hit, so that can make combat a tad easier on paper. However, Hel is a bit faster on her feet and less prone to be taken down. The basics are still present: wall-runs, sliding, surfing on drones, dodging in slow-motion around bullets. Our main weapon is a katana, and much of the gameplay still involves running and jumping around environments while dodging projectiles until it's safe to close in for the kill. Hel controls similar to the Ghostrunner from the main campaign, with a few key differences. Whereas Ghostrunner took about seven hours to complete, Project Hel is about one-third as long, with five levels and two boss encounters. The additional gameplay is likely what you're here for, but if you enjoy the cyberpunk setting and story, that's here too. There is a full story here, again told entirely by voice-over during gameplay, and again relatively difficult to follow while you're traversing elaborate platforming sections. She treats humans like insects that can be easily cut apart with the swipe of her blade. In this outing, you control Hel, one of the bosses of the main Ghostrunner campaign who's essentially an unhinged war machine. With the Project Hel DLC, Ghostrunner gets a full new campaign that acts as a prequel to the events of the main story. Ghostrunner is an excellent platforming and action experience that occasionally stomps you to the ground, only to build you back to survive seemingly impossible encounters. Instead of being an omnipotent force of destruction in Doom, you're a cyberpunk ninja in Ghostrunner who solves encounters with dexterity and reflexes rather than brute force. The excellent level design repeatedly challenged me to find the best path through a stage without meeting my demise. A skill-based game, the first-person platformer was as rewarding as it was frustrating, but it was always fair. It's been over a year since my review of Ghostrunner, a game that thoroughly surprised me. ![]()
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