If the reboot of the Doom series shows one thing, it’s that nothing beats mastering skills you have available and creating a symphony of carnage in your wake. Enter 2020’s Ghostrunner where the rules where simple – run fast, hit hard and above all never stop or you’ll die… and die a lot. It blends the combat and skill of Doom, with the movement of Mirror’s Edge, but with a few twists. You played as a cyborg ninja who was thrown out of a tower and has no idea about anything other than seeking revenge, cue a 6 to 8 hour brutal challenge that landed on the right side of the “I need one more go” line.
It was truly brilliant once you get to grips with darting from wall to wall and cutting down foes and when you chained it all together, it is truly like wiping your backside with silk and was an easy entry on my GotY list. So two years on, the game has had a few updates and small DLCs, but it’s now time for something a bit more beefy as Ghostrunner: Project HEL DLC has just hit. Adding a host of new content, seven new levels and let’s you play as a series bad guy, so it’s not reinventing wheel per say – more like adding tastier frosting to your cake. Returning fans will know HEL well as one of the bosses from the main game. They’re a loose cannon it’s safe to say and she enjoys going out of her way to cause others pains. An example is: one mission sees you being ordered to NOT have a high casualty count, but she actively goes out of her way to double, no treble, the body count, which even sees your onscreen mission objective changing mid-mission.
Project HEL tweaks the winning formula just a bit. HEL has a rage meter that drains, though each kill keeps it filled and it can grant her a shield. Though it is only a temporary saviour, and will drain quickly if the bloodshed stops. It doesn’t become a crutch that hampers the rewarding gameplay, and the meter can also be spent offensively by firing a ranged projectile and giving you a simple yet effective choice to make – save your ass or blast the bad guys! The seven levels are similar to the main game, meaning they’re not the most technically impressive backdrops, but are brought to life with striking lighting, especially if you are running next-gen tech thanks to ray tracing. Stages have new elements, enemies and mechanics though do feel like remixed takes on what can be found in the core campaign.
Ghostrunner‘s sublime synthwave soundtrack returns in force with Daniel Deluxe’s new tracks matching, if not surpassing, his score from the main game. Project HEL is short, sweet, and oh so satisfying. The expansion isn’t just a rehash, but really builds on the main game’s foundation. HEL gives Ghostrunner fans something new and very tasty to sink their teeth into and is the perfect appetizer before the next main… Ghostrunner 2.
An Xbox review copy of Ghostrunner: Project HEL was provided by 505 Games PR team, and the DLC is available now on PC, PlayStation and Xbox for around £15 depending on platform.
The Verdict
Stuart Cullen
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