I died 85 times in 31 minutes of playing Ghostrunner 2

It fell to me to play Ghostrunner 2 for my final appointment at Gamescom, after a week of barely any sleep and one game after another. The original was notorious for its difficulty and pushed me to the edge of frustration and back when I first tried it a few years ago.

My sleepless state didn't really hinder me. I mean, 85 deaths in 31 minutes are completely reasonable, even though that's almost three deaths per minute. I wasn't ashamed as I wrote down my score and stuck it to the wall of shame in front of the booth.

Compared to other players, my performance was somewhat worse, but nothing out of the ordinary. Without naming names, there were some who absolutely rocked it - with only 15 deaths or even over 100 deaths. One thing is for sure: Ghostrunner 2 is brutal and offers more of the same in every way, with fluid movements, katana spins, wall runs, and an immersive soundtrack.

While I was playing, a member of the development team sat next to me and occasionally offered a tip, but mainly watched me as I struggled. At the end of the session, he told me that he loves seeing people die over and over again - but also eventually figuring out the best tactic to master a level. It will take some time to become familiar with the controls and tools, but that's okay because you get reset instantly. The thrill of putting together a successful combination of your katana, a grappling hook jump, and a slide into chaos feels fantastic.

The deaths mostly feel fair, although the gun-wielding villains occasionally blew me out of the air with a precision that made me grit my teeth. As I perfected my parrying with the katana and sharpened my skills with the shurikens, I managed to take them down quickly - sometimes.

The cyberpunk aesthetics are back in Ghostrunner 2 with even more sophistication: I had to pause a few times to admire the architecture and neon lights, and it's great to see how much attention to detail is put into a background that mostly blurs past you as you hop and jump through each new level. The levels are designed to give you creative freedom in taking down enemies, and traversing the combat areas provides you with more opportunities for sightseeing.

Although I died almost three times per minute, I did spend some of that time solving a few environmental puzzles. They weren't particularly challenging, but they did momentarily shift me from the fast-paced combat to something slower and more methodical. The developer told me they introduced puzzles to give the game some kind of pacing - the relentless deaths and hectic combat feel that way only when contrasted with something slower. For this reason, I can still appreciate them, even though after a few seconds, I wanted to return to slicing enemies into pieces.

The main innovation in Ghostrunner 2 is the motorcycle mechanic. I played the scene where you receive it for the first time, and it's great. Similar to melee combat, surviving your first ride is not easy - quick reactions and an understanding of the level are essential. There are obstacles to dodge and ramps that need to be judged perfectly, otherwise, you quickly lose control and get reset to an earlier checkpoint. When the motorcycle is working, it's captivating, but I had difficulty with the camera movement. I can imagine that during more intense motorcycle levels, you'll need to rotate and dodge a lot. Perhaps you can adjust the camera settings, but I couldn't check that in the preview version.

Overall, Ghostrunner 2 is exactly what you would expect: more of the same cyberpunk experience with wall runs, complemented by some graphical improvements and a few new mechanics.