Ghostrunner is a brilliant game. It really is. But on console, it’s hampered by its performance. Or at least it was.
A tough-as-nails action game that has you taking control of the titular ninja, Ghostrunner challenges players to take out rooms full of enemies as gracefully as possible. Wall-running is combined with sliding, air-dashing and a grappling hook to move around environments without even pausing for thought, while your sword can take out all but the most sturdiest of enemies with just one hit. Add in some useful powerups, including shurikens, and you have a game that’s heart-pounding from beginning to end.
The reason why it’s really so tough, though, is because you yourself can also only take one hit before having to fall back to the last checkpoint. And with a wide variety of enemies in your way, most of which which shoot at you from a distance or quickly close ground to mount physical attacks, death can come very easily indeed. And then there are enemies protected by shields to consider; you’ll need to eradicate the orbs powering the shield before you can even consider taking them out.
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Needless to say, in Ghostrunner, faith in the controls is paramount. We originally reviewed the game on PC, tweaking the settings to allow for a stable 60fps experience which meant the Ghostrunner flawlessly followed our commands. On console, however, 60fps was a pipe-dream. If you have a base PS4 or Xbox One, Ghostrunner simply isn’t as enjoyable as it could be. The framerate, which is typically 30fps or less, leads to less responsive controls which makes the game even harder than normal. If you have a PS4 Pro, however, the latest patch for the game adds in a new performance mode, lowering the game’s resolution to achieve 60fps.
For a game like Ghostrunner it really is a gamechanger. It truly is worth the hit in visual clarity, as it makes the game so much more enjoyable to play. Things are even better if you own a PS5 or Xbox Series X/S, however. thanks to their additional grunt, they can both play Ghostrunner at 60fps without the need for performance mode. So, you get both attractive visuals and responsive controls. The game is set to receive a next-gen update towards the end of this year, too, potentially making it look even better, load faster, and perhaps make use of DualSense features.
Basically then, if you have a PS4 Pro or a next-gen console and have been holding off from buying or playing Ghostrunner because of poor performance hampering its controls, wait no longer. It’s absolutely wonderful to play on both PS5 and Xbox Series X, and with the latest patch it’s a hell of a lot more enjoyable on PS4 Pro, too. After a bit of a wait, console owners can truly enjoy one of the best cyberpunk games available right now.
Source: https://www.gamespew.com/2021/04/ghostrunner-is-transformed-on-console-thanks-to-60fps/