Ghost 1.0

 
Developer: @unepic_fran

Steam Release: Jun 2016

Hours Played: 12.7

Similar To: Cave Story+ / Dead Cells / Omega Strike / Unepic

Rating: 4/5 Parsnips

GAMEPLAY

Anyone who played UnEpic, a title released by the same company 2 years prior to this offering, will know the drill here. Both are 2D action platformers done in the Metroidvania style and both involve a similar type of gameplay mechanic. In fact Ghost 1.0 is practically UnEpic 2 in all but name. The main difference, as you'd expect with a sequel, is that the former has a much cleaner and crisper look with more spruced-up graphics. Additionally unlike a fantasy setting it is more or less the sci-fi version of the former being, as it is, set in a space-station involving a female robot out blasting other robots, androids, mechs and turrets. You'll run and gun your way through 200 rooms while uncovering the outlay of the station on a huge map. It sticks to the Metroidvania formula closely and has learned the mistakes made by its predecessor for it is a far better game. 

BALANCE & PACE

Dropped off in Room 1 you uncover the first few rooms while learning the ropes. This is done as your two cohorts - communicating from a safe distance far away - teach you the controls, tell you what the pick-ups mean and how to go about your business. They'll also reveal the story. While it's no Ori and the Blind Forest in the wow-factor stakes, the pace is excellent and new abilities are learned gradually so you're not overwhelmed. Different coloured areas are unlocked by five parts of the same coloured key and while these are a challenge to acquire it is rewarding once found. As well as power-ups giving the odd boost, energy cubes can be collected and used as currency to buy stat-boosts etc from the shops. When killed, you're teleported back to the last checkpoint but must then retrieve all the gear that you dropped.            
 

PRESENTATION & DESIGN 

Many will appreciate the story being revealed by the basic but mildly interesting cartoon-like cut-scenes but, to my mind, the variety and the crisp clarity of sound is the real star of the show. Machinery and doors click and swoosh with all those noises you associate with the science-fiction genre while the switching and use of weapons also add their own special appeal. Turning off the rather bland music helps, especially as you'll never get tired of the clippity-clop of your footsteps as you hurry down those metallic corridors. The use of ghost form, where your spirit leaves your body so that you can take over and control other life forms, is also accompanied by fantastic flourishes of sound. Movement overall is also fine with the explosions and destruction of enemies being fully satisfying.      
   

PROGRESS SYSTEM

You do not exactly level-up in Ghost 1.0 but gather power-ups and augmentations that gradually get added to your inventory to make you stronger. Sure, death is an annoying inconvenience as you have to go back to the place of death to gather back some of your gear. Energy cubes are also lost on death but it doesn't take a huge amount of time to recoup and get back up to speed again. As well as your growing inventory and rewarded skill-points to spend at your skill-tree when reaching certain rooms, the map screen also does a good job in showing progress for this reveals all rooms that have been visited and sprawls outward as you explore. There are four main areas: blue, green, purple and orange with each of these having a boss to grapple with whenever you feel the time is right.       

CONCLUSION

It goes without saying that UnEpic fans will absolutely love Ghost 1.0 for it takes the formula of old and improves on it in every way. Dark and blurry graphics are replaced by a smooth and crisp look; inventory management has been streamlined and simplified; bosses are no longer nigh-on impossible to take down and, of course, the sound is superb. As such you get a much more polished and refined experience overall. You'll also encounter an innovation known as the "alarm system" whereby setting off increasingly more alarms alerts stronger and stronger enemies and thus gifts the player with better and better rewards. Throw in a soul collecting system as well - where you collect blue dots for yet more power-ups - and you'll get a worthwhile romp overall.