Ghostrunner integrates this mechanic into its limited combat as well. This makes platforming a combination of carefully executed moves and spur-of-the-moment improvisation to save a botched jump that was farther away than I originally guessed.
While I may not have been able to see a whole jumping puzzle the moment I entered a room, I do get the ability to adjust on the fly. When things turn to platforming, the time slowdown lets me make tiny micro corrections after I’ve already made a jump. Image: One More Level, 3D Realms, Slipgate Ironworks/All In Games, 505 Games
This is great for combat, letting me dodge bullets and capture the full fantasy of a cybernetically enhanced ninja, but that isn’t its only purpose. But the game’s best and most unique mechanic allows me to briefly slow time while I’m in midair.
It has all the things you might expect from a first-person platformer, like wall running, sliding, midair dashes, and even a grappling hook. Players take control of a cyborg ninja racing through a futuristic tower. This lack of information in first-person games can make platforming tricky, and at worst can make it feel like trial and error, without the ability to correct any mistakes on the fly.īut Ghostrunner finds a clever way around these perspective issues thanks to a brilliant mechanic. The perspective in a first-person game is limited to what’s directly in front of you, while a 2D platformer might let you see more of a jumping puzzle before you begin, or even while you’re in the middle of it. Platformers are all about information: how far away your next jump is, and where you’ll need to go after you make it. In fact, in terms of major titles, the only notable example might be Mirror’s Edge and its sequel. But rarely does platforming take up the bulk of a first-person game. In other cases, like Dying Light - which features wall running and rooftop-to-rooftop jumping as you try to evade zombies - the platforming is so much better than the game’s melee-focused combat that it makes the frequent zombie fighting feel like a drag. In the last few years, there have been games like Doom Eternal, where the platforming only serves to distract from the simple joy of gunning down demons. īut even most of the games that fit this definition only use their platforming as a garnish to give players a break from their main mechanic. If you want curated lists of our favorite media, check out What to Play and What to Watch. When we award the Polygon Recommends badge, it’s because we believe the recipient is uniquely thought-provoking, entertaining, inventive, or fun - and worth fitting into your schedule. Polygon Recommends is our way of endorsing our favorite games, movies, TV shows, comics, tabletop books, and entertainment experiences.
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