I think I hate this game

[Ace T'Ken]

(NOTE: Stupid generic replies of "git gud, scrub" are pre-noted and just as worthless as they always are in every thread people always post them in. Don't bother.)

I think I hate this game, but I would really rather not. I preordered it and just got around to giving it a shot last night. As my computer is hooked up to a large TV, I sit about 10 ft. away and play a lot of games with a Xbox Series X controller (firmware is current). Without too much issue, I got to the first semi-open area with four or five shooting guys in it, then wound up repeating the section about 40 times before I just quit in frustration. Hearing the same voice lines repeated ad nauseam and learning nothing in between runs has left an incredibly bad impression.

I felt that I progressed more due to RNG and repeatedly bashing my head on a wall than any kind of building skill. As a father to a two year old, my gaming time is precious and extremely limited, and this game does not seem to respect my time or want me to actually enjoy it. It seems to be yet another case of "Oh, you don't want to absolutely master every aspect of this hostile game that you're not enjoying? lol get rekt then"

Also, the gamepad controls feel absolutely terrible! I've read that they're better on a keyboard / mouse, but that isn't a viable option for me as my keyboard occasionally drops inputs.

I started the game again today to see that it hadn't saved any progress and had to restart the game from the start again as well. Whee.

Am I missing something? I'm dying seemingly randomly, and don't seem to be improving. Is there something I'm missing?

[Epicboog]

I dont think this game is for you as it requires intense focus and time to master the mechanics and I died at least 45 times on that end my first time playing, also this game barely saves because its about momentum.

[Icecreambone]

to be honest i died 200 times in the 3d level after one week i only died 5 times. practice make perfect.

[Phender Bender]

I can sympathize. I eventually came to enjoy the game, but still get frustrated with some design decisions.

I'd say the greatest barrier to new players is that enemies do not "aim and shoot" in a traditional sense. Instead, at timed intervals, they take a snapshot of your position, then fire shots that will hit you should you remain on that trajectory.

At long range, enemies have perfect aim. If they see you, and you're not moving, you are dead.
At close range, any evasive maneuvers other than dash are of little use since enemies rotate instantaneously to blast you in the face.

The majority of the fun comes upon repeated play. Once you know the level layout, as well as how to fight each enemy type, it is very satisfying to speedrun each level.

As for the initial playthrough, I think the developers could have tried to make it more enjoyable.

[Sokurah]

It can be annoying and yes it doesnt save in the lvl and that sucks. Mostly when you play more lvls in a row. Always think if you really wanna start a new lvl.

Also yes sometimes it feels a bit unresponsive and rng from one try to the other but thats because one little change at the beginning can make a great difference 5 sec into the room.

4-5 sections felt really bad for me the rest was pretty cool tbh.

Cant say anything about playing with gamepad tho.

Keep going. Use the time freeze if you stuck.

[Nanashi]

Hmm. Honestly? There was a demo that played exactly the same. Why did you pre-order?

I played the game on my first playthrough just with the controller. You can change the layout in the settings. Default sucks pretty bad in my eyes. Yes, K+M is a bit better for aiming but it is by no means the only viable way. Actually I switched to K+M for the achievement hunting because aiming with the controller was awful in many levels and for the first few levels of switching to K+M my hand actually hurt because it really needs weird input combinations at time. By now I'm used to it though.

As for your last question. The game really is about remembering enemy placement and thinking about a way that gets you around properly. Think of it more like a rhythm game. Usually EVERY room has some kind of pattern if you follow it making the game a walk in the park. It takes some time for every room to find that route though.

For the simple AI (the first two enemy types with guns) it is usually enough to walk sideways unless you are right in their face (and at that point you can just kill them anyway). Took me a while to figure the timing though. Holding the dash to get around their shots saves you the trouble of that until you have a feeling for the game.

The saving thing is a bit unfortunate but the levels aren't that long in the first place. Most are doable in an hour even if you suck at the game. I think there are one or two levels that go a bit above that but not much either. Just take the game one level at the time.

[Human Required]

I think you might be missing some fundamental tricks that make things easier. Since you're so early on, are you constantly hopping and leaning on flat land (like, just jumping, slowing time, then leaning to avoid bullets) to advance toward enemies? Just spamming jump+lean while inching forward can basically get you through a third of the game by itself.

I'm using a controller as well and quite a few small design decisions irk me, like the placement of the special ability activation button. Seriously, you need to have the lightest touch imaginable to not accidentally press down the thumbstick in the heat of the moment and accidentally activate/waste your special.

[Giggles]

I dont want to sound unsympathetic but, if you're finding that controllers aren't great with Ghostrunner, perhaps use the Mouse and Keyboard? Also it can be worth just playing the level to see where things are, where enemies are etc.