The world of Ghost 1.0 is presented to you in the form of an intro video, comprised of news clips and soundbites of conversation that offer you snippets of this reality from a number of perspectives. It quickly immerses you in the sci-fi world, which simultaneously feels futuristic and retro in design.
You play as a robot, commanded by two hackers, on a mission to reach the core of a space station. Ghost has a lot of personality. Each time she is defeated in battle, she prints a new body and floats into it – you get attached to each one. She is funny and has a great rapport with the hackers she communicates with via radio, with banter that is wonderfully voice acted and relevant to contemporary nerd culture.
The emphasis on the stealth required for your mission is a little bit tongue in cheek, as you do have awesome firepower, even with just your standard weapon.
Although the adventure you go on does clearly fit a narrative, the game feels like it’s giving you a lot of freedom to explore in your own way at your own pace. It gives you the basic information you need to play and manoeuvre your character and your weapons, but it doesn’t hold your hand.
Along with your starter gun, you can collect a variety of weapons and learn a range of different skills. One of the key functionalities of Ghost is how she floats out of the body she is using and takes over the body of an enemy robot.
This is used to allow you to solve puzzles, which are generally easy enough to do. The level of detail in this is fantastic, in that there are very subtle differences between how fluidly each type of robot handles, so you do want to get back into your sophisticated original shell. These puzzles aren’t often terribly difficult, but there is enough challenge that they’re entertaining.
It also gives you a legitimate reason why checkpoints exist within the game world. Every time you die, you need to 3D print yourself a new body to work from.
The same level of detail is implemented throughout the game. For instance, the sooner you pick up a power-up, the more effective it is. This kind of subtlety throughout makes for a game that requires you to be perceptive to really master it.
There are no guarantees about what weapons you’ll come across and it’s easy to get lost in the maze of the space station. This makes for a new experience almost every time you die.
Ghost 1.0 is a hugely entertaining game, with a great sense of humour, charming cutscenes, and a weirdly relatable robot protagonist. It’s a creative take on the genre, with a lighthearted attitude that is easy to love.
Review: Ghost 1.0 (Nintendo Switch)
Fun
A fun blend of futuristic and retro, with good game mechanics and a strong sense of nerd humour.