One More Level has been active in the industry for over a decade. During this time, we have created several titles of varying scale, but only one of them has received a full-fledged sequel. We’re talking about Ghostrunner, the FPP slasher released in 2020, which completely changed our fate, allowing us to set sail into broader waters.
The year 2020 was a special time for the industry. On one hand, it brought development delays due to the need of adapting to remote work, while on the other, it increased demand for games because of home isolation. There’s no denying that we benefited from this while working on the first installment of Ghostrunner. For us as developers, it was a break from the grim pandemic routine, allowing us to bring the game from prototype to release in just 1.5 years. Players appreciated our effort, and in October 2020, they jumped into the post-apocalyptic cyberpunk world we had created.
Feedback and experimentation—the foundations of Ghostrunner 2
After the success of the first Ghostrunner, we quickly received a proposal from our publisher and current IP owner, 505 Games, to create a sequel. In the meantime, we also released a series of additional content supporting the original game, including a major expansion, Project_Hel, where we had the opportunity to test out some fresh gameplay ideas. These ideas influenced the design decisions made during the conceptual phase of Ghostrunner 2. As examples, I can mention more frequent opportunities to use the protagonist’s special abilities and a general focus on extending the player’s lifespan in arenas.
When preparing for the production of the sequel, we deeply looked for player feedback on forums, Reddit, and our Discord. Luckily, we received plenty of it, but as often happens with the opinions of such a large group of players, several suggestions started to contradict each other. Some players wanted even faster, more challenging, and competitive gameplay, while others requested it to be more organized and slower. We decided to focus on feedback from those who spent the most time in the game, while also keeping in mind the recurring concerns from more casual players, who were quickly turning away from our game because it seemed too difficult.
Players wanted us to expand the core combat and movement mechanics, and that’s what we focused on. We created more complex level designs, added new enemies with new abilities, and modified those who didn’t fully suit the gameplay, like for example the Wardens—enemies equipped with katanas. The only way to defeat them was to wait for their attack and block it. We replaced them with Shinobi, who can also be outmaneuvered and killed with a strike to the back or disarmed using one of the special abilities. At the same time, they are extremely fast and can run on walls.
When it comes to the tempo of the gameplay, we wanted to maintain the speed for players who wanted to rush through levels like pros, while also catering to those who complained about the frantic pace in the first game. We found a compromise by adding two very important mechanics – block and stamina – which allow less experienced players to stop, take a breath, calmly assess the situation, and move on. This action is not mandatory for the ultra-skilled players, who can still play the sequel exactly as they rushed through the first installment of the game.
From fanbase to wider audience—the real challenge of shaping a sequel
It’s clear that Ghostrunner is not a game for everyone, and it was never meant to be. However, aware of the potential benefits of expanding the target audience, we wanted to introduce new features that would make the game more accessible without straying too far from the core mechanics. After all, it’s these mechanics that earned the game the appreciation of a dedicated fanbase.
We quickly realized that, as a team, we had found ourselves in a completely new situation. We were making a sequel and for the first time we had to meet the expectations of not hundreds or thousands of players, but millions of people from all over the world. After all, each of those players had their own vision of what their ideal Ghostrunner 2 would be. I didn’t expect that this pressure would weigh so heavily on us and, to some extent, even disrupt the creative aspect of game development. Every new feature had to go through a process of double verification—our internal review, followed by a clash with player expectations.
As an interesting behind-the-scenes tidbit, we can tell you that we tested a sword-throwing system, but quickly abandoned the idea in favor of faster and more practical shurikens. We also had concepts that never made it to implementation, like a survival mechanic that would appear during exploration of the wastelands outside the tower. It was built around the idea that the player would not be able to stay in the sun for too long and would have to look for the shade, but we abandoned it due to the potential risk of significantly slowing down the game, as it didn’t support our core gameplay. Some changes were obvious and necessary improvements, like fixing the save system to enable saving during missions, which didn’t always work correctly in the first Ghostrunner and often frustrated players. However, these small but impactful changes were few and far between.
Offering players more of what they’re looking for
What turned out to be a real challenge was our desire to add a motorcycle. The idea was simple, though it might have sounded absurd—our game is already fast, so let’s give Jack (the protagonist of Ghostrunner) a vehicle that allows him to move even faster. The goal was to carry over the rhythm that defines Ghostrunner onto a motorcycle. After months of tweaking the balance and controls (which we eventually made very arcade-ish) and gathering extensive feedback from tests, we managed to deliver a gameplay experience packed with adrenaline, rooted in the fast-paced, trial-and-error mechanic that perfectly aligns with Ghostrunner’s core. It’s worth noting that not everything related to the motorcycle was perfect. With a vehicle and an open post-apocalyptic world, we were tempted to explore much larger areas than the levels inside the tower. Looking back, I have to admit it wasn’t the best idea, and although there is a group of fans who enjoyed this more sandbox-like experience, most players didn’t see this element as a good addition. Fortunately, it was only two levels, after which we return to the fast, more linear, and condensed gameplay tracks.
During development, we attempted to achieve what was previously considered impossible, given the budget and the team we had at the time. Step by step, feature by feature, the size and complexity of the game grew closer to the AAA segment. We added elements like a hub with NPCs, dialogue choices, cutscenes blended into the narrative, and a separate roguelike game mode called Roguerunner.exe.
To create this unique and complex mode, we drew from the experience gained from Arena Mode in the first game. As an additional mode, Roguerunner.exe offered players a lot: unique, dedicated levels (300 types of combat arenas and 80 parkour challenges), new (and sometimes downright crazy) upgrades to the protagonist’s abilities, and an entirely different emotional experience due to the limited number of attempts for each run. We also utilized some skills that didn’t make it into the main game, such as H.O.T., inspired by the famous Polish indie game Superhot, where time moves only when the player does.
The dangerous trap of wanting too much
With all these new and additional features, along with the separate game mode ready for launch day, the entire project was a massive undertaking for our incredibly talented, yet still under 50-person development team.
We knew that, despite efforts to reach a broader audience, we were still making a hardcore game, which always limits the player base. We introduced a number of changes to balance the gameplay, making it more accessible to newcomers, such as the previously mentioned ability to block attacks, shorter skill cooldowns, powerful special abilities, and a simplified character progression system. However, we didn’t compromise the core of the gameplay, which remains the most hardcore mechanic in our game – one-hit-kill. We couldn’t cross that line, so as not to disappoint the fans of the first game, and we’re proud that we were able to beat this challenge. While designing these adjustments, we feared that they might lead to a sense of blandness and weakness. We were walking on thin ice, but in the end, we stayed on the hardcore side, only slightly reducing its extreme nature. Even though the base version of the sequel may not be as difficult as the first game, the “Hardcore Mode” added shortly after the release is probably even more difficult than the one in the first installment. It offers a challenge designed to be nearly impossible for us, the developers, but we know that our most dedicated players possess skills that far exceed even the most experienced members of our QA team, who have spent thousands of hours in this title.
We also learned a big lesson from the bosses in Ghostrunner, who weren’t that well-received by players. While making the sequel, we set a goal: each new boss must require a different approach from the player. Our inspiration came from boss fights in FromSoftware games, where bosses telegraph their attacks, and the player must learn the timing and animation sequences. I believe we succeeded in delivering truly unique bosses, whose designs were based on diverse, challenging mechanics.
Lessons learned from creating the sequel
Getting to the point—as they say, appetite comes with eating, and our ambitions have also grown since the release of the first Ghostrunner in 2020. Every day, we asked ourselves whether adding one more feature, a skill, or an additional mechanic would be enough to call the game a true sequel. How much of the gameplay needs to change for players to feel it’s a genuine continuation and not just capitalizing on the success of the original?
There’s probably no simple answer to these questions, as it all depends on the product. For example, when creating another game in a sports franchise, not much needs to change to make a successful sequel. We made the decision to keep the core of the game intact while adding many premium features around it, effectively expanding the overall gameplay experience with new possibilities and experiences (such as the arcade-style motorcycle riding).
In the end, we achieved our goals, delivering a high-quality product that received great reviews and a nomination for Best Action Game at the 2023 Game Awards. However, it didn’t replicate the commercial success of the first installment, leaving us with a sense of unfulfilled potential. Naturally, the question arises: What could we have done better or differently? Perhaps we should have revisited the core of our gameplay and implemented more drastic changes—shed the pressure of competing with AAA giants and instead focus on further elevating the fundamental mechanics. Only time will tell, as we’re certain we still have a lot to offer our players and the fans of the franchise we’ve created and cherished.
