Ghost 1.0 (Nintendo Switch) Indie One Shot
Earlier this year, the Switch received a port of a great Metroidvania title, Unepic, a long and sweet title that capitalized on everything great about the genre. The mind behind Unepic is at it again, as now the Switch has received release of the same man's follow up title, Ghost 1.0
This time, you'll play as the titular character, Ghost, a stealth cyborg who's been recruited on a secret mission to infiltrate an evil corporation and shut them down from within. You enter with a basic charge-pistol, the ability to jump, and the ability to have quite an out of body experience. Ghost is able to "send" herself out from her shell in a ghostly form, and from here can take control of any other cyborg nearby. Since the corporation you are attempting to take down prides itself on cyborg security, you'll have plenty of chances to do this.
Early on, things seem a bit limited. A small map, with not many abilities for your character. But, just like any other game in this genre, tings explode and open up very quickly. Ghost 1.0's map is enormous to say the least, and if it wasn't for the fact that you can pull up a map on your Switch at any point, it would be quite easy to get lost in the labyrinthine maze repeatedly.
Control-wise, the game manages to play a bit like a twin stick shooter. You'll be controlling Ghost's body with the left joystick on the Switch, while the right lets you finesse aiming your weapon. In fact, all the controls feel quite perfect as soon as you step into this game, with the exception of the jump button. By default, it's placed on the L button, which seems far and out of the way for a game that's fairly heavy on platforming. I spent a good chunk at the start of this game thinking I couldn't jump at all, until I reached a point where I had to, and hunkered down to learn the control. It's pretty easy to get used to once you learn it, but you also have the option of re-binding it to a more natural feeling position if you wish.
The game itself is really great and a lot of fun. It's quite similar to Unepic making it easy to draw on the connections between the two titles, but it's also different enough to fill like it's own entity. There's quite a bit of humor spliced into the text-based dialogue scenes, which just add to the experience. My personal favorite feature about Ghost 1.0 was it's save system. To save, Ghost needs to locate a computer and printing machine, which are scattered around the facility. Simply walk up, scan yourself in, and if you die you can be reprinted back at your last printer location. The reason I love this so much is for one, it forces you to be more careful as you play, losing the ability to rely on checkpoints. Additionally though, it makes complete sense within the game itself.
Overall Ghost 1.0 is a great title that easily makes itself at home on the Nintendo Switch. It's mechanics and environment are easy to slip into and get lost within for hours, and that's exactly what you should do if you're a fan of the Metroidvania genre.
This time, you'll play as the titular character, Ghost, a stealth cyborg who's been recruited on a secret mission to infiltrate an evil corporation and shut them down from within. You enter with a basic charge-pistol, the ability to jump, and the ability to have quite an out of body experience. Ghost is able to "send" herself out from her shell in a ghostly form, and from here can take control of any other cyborg nearby. Since the corporation you are attempting to take down prides itself on cyborg security, you'll have plenty of chances to do this.
Early on, things seem a bit limited. A small map, with not many abilities for your character. But, just like any other game in this genre, tings explode and open up very quickly. Ghost 1.0's map is enormous to say the least, and if it wasn't for the fact that you can pull up a map on your Switch at any point, it would be quite easy to get lost in the labyrinthine maze repeatedly.
Control-wise, the game manages to play a bit like a twin stick shooter. You'll be controlling Ghost's body with the left joystick on the Switch, while the right lets you finesse aiming your weapon. In fact, all the controls feel quite perfect as soon as you step into this game, with the exception of the jump button. By default, it's placed on the L button, which seems far and out of the way for a game that's fairly heavy on platforming. I spent a good chunk at the start of this game thinking I couldn't jump at all, until I reached a point where I had to, and hunkered down to learn the control. It's pretty easy to get used to once you learn it, but you also have the option of re-binding it to a more natural feeling position if you wish.
The game itself is really great and a lot of fun. It's quite similar to Unepic making it easy to draw on the connections between the two titles, but it's also different enough to fill like it's own entity. There's quite a bit of humor spliced into the text-based dialogue scenes, which just add to the experience. My personal favorite feature about Ghost 1.0 was it's save system. To save, Ghost needs to locate a computer and printing machine, which are scattered around the facility. Simply walk up, scan yourself in, and if you die you can be reprinted back at your last printer location. The reason I love this so much is for one, it forces you to be more careful as you play, losing the ability to rely on checkpoints. Additionally though, it makes complete sense within the game itself.
Overall Ghost 1.0 is a great title that easily makes itself at home on the Nintendo Switch. It's mechanics and environment are easy to slip into and get lost within for hours, and that's exactly what you should do if you're a fan of the Metroidvania genre.
