Ghost Blade HD

 PlayStation 4
Ghost Blade HD Image
Metascore
62

Mixed or average reviews - based on 12 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
6.3

Mixed or average reviews- based on 9 Ratings

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  • Summary: Ghost Blade HD is an intense bullet-hell shoot 'em up game, with satisfying and addictive score-based gameplay, with its tradition going back to the shooting games of the 1990s era. Designed with a modern graphic style and special effects, Ghost Blade also features a 2-player mode. GhostGhost Blade HD is an intense bullet-hell shoot 'em up game, with satisfying and addictive score-based gameplay, with its tradition going back to the shooting games of the 1990s era. Designed with a modern graphic style and special effects, Ghost Blade also features a 2-player mode. Ghost Blade HD Is easy to learn, yet hard to master. … Expand
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Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 12
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 12
  3. Negative: 1 out of 12
  1. Critical Hit
    Feb 28, 2017
    80
    While Ghost Blade HD isn’t for everyone, it’s hard to not appreciate it for what it is despite the fact that it’s as brutally short as it is challenging: An intricately designed experience of speed and shrapnel coming at you from every single angle. There’s a certain layer of subtlety present, but don’t expect Ghost Blade HD to redefine the genre. Rather, it’s a celebration of everything that made schmups fantastic so many years ago, wrapped up in a tight and bright package.
  2. Push Square
    Feb 28, 2017
    80
    Ghost Blade HD is a brilliant entry into the shoot-'em-up genre for both newcomers and veterans alike. It strikes the tricky balance of offering a reasonable challenge to anybody who picks it up, but makes sure that the difficulty never gets out of hand. The deep gameplay and strategy allows for a variety of playstyles, and while the two-player co-op is a let down, the score attack mode will leave you coming back for more after you've bested the main game.
  3. Video Chums
    Feb 28, 2017
    79
    Ghost Blade HD features incredible classic shoot 'em up gameplay that's as rewarding as the best in the genre. However, its lack of content and disappointingly short campaign makes it fall just a little short of greatness.
  4. Destructoid
    Mar 10, 2017
    60
    With an easy mode, truncated (basically non-existent outside of "defeat the AI called Shira") story, and a multiplayer option, Ghost Blade HD is a great gateway drug for anyone on the fence about getting back into shmups. It has all the mechanical makings of a great shooter, it just lacks that special spark in a few major areas.
  5. Digital Chumps
    Mar 20, 2017
    60
    While shoot 'em ups are conspicuously underrepresented on modern hardware, Ghost Blade HD's presence amounts to little more than a fleeting cameo. Just because it's the only port in the storm doesn't mean that anyone will stick around after the raging winds subside.
  6. PlayStation Universe
    Mar 13, 2017
    60
    Ghost Blade HD has the 90s retrograde down pat, delivering a nostalgic retro shooter that’ll bring you back to that favorite arcade of yours. Enough keeps this from being a must buy, but the price point makes it appealing for anyone looking for a good ol’ time.
  7. The Digital Fix
    Mar 6, 2017
    40
    Fun to begin with, but burns out far too quickly due to a lack of innovation.

See all 12 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 4
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 4
  3. Negative: 0 out of 4
  1. SnappyGR
    Sep 2, 2019
    9
    Snappy Game Reviews - Clenching through space

    Snappy Game Reviews - Clenching through space Bullet hell shooters are plain fun, aiming    Snappy Game Reviews - Clenching through space

    Snappy Game Reviews - Clenching through space

    Bullet hell shooters are plain fun, aiming for that high score while feeling like a champ for making everything on screen explode while being showered by enemy fire. This to me is pure gaming bliss and I love “gamey” games, as such, I had a wonderful time with Ghost Blade HD.

    Ghost Blade HD has a straightforward plot that doesn’t add much to the game, being a shooter that doesn’t detract from the game though. There’s an AI named Shira that was built to protect the residents of Mars but after some thousands of years have passed it all goes haywire and Shira becomes Evil Shira and it threatens the existence of the entire universe.

    In the Main Game, you take control of one of three ships throughout five stages with a distinct boss at the end of each one to take down Evil Shira. Stages and enemies have enough variety to keep the game from feeling repetitive but to be honest you’ll be spending most of your time looking at the enemy fire and trying to dodge it.

    There are three difficulty levels, with Easy being extremely generous with how when you’re about to get hit the game automatically deploys a bomb so you won’t die until you run out of bombs and Hard being, well, pretty challenging with enemies being more durable and shooting an insane number of bullets. With that said, I found that Normal strikes the perfect balance between challenge and fun, you’re still pretty vulnerable as taking a single hit will destroy your ship. There’s also a neat risk/reward system in which if you get close enough to a bigger ship and take it down while in a certain range you’ll be rewarded with more points than usual (you’ll hear a chime if you’ve done it right).

    The soundtrack is certainly one of the highlights, having a little bit of both old and new. It harkens back fond memories from 90’s shooters like DoDonpachi with tunes heavy on synths while also to throw in some modern ones that kind of remind me of Ikaruga, that’s certainly not a bad thing.

    As for lasting appeal, besides the Main Game (which can be played with 2-Players simultaneously) which depending on your skill will take about 30 minutes to get through there’s a Training Mode where you can practice any stage or boss at your leisure and a Score Attack Mode which features a unique stage made up of what seems to be sections of stages from the Main Game where you try to get the best score with infinite lives.

    Most of my time with the game was spent hunting for trophies, as Ghost Blade HD boats a full trophy list with a platinum trophy. Getting an x599 multiplier on Hard in any stage had me clenching my teeth in a sort of pleasing way, I was truly getting challenged and it felt amazing once I finally beat that challenge.

    I commend 2Dream re-releasing this Dreamcast hidden gem on current-gen systems, otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to experience the amazing SHMUP that is Ghost Blade.    … Expand
  2. GamingTreeHouse
    Mar 30, 2017
    7
    Ghost Blade HD mostly accomplishes what it sets out to do. It provides a bullet-hell arcade shooter, with leaderboards to chase. The awesomeGhost Blade HD mostly accomplishes what it sets out to do. It provides a bullet-hell arcade shooter, with leaderboards to chase. The awesome 90’s effects and focus fire gameplay are undermined by a slight lack of difficulty and effective power-up system. While this game isn’t by any means bad, it’s not a must-play title. If you’re a fan of the old Dreamcast title, pick this up for sure. If you aren’t, I would recommend other arcade shooters over Ghost Blade HD.

    Continue reading more at our website at Gaming Tree House.    … Expand
  4. Letiste-Gaming
    Mar 6, 2017
    7
    Ghost Blade HD es un buen SHMUP, pero no un gran SHMUP, ya que copia demasiado un molde ya establecido y que la mayoría de fans del géneroGhost Blade HD es un buen SHMUP, pero no un gran SHMUP, ya que copia demasiado un molde ya establecido y que la mayoría de fans del género están ya mas que hartos de jugar, por lo tanto goza de una originalidad que brilla por su ausencia, alejándolo de los grandes títulos que intenta imitar.

    Sin embargo, todo funciona a las mil maravillas, su modo 2P local me ha hecho recordar aquellos momentos en los arcade, y técnicamente es bastante coqueto gracias a su renovada presentación a 1080P.

    Hucast Games ha demostrado que saben muy bien como funciona el género, así que espero que al próximo intento se saquen de la manga algo propio y mas de su cosecha, para intentar llegar al mismo escalón que un ESP RA.DE o Radiant Silvergun. Y digo esto porque creo que serían capaces de lograrlo.

    Además, con la sequía que existe en PS4 en lo referente a matamarcianos, resulta una opción muy recomendable.

    -Lee el análisis completo en Letiste Gaming-    … Expand
  5. Xavikun
    Jan 7, 2021
    6
    Un Shoot 'Em Up entretenido, técnicamente funciona muy bien y recuerda a los Shoot 'Em Up de los 90.
    Sin embargo es muy corto y no aporta    Un Shoot 'Em Up entretenido, técnicamente funciona muy bien y recuerda a los Shoot 'Em Up de los 90.
    Sin embargo es muy corto y no aporta nada nuevo.    … Expand

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