How to Unlock the Shadow Skill in Ghostrunner 2

It seems a given that Ghostrunner 2, a game that has you playing as a cyborg ninja, would include an ability that grants temporary invisibility. The game takes the idea even further, granting Jack the ability to briefly turn translucent while leaving behind a hologram to distract foes. The catch is that you’ll need to get through a few chapters before you earn it, so here’s everything you need to know on how to unlock the Shadow skill in Ghostrunner 2.

Putting the Ghost in Ghostrunner

Shadow will be the second skill you find in Ghostrunner 2, earned after you break into the Church in Chapter 5, “Behind the Curtain.” At this point, you’ll only have access to the Shuriken you gained by defeating Ahriman, but you will reach a point in this mission where you’ll need to get used to swapping between the two skills on the fly if you want to progress.

I’m getting ahead of myself though. Proceed through “Behind the Curtain” normally, running on walls, swinging on poles, and dicing up any cultist that stands in your path. At around the halfway point, you’ll come across a bridge of hardlight that’s seemingly being deactivated by a circular beam. Interrupting the laser will cause the platform to go solid, allowing you to traverse the gap. Get used to this concept as the Shadow skill will be used to activate many of these during the rest of Chapter 5.

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When you get to the slide with a Memory Shard floating in the middle, you’re close to your destination. In the following room, your hacker friend Kira will explain that you’d need to split yourself in two to proceed, which is impossible. Little does she know…

Look up to see a platform above your current position. You can grapple to it and follow it to the right (breaking through the fractured wall as you do so) to enter into what looks like a massive atrium. Move to the right and use the blue… data fan thing to launch Jack to the other side of the crevice. You’ll notice an electrical panel above a hole in the wall blocked by a wall of electricity. Hit the panel with a shuriken and proceed through the make-shift entrance.

You’ll end up in a massive room that houses what looks like an altar. Activate the control panel. Jack will observe his hand turning invisible, meaning you’ve now picked up the Shadow skill.

How to Use the Shadow Skill in Ghostrunner 2

Just like the Shuriken, Shadow is used to overcome both platforming and combat challenges. While the hologram it drops appears to be nothing but digital static in the shape of a Ghostrunner, it’s able to block beams of light. Honestly, I spent a long time trying to figure out how this works from a scientific perspective. If I didn’t know anything about level design or the lexicon of video games, I would never have guessed that a hologram could stop light.

Upon activating Shadow, Jack will turn invisible and drop a decoy of himself, which is useful for both activating and deactivating switches for beams of light. The refresh rate is also much faster than you think, so get ready to drop a copy in mid-air since there are plenty of sections that require precision beam-blocking. It’s more generous than you might expect, but still precise enough that you can expect a bit of a learning curve.

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When it comes to combat, the decoy will draw enemies’ attention for a time, but it’s not all that effective. Once they figure out it’s a fake, they’ll turn their attention back to you. Fortunately, when you’re invisible, you can do almost everything you normally can. Ghostrunner 2 isn’t like other games that let you go see-through but take away 90% of your moveset. You can still dash and slash as much as you want, and you’ll want to take advantage of your invisibility as much as you can. It only lasts a few seconds so enemy prioritization is essential!

With all that out the way, you’ve now added the Shadow skill to your Ghostrunner 2 arsenal. Keep earning data and finding Memory Shards to equip further upgrades. While it’s certainly more situational that the Shuriken, it’s just as fun to chop up cyborg cultists while invisible.