And we like it!
Banishers Ghosts of New Eden is the latest from DONTNOD, a studio that’s certainly known for its popular franchise Life is Strange.
While I’ve certainly got a place for narrative adventures in my hearts, I’m also a big fan of DONTNOD’s first foray into games, Remember Me, and (unrelated) follow up in Vampyr. They’re completely different beasts from a modern day point and click adventure, and I’m glad to see that’s where the developer is heading with this new endeavour. In fact, by its genre alone, Banishers borrows some action elements of Remember Me and mixes them with the RPG-minded Vampyr. On paper, it’s a solid combination.
Announced in December of last year, Banishers is set in 1695 and follows two ghost hunters: Red mac Raith and Antea Duarte. When Antea is fatally wounded, she becomes one of the things she’s been hunting all her life; together, the pair work to free her from her plight.
Set somewhere beyond the opening of the game, the hour or so of hands-on demo that I got to experience as part of Gamescom 2023 had nothing to do with freeing Antea (at least, as far as I know). Instead, it placed our heroes in a small village and tasked them to track down a beast that was terrifying villagers. Running through the town, picking up pieces of lore, interacting with the apparition that was Antea, and basking its (ye) ol’ school setting immediately reminded me of the likes of The Witcher.
There’s a huge supernatural element to Banishers, quite obviously, and you’re again saddled with the burden of bringing stability to the region. Finishing the demo required me to make a very important decision as part of progress, and again, all I could think about was good ol’ Geralt. I could think of worse things to be compared to.
Equal parts exploration and combat, the main quest I played through had Red and Antea exploring a cave system to try to track down what the pair assumed was a simple bear. While largely linear, there were a lot of chances to explore off the beaten path and pick up valuable resources which fed into an upgrade system.
Red can climb, move objects and use his rifle to open up new areas, while Antea is also necessary to tap into the spiritual plane to cross distances that mere mortals cannot. While you’ll largely be playing as Red, you can switch over to Antea to tap into her unique moveset.
The same is also true within combat; Red has a light and heavy attack that make use of a trusty sword, whilst a rifle provides some long-range options. I was largely fighting spirits and dealing decent damage with Red alone, but Antea can be called in to disrupt blocking enemies. Once Red’s built up enough damage, he can also dispel spirits as a sort of finishing move.
I had a short time with Banishers, but it was enough to pique my interest in the title. It’s certainly unique and already enjoyable; I can’t wait to get my hands on the finished product.
Expect Banishers Ghosts of New Eden from 13 February 2024 on Windows PC, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X and PS5.
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Banishers Ghosts of New Eden13 February 2023PC PS5 Xbox Series S & X
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