Bustin' makes me feel good (and not a a lewd way, we promise).
I have a soft spot for DONTNOD, a studio behind some of my favourite, most inventive titles. There’s almost something there for everyone, from a futuristic beat-em-up in Remember Me, the occult hit that was Vampyr, and of course narrative adventures in Life is Strange (and the criminally undervalued Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit). DONTNOD returns with something unique this time around, though you can certainly see how Banishers Ghosts of New Eden borrows a little bit from each game that came before it.
Set in the New World in the 1600s, Ghosts of New Eden revolves around the Banishing duo of student Red and teacher Antea. Banishers are essentially ye olde Ghostbusters, moving from town to town and helping to provide closure to ghosts that are tied to the earthly plain. In some instances, ghosts can be banished by ascension — moving them onto a higher plane — or in others, properly banished and wiped from existence.
Players arrive in the town of New Eden to find that shit has hit the fan — a powerful fog has descended upon the land, bringing misery and misfortune. Our duo — not merely student and teacher but lovers as well — find themselves in over their heads. The antagonist behind the plot, known as The Nightmare, proves to be too powerful and kills Antea. That doesn’t mean she’s down for the count; instead, she becomes one of the ghosts the pair used to hunt, and tied to Red.
The ghost of Antea is different than others; she’s largely herself, and because of that, is armed with all her knowledge that has come with years of being a Banisher. Her new form also provides her with more powers than she previously held — she now possesses spectral powers that allow her to see supernatural phenomena, and can even tap into those energies to help with traversal and combat.
Forcibly ejected from New Eden, Red and Antea realise that the only way to provide closure for Antea is to obtain her body, which is now in the possession of The Nightmare. Thus begins a journey across the countryside to find allies, sort vengeful spirits, and most importantly, make some pretty heavy decisions. While this combination is certainly a mix of Vampyr, Remember Me and Life is Strange, it’s framed by a premise and lore building that also reminded me quite heavily of God of War and The Witcher.
Banishers‘ gameplay loop is equal parts exploration and puzzle solving, morality challenges, and combat. You’re frequently dropped into large regions and given the decision to run straight into a quest marker or instead look for lootable chests, supplies useful for upgrading items, and the like. Puzzles require tools in some instances, and thankfully Ghosts of New Eden will not only tell you if you don’t have the right tool for the job, but usually mark it on your map so you don’t forget about it later.
Problems with exploration lie in a sometimes confusing map that makes it difficult to identify the path you’re supposed (or supposedly able) to take. The map also will show you an area of investigation at times, though in many instances, you’re simply meant to find an exit in those areas, and not something specific within the locale. After exploring large areas for so long, I’d forget this and think I’d missed a quest item or something.
These issues are paired with a compass at the top of your UI that at times bounces around from left to right, making it hard to pinpoint where your objective is. A lot of exploration is locked behind skill-checks, and frankly, the game is so expansive the thought of having to go back to all those locations takes the wind out of my sails. After some time with Ghosts of New Eden, I’d say it’s best to mainline the quests and then explore later on.
No matter what you’re doing, you (generally) have the option to switch between the corporeal Red and the spectral Antea. Red comes armed with swords and (eventually) a rifle, while Antea can supernaturally power-up her fists. Antea’s nature helps her to see in darker areas, or those with supernatural fog, and will gradually acquire skills that will help to open new paths. Conversely, Red’s rifle is a great help to acquire items from hard-to-reach positions, and to eliminate ghost wards that will keep Antea from manifesting.
Most quests will culminate in what I’ve called morality challenges. Generally, each revolves around a ghost; you’ll need to identify why that specific entity is still haunting the world, and then deal with the best way to sort them. To do so, you’ll explore the world to help paint the picture of the circumstances that have unfolded, and then, Life is Strange-style, make an important choice as to how to resolve matters.
You’ve three choices at your disposal in these instances, though they really boil down to a binary choice: do you slug the inhabitants of New Eden in an attempt to pull some black magic and bring Antea back to life, or do you act as a Banisher and either ascend or banish the spectre that’s afflicting the world?
Side quests are easily my favourite bit of Banishers, filled with intriguing, twist-filled storylines that are bolstered by some truly magnificent voice acting from all involved. In quests or just roaming the world, Russ Bain and Amaka Okafor, as Red and Antea respectively, have some tremendous chemistry.
Combat can be a mixed bag. Generally, enemies are best sorted by wearing down supernatural shields as Antea before switching over to Red to deal massive physical damage. Some enemies are essentially invulnerable, meaning you have to track down and eliminate the baddie providing that type of shielding before taking on the rest. Different skill paths or accessories can certainly change how you perform in combat, though I found I could come out victorious in any battle by running around with Red and holding down my heavy attack button for some cheap and easy, powerful damage.
Over time, things shift quite heavily — I found myself playing more as Antea in the endgame, powering up her moves to deliver massive (literal) bursts of damage before swapping back to Red for a quick rifle shot or two. To say that combat takes some getting used to is a bit of an understatement.
While combat of course is part of Red and Antea’s general activities, you can seek out specific demon nests to then be charged with the task of killing everything in sight. These instances are tense, generally because of a horde of baddies coupled with limited space to fight, but don’t feel imbalanced. In contrast, voids are similar and combat-filled, but require your duo to navigate through a dungeon of sorts. Die in that void, even 20-25 minutes in? You’re losing all your progress. That’s not as fun.
DONTNOD’s done a great job in making an immersive world that I rather enjoy exploring, though things look very samey — rocky, grassy, or cavey — at nearly all times. Framerate drops were plentiful on Xbox Series X, and it was very hard to ignore the seemingly endless gaps in walls that Red needed to shimmy through as Banishers was likely loading in new terrain in the background. Map design is largely quite clever, though you will spot areas that you just know will actually come into play in another ten minutes or so. If you run into a dead end that doesn’t need to be there, know that a prompt will likely pop up there as you progress.
These little bothers don’t matter in the end, as Banishers‘ rough edges are easily compensated by its charm. I had a ball meeting the inhabitants of New Eden and making judgements accordingly. I reckon you will too.
Banishers Ghosts of New Eden heads to Windows PC, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X, and PS5 from today, 13 February.
Banishers Ghosts of New Eden was reviewed using a promotional code on Xbox Series X, as provided by the publisher. Click here to learn more about Stevivor’s scoring scale.
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Banishers Ghosts of New Eden13 February 2023PC PS5 Xbox Series S & X
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