Love, sadness, hate: three emotions that manage to push us humans to the extreme. Three emotions that can also drive us to terrible actions. Three emotions that take center stage in Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden.
The new action role-playing game from Don’t Nod, the creators of Life is Strange & Jusant, delivers tough fights and heartbreaking decisions, making it one of the… best games from the studio and maybe even a contender for the best game of the young year.
What are you willing to give?
In 1695, Antea Duarte and her student Red Mac Raith set off for the New World. They follow their old friend Charles Davenport’s request for help. He urgently needs support because the city and the surrounding area of New Eden are haunted by a ghost. Antea and Red are Banishers.
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Banishers: Spookily Good
They travel through the country and help people who are haunted by ghosts to get rid of them. In short: they are the Ghostbusters of their era. In addition, the two also go as lovers during the ghost hunt through thick and thin.
When they arrive in New Eden, the situation has escalated much further than expected. Her friend Charles has been murdered and it quickly becomes clear that New Eden is haunted by a Nightmare, one of the most dangerous ghost forms. The Banishers quickly feel this themselves.
After a first trip through the city, Red is lured into a trap by the nightmare. Antea tries to save him, but she pays for it with her life and leaves Red alone. He is thrown into the sea, but is saved by a mysterious person.
Source: Don’t Nod Entertainment Devastated by the loss of his soul mate, he first thinks that the grief is robbing him of his sanity, because suddenly he hears Antea’s voice in the wind. But it quickly becomes clear: he’s not crazy, he’s becoming crazy now haunted himself.
Due to the circumstances of her death, Antea’s spirit has not crossed over to the other side, but is bound to Red and to the world of the living. Separated but united, they must learn to deal with this cruel reality and weigh their options.
Should Antea be released from her ghostly existence and enter the realm of the dead? There is another possibility: Banishers have knowledge of a resurrection ritual. So Red could also bring Antea back. But to do this he must claim as many souls of the living as possible – i.e. he has to murder.
Quelle: Don’t Nod Entertainment
Starting difficulties
Before anyone comments “spoilers” under this test, we give the all-clear. This premise and the beginning of the story were advertised by the manufacturer in advance of the release and all of this happened within the first hour of play.
It’s very clear that the developers designed their game from this point and wanted to get there quickly. That’s a shame, however, because it simply means there isn’t enough time for players to identify with the characters and their relationship to one another.
Antea’s death happens abruptly, so we had little emotional involvement at this point. Here we have a little bit of each other more sensitivity desired. Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden (buy now €59.99 / €44.99) squanders potential, even though it places so much value on its narrative. Fortunately, this somewhat rocky beginning doesn’t reflect the rest of the game. On the contrary, the story and especially the character development pick up significantly later.