Chris InglisBanishers: Ghosts of New Eden is an action RPG developed by DON’T NOD and published by Focus Entertainment. It launched on February 13 on PC and consoles and is one of the smoother game launches this year. In a sea of early access and alpha demos, it’s refreshing to be able to load up a game with great graphics, voice acting and depth of the story, and it all just works and flows beautifully. The unique world-building has an atmosphere made up of a mix of wild west and supernatural elements that captivated me from the start, as did the two main characters, Red and Antea.
Red mac Raith and Antea Duarte are banishers sent to ghastly incidents to hunt down restless spirits and unravel the mysteries plaguing the surrounding land and its people. You do this by first talking with people directly involved in a recent death and then do a bit of Sherlock Holmes detective sleuthing by searching for clues and piecing evidence together to form motives. The key clues are highlighted with a special icon, so after the first couple of mysteries to solve, they became too easy to go straight to and you can skip and miss out on a lot of the backstory and lore. On the plus side, as you face more scenarios it allows you to go straight for the key clues to get to the good parts of the ghastly encounters and of course, the game’s combat.
While dealing with a close friend’s spirit, Red and Antea come across the Nightmare, a powerful being that is too much for the duo, and Antea meets an untimely death, while Red is left barely clinging to life. Antea’s spirit meets back with Red as they discuss how best to return to the Nightmare that is camping Antea’s body. At the core of every decision you make from there is whether you are willing to let Antea move on once they eventually find her body, or do you want to try go for the ultimate love story and attempt resurrection, but at a large cost.
The narrative of Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden is super engaging, pulling you deeper into the secrets of New Eden and the characters’ pasts. The choices you make have tangible consequences, affecting the story and the fate of the world. The game excels at presenting difficult choices that force you to weigh your duty to the living, against your love for Antea. These decisions have meaningful consequences, adding replay value and making you question your own moral compass. I’m glad there was no time limit on making these big decisions because some I did ponder for quite some time.
Do you stick to the high moral ground, which means having to say goodbye to Antea forever, or do you make some human sacrifices and abandon the life of a banisher for a chance at resurrecting Antea to be together again. In order to take the ascending path, it may mean letting some nefarious characters be free to rejoin society knowing the evil deeds that have committeed. Some decisions were easy for me in that evil begot evil, and so the ultimate punishment was deserved. It’s a great moral quandary at each key decision, leaving me thinking about the events I played through long into that evening and at work the next day.
The atmosphere of Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden is its strongest feature with New Eden a rich tapestry of rugged landscapes, eerie towns, and spectral manifestations, all rendered in stunning detail on the PC. The game performed really well on my PC that has a ROG STRIX 3080 and a 2019-spec CPU. The soundtrack perfectly complements the visuals, creating a truly immersive experience, and sharp sound effects paired with visual indicators help make you aware of attacking foes beyond your field of vision. Not every investigation will be combat filled, with some of them being more about exploring and searching areas, and these were a good break from boss combat as I love exploring every nook and cranny in the search for loot.
With Antea being a spectre, you would think she wouldn’t be able to interact much with Red and the world around her. On the contrary, Antea being a spirit works well with Red’s abilities, quick swapping mid-fight to execute some powerful combos. Red’s combat is satisfyingly weighty with his one-handed weapon and later guns, while Antea’s ghost-busting powers evolve as you both get stronger, and her enhancements adds a strategic layer to how you approach each fight. The dynamic duo mechanic is well-implemented, and mastering both characters is key to success.
As you explore the world, you will be picking up crafting ingredients which allows you to craft upgrades as you gain in power. You do this by resting at campfires, usually after you have successfully resolved a ghastly encounter. Boss fights can be challenging at first until you learn their moves, but with dodge and block/parry readily available, it is quick to learn the competitive advantages and which character to use more. Enemy variety does get a little stale, however it’s the story beats, detective sleuthing and advancement of the greater story that had me well and truly hooked.
Overall, Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden is a compelling blend of action RPG, detective sleuthing and ghost hunting, wrapped in a unique world with memorable characters, and impactful choices. While combat and exploration can get stale on their own, there is a good mix within the various scenarios you will face, and the narrative strength and emotional resonance make it a worthwhile journey to experience.
This review utilised a Steam key provided by Five Star Games and Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden is available now on Steam, Epic Games Store, PlayStation and Xbox.
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