BANISHERS: GHOSTS OF NEW EDEN
Till death don’t us part
RELEASED OUT NOW! Reviewed on PS5
Also on PC, Xbox Series X|S
Publisher Focus Entertainment
Love is in the air in this open-world adventure, but it soon comes crashing down to Earth. The titular banishers, a pair of 17th-century ghost hunters, are also a happy couple – at least for the opening hour or so. Arriving in New England to investigate a curse, experienced ghostbuster Antea Duarte is tragically killed, and spends the rest of the game in spirit form, aiding her apprentice Red Mcraith.
This premise is Banishers’ main strength, ably sold by the sharp script and voice performances. Red and Antea are palpably desperate to stay together, but know that a banisher’s calling is to send spirits to the afterlife. The plot thus serves up a dilemma: will you attempt to resurrect Antea in the game’s finale or let her go?
If that sounds like a no-brainer, the result depends on decisions you make in various haunting cases about the region, all ethically thorny in their own right, with resurrection dependent on your willingness to sacrifice the living.
As intriguing as these stakes are, however, the action around them is decidedly less so. From investigations to exploring to crafting, there’s a lot of mundane legwork for Red to endure, and Antea’s spirit powers are little more than keys to dissolve blockages along the way.
Combat, which involves switching between the duo, is diverting enough but repetitive, with similar ghouls and spectres recycled ad nauseam.
While Red and Antea’s relationship remains touching to the end, then, a banisher’s work can feel somewhat lifeless.
Jon Bailes
Developer Dontnod sees Banishers as a spiritual successor to 2018 game Vampyr, where undead ethics also featured.