Banishers: Ghost of New Eden is an action RPG that was released on February 13, 2024, for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and Windows.
In this game, players take on the roles of Antea Duarte and Red Mac Raith, a duo of ghost hunters embarking on a mission to explore the eerie town of New Eden. However, their investigation takes a haunting turn when Duarte herself becomes a ghost. Players must utilize Raith’s arsenal of conventional weapons alongside Duarte’s spectral powers to fend off menacing foes. Throughout the game, players will face pivotal decisions that shape the unfolding narrative.
Banishers is a game that I was looking forward to since it was announced purely based on the game studio’s previous offering, a game I’ve talked about before_ Vampyr.
I loved Vampyr, despite its flaws *cough* constant crashing *cough*, so I just knew that Banishers would be a game for me.
Some elements of Banishers are very similar to Vampyr in that you can choose to kill or not to kill, you have melee and shooting combat skills, and you wander around completing quests for various people around the map.
The map for Banishers is a lot bigger than the map of London that Vampyr had, which allows for much wider wandering. It also means that there is a lot more to do. Activities range from the previously mentioned quests to burial grounds-–where waves of enemies come at you–to scourge sits, where a harder boss-like enemy spawns. There are also numerous different types of chests to open, some locked with keys, others where you have to perform rituals to unlock them, and more that you can just open. With all this, there is plenty to keep you busy between mainline quests if you want to take a break or level up some before your next encounter.
The combat, as I said, uses a combination of melee and firearms, which allows for various combinations. Along with this you also have the charge abilities that for one character allow you to banish, which will take off a larger chunk of health, or for the ghost character a move whereby the character channels through their corporeal counterpart for a prolonged barrage of lethal attacks. This combat system is pretty simple, but it’s effective. There aren’t a wide range of different weapons, only similar weapons that do varying degrees of damage or have special stats. Again, this works pretty well for the most part.
The RPG system, the levelling up of characters’ abilities, can be a little clunky at times, and I have to say that I still don’t completely understand it. You have two different types of points, one for Red’s abilities and one for Antea’s. But you seem to be only able to select certain ones in combination with others. Several times, I’ve tried to put a point in a perk, and it’s removed one from something else. At times, this can be frustrating as you can’t put points into something you want when they’re on something else. I’m getting used to it now, but it could be so much better.
Aside from the mainline quests, of which there are a lot, there are even more side quests, some that only become available depending on how you react to other quests. For example, if you decide to “blame” a character during a quest (basically to kill the character being haunted), you won’t have a quest available to you later from that character. Whereas if you banish the ghost that is haunting them, you will. Additionally, with these quests, you decide how people will react to you when talking to them. If you do an action that a character doesn’t like, they may not speak to you or just give you the cold shoulder. Likewise, if the character has a shop, they won’t give you the best price for their or your items when you want to buy or sell. Of course, on the flip side, if they’re happy with you, then they’ll give you a better price for items and equipment. This all means that your actions do actually have an impact on how you play the game, and if you want to experience all the game has to offer, then you’ll have to do multiple play-throughs, selecting different actions each time.
The quests themselves range in what you need to do. Some have you following spectral residues or finding items, and others have you investigating a haunting or travelling through void spaces to defect spectres. Though there are a few different types of quests, they don’t feel as repetitive as they could. They’re well mixed up, so you’re not necessarily doing the same type of quest one after another. All this adds to the overall longevity of the game.
Earlier, I mentioned how Vampyr, a good game that it was, had a lot of issues with crashing. So far, I’ve had three or four similar crashes on Banishers, but nothing that is game-breaking or that causes me to lose too much progress. They also haven’t happened for a while, so, touch wood, it’s not going to happen again.
For the trophy/achievement hunters out there, I feel like they’re all achievable and also very enjoyable to get without too much effort, apart from the multiple play-throughs.
Overall, I’m really enjoying Banishers so far, and it has surpassed my expectations despite its few issues. The game is a solid 9/10, and I’m going to play through it as much as I can to see everything I can.
Gareth Ellis - Author 