Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden follows the story of Red and Antea, trained exorcists known as “Banishers.” They are sent to investigate a haunting in New Eden Town, a colony in the cold and unforgiving new world. During what should have been a routine banishing, the lovers are torn apart as a powerful spirit slays Antea. Reunited with her ghost, stricken with grief, and determined to either resurrect his love or ascend her to the afterlife, Red Mac Raith battles across the American frontier. He is aided by the ghost of Antea, banishing ghosts and seeking the Nightmare that killed her.
I’ll be the first to say I was excited for Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden. The mix of a historical setting with the supernatural is something I’m a huge sucker for, and I’m a massive fan of ghost stories and horror in general. I was also HUGE into The Witcher, which Banishers seems to take inspiration from. I’ll also admit that it took me longer than I expected to get into the game.
The game’s first mission, or what I like to think of as the opening act, really didn’t hit the way I expected it to. As Red and Antea arrive at the colony of New Eden Town, the bleak nighttime atmosphere feels a little too dark and uninspired. Honestly, this entire section of the game feels unfinished. The color palette does not pop, and I experienced a few graphical errors, like Antera glowing when standing near a torch.
A few confusing bits put me off, like a settler telling me that I could “find the inn easily since the lanterns are lit” when every building in town had its lanterns lit. A half-hearted, awkward attempt at commentary on the prejudice of the times failed to hit before I began my first investigation.
This section of the game also suffers by now following the rule of show, don’t tell. There are a lot of new concepts to learn in this opening act: What the Banishers are, how hauntings work, and how ultimately the ghosts are exorcised, for example. None of these mechanics are really shown through cutscenes and instead are explained through tutorial popups that pause gameplay or lore entries in books you have to open your inventory to read.
A great example of where they could have shown, not told, is with the Bane Rings. Our Banishers use magical rings to detect ghostly activity, lighting up when around something supernatural. This is explained through another one of those popup tutorials when it could have easily been a cutscene. They could have shown Antea walking through the graveyard, when her ring begins to glow. Show her bringing her ring closer to the haunted object in question and investigating it. Players are smart enough to draw parallels between her magic decoder ring and its huge, glowing effect when it senses a spooky ghost.
This scene culminates with a less-than-stellar exposition as Red and Antera discuss whether they should Banish or Ascend the ghost of their former friend. Antea seems keen on banishing, but Red urges her to Ascend him. At this point, I was confused about the difference; It was implied that ascension was somehow more difficult but more peaceful. If you are a professional, I wondered why you wouldn’t ascend every ghost. It’s only by reading a journal in my inventory afterward that I discovered the complexities of both actions, which I’ll say outright is some cool lore. It just could have been explained better.
Though the game has what I would describe as a rocky start, Banishers really begins to open up after and show its true colors.
I mean this both literally and metaphorically, as the game takes a shift in both its narrative and visual presentation immediately before Red and Antea’s confrontation with the Nightmare in Act One. Gone is that underwhelming, tired landscape, replaced by a vibrant, shockingly bright moon, followed shortly after by more colorful (yet still grim) scenery in the rest of the game.
The narrative really starts to pick up after Antea’s death. This is a spoiler, but if you’ve seen any promo material for the game, you already know what’s up. Antea dies, Red is stricken with grief, and together they must decide her fate. Will she be resurrected, at the cost of human lives, or allowed to ascend?
The decision forced on players determines your entire playthrough and is a really cool way to encourage gameplay and narrative decisions and open up the game for another playthrough. When I got to my first haunting case and found out I would have to decide, right then and there, if I was going to ascend or revive Antea, my eyes went wide, and a big goofy grin stole my expression. It was such a dramatic, impactful choice, and it immediately made me super invested in the game.
The game’s actual gameplay is alright. It’s familiar and not what I would call incredibly innovative, though it does do some things of its own. The combat is fairly simple, combo mashing that feels too fast for my taste (which is my same complaint about the movement.) What’s interesting is the ability to swap between Red and Antea at will, taking advantage of each of their strengths. Swapping to Antea is a powerup you have to earn through combos, which, when activated, gives you a temporary bit of immunity, a different moveset, and extra damage against specific foes.
The haunting cases, of course, are the best part of the game. Each little story sucks you in, with endings that are never quite as you expected them to be. This simple story loop of “find the monster, learn about the monster, defeat monster” is tried and true and given a fun ghostly twist, with each spirit being born from some violent and unexpected death.
I only wish these quests involved more actual investigation. Each haunting case requires you to discover a set of clues, all of which are immediately highlighted by quest markers. So it’s less investigation and more like an interactive cutscene where you walk from point to point pressing the interact button.
At the end of each case, you can choose to banish or ascend a ghost or blame the human being haunted, which kills them and gathers blood for Antea’s resurrection. I didn’t have the heart to banish most spirits, going for the ascension route unless they were total bad guys. I sort of wonder what the point of banishment is. It’s explained as a faster way to get rid of a ghost, whereas ascension requires you to confront the ghost’s problems on Earth and resolve them. Since you choose both simultaneously, however, it feels like the right answer would be to just ascend everyone; Banishment feels like it should be a tool to bypass extra work at the cost of a moral dilemma rather than just an option to punch ghosts you particularly dislike.
While there are things I wish Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden did differently, and points where I certainly feel like the game could be better written, on the whole, it succeeds in what it sets out to accomplish. It’s a fun, engaging game about ghosts haunting colonial America, with an interesting narrative and tons of exciting, ghost-filled side stories to explore. Fans of The Witcher, ghost horror, and other witchy, gothic things will not be disappointed here.
The Final Word
Banishers: Ghost of New Eden is an intriguing tale of heartbreak and hauntings set in the backdrop of colonial America. Though slow to start, it’s packed to the brim with chilling paranormal cases to solve and haunting ghost combat; you’re sure to have a spookily good time with this title.
8
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