“Life to the living. Death to the dead” is the code Red mac Raith and Antea Duarte, the protagonists of Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden, have stood by all their lives. Being a Banisher doesn’t come easy, as it involves the perennial struggle of logic vs emotions, a duty that the couple takes seriously. The game is intrinsically a love story between Red and Antea, but there is a looming presence of a third character, an invisible string tying both of them together: Death.
Video games are no strangers to tackling the concept of death and grief, especially the developers at DON’T NOD. With games like Life is Strange, Tell Me Why, and Gerda: A Flame in Winter, the beloved studio is known for leaving no stones unturned when it comes to taking on issues that are very much present in our reality. Almost an hour into the game, I realized Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden had everything expected of a DON’T NOD game and then some. It showcases a different side of the studio while sticking to their brand’s focus – powerful storytelling.
It’s 1695, and Banishers Red and Antea find themselves visiting the gloomy little town of New Eden located in Massachusetts, New England. They were warned that the town had fallen prey to a malicious curse, most likely because of a ghost. Hunting ghosts for most of their lives is nothing our resident Banishers can’t handle – or that is what the game wants you to think. Upon arrival, with its dark and haunting atmosphere, little do Red and Antea know that a Nightmare in New Eden waits to strike a terrible tragedy upon them. As a shocking and gruesome accident befalls our Banishers, Red suddenly finds himself alone with his companion gone. His love for Antea brings her ghost to him. The fate of their love and duty hangs in the balance as they embark on a dangerous adventure to defeat a greater evil lurking within New Eden.
The game’s opening minutes gave me the impression these Banishers are confident, unshaken, and believe only in doing their duty to protect the living. But as the story unravels, I realized that both of Red and Antea are haunted by loss in their own lives and take death with ample gravitas.
Having completely opposite personalities, it was refreshing to see a story with two main leads being vastly different from each other. While Antea’s headstrong, skillful, and leadership qualities make her an experienced fighter, Red’s calm, level-headed, and resilient nature makes him feel more grounded. The interactions and relationships between the protagonists were natural and heartfelt. Russ Bain and Amaka Okafor in the roles of Red and Antea, respectively, have done a fantastic job bringing these characters to life.
Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden is home to a rich universe filled with lore and diverse characters. Every character I met in the game had their own story to tell. Getting the players to make tough choices that affect both the story and characters is the formula ingrained into DON’T NOD’s portfolio of games, and Banishers isn’t far behind on this.
The RPG elements of Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden are unforgiving, difficult, and sometimes felt almost impossible to decide on a direction. Each decision taken brings consequences and evolves Red and Antea as a couple. This is felt both in the main story and through side missions called “Haunting Cases,” where Red and Antea investigate a series of hauntings and help certain characters find their own closure. These missions were meaningful, added much more depth to the universe within the story, and weren’t repetitive. But mainly, they reminded me that death affects each and every person differently, and, in some way, they made the game feel all the more poetic.
Along with a vast map also came some rather novel opportunities for a lot more exploration. From performing rituals, clearing out ghost nests, discovering rare chests (complete with new wearable equipment), and collecting resources used for upgrades, there is plenty to keep you busy. Even after completing the main story, I found much to do, and it almost made me wish for a New Game+.
“Shelters” are safe spots to craft, upgrade, fast travel, or rest to restore your health. While the fast travel was helpful to an extent, sometimes it still took me a chunk of time to find these shelters and activate them – especially with such large areas on the map, getting lost or distracted during navigation was easy enough. Not that I am complaining, because getting lost meant finding more unexpected chests, resources, and collectibles that later helped me in the game.
The gameplay in Banishers is designed in a way that both our main characters are dependent on each other during combat, exploration, and traversal. With Antea’s newly-discovered spectral abilities and Red’s physical agility, switching between both of them at any time during the game opened up for new possibilities during exploration, investigations, finding rare chests, and solving puzzles.
Even though we play as Red for most of the story, he still needs Antea’s ghost form to support him. While Red can perform direct attacks with his arsenal of weapons, Antea is more brutal with her punches and spectral abilities that offer her an advantage and help Red survive against the supernatural. I thought the boss fights were equally challenging and fun, but at some point in the game, they got very emotional and intense, and I loved every minute of it. Although I did face some framerate drops, it was nothing that bothered me too much.
Personally, I preferred to play as Antea during the majority of the combat only because of her raw strength and newfound abilities that only kept making her more powerful. However, her “Spirit Meter” depletes the more she attacks, and it can only be charged with Red’s attacks against the enemies. So, automatically I was given no choice but to switch between both of them. Red’s “Banish Gauge” fills up the more he attacks with his sword, and once filled, he can perform a special attack that generates a lot of damage. Instead of relying on just one character, Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden’s gameplay mainly reflects on the symbiotic relationship between Red and Antea in a way that one can’t exist without the other, reminding the players this story belongs to them both.
My time with Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden was satisfying, enjoyable, and challenging. I don’t often play games a second time immediately after finishing my first playthrough, often waiting a few months. But with Banishers, I find myself wanting to start a new game only to pick different outcomes and see the consequences they bring. There is so much to do within a single playthrough itself, as I clocked in around 40 hours andstill haven’t finished exploring and completing all the side missions. If you are looking for a game with an immersive story and universe, Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden is the one for you.
When dealing with the harsh realities of life, games that emphasize death, injustice, and grief are not always easy to play. Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden is about all of that but also love, loss, and sacrifice – ultimately, though, it’s about letting go of the pain instead of suffering perpetually. The game perfectly captures DON’T NOD’s spirit of storytelling, making you realize why truly great single-player games will never fully die.
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