Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden is one of the first surprises of 2024. Last year left us with great releases, but it seems that 2024 picks up the baton and intends to double the bet. The French studio Don’t Nod proposes an action adventure that, beyond the combats, will put us before really complex decisions.
The new game from the creators of Life is Strange sets the story in 17th century New England, although in a version full of ghosts and lost souls. The protagonists are Red and Antea, a couple of banishers – banishers in English – who are in charge of solving those problems that still tie the dead to the earthly world. A bit like the ghostbusters of the Modern Age.
The story begins with the arrival of Red and Antea – apprentice and teacher, respectively – to the town of New Eden, somewhere near the city of Boston. An old acquaintance of the couple has asked them for help with a spirit, but things soon go wrong and Antea dies at the hands of a ghost known as the Nightmare. Red loses her teacher and lover and she must find a way to banish the Nightmare while she decides if she wants to send Antea to heaven or if she wants to resurrect her through a forbidden spell.
Throughout the adventure, all the decisions Red makes will influence Antea’s destiny. The banisher will complete assignments on his journey to find the Nightmare and free New Eden from the curse that plagues it, but what is important, ultimately, is to decide the fate of Antea. The game focuses the weight of the plot on this point, since Antea – still dead – accompanies Red throughout the adventure.
The cases that Red solves always follow a similar scheme: there is a ghost tormenting the living, so the banishers must discover why the spirit does not leave the earthly world. The solution is usually to ascend the ghost, condemn it, or kill or spare the life of a person. Everything has consequences and, for example, raising the ghost of a girl can make her mother hate you because you have destroyed the small connection she still had with her daughter.
Good deeds lead Red towards Antea’s rise and cruel actions bring him closer to the possible resurrection spell. But is it better to let the person you love die or kill innocent people to resurrect them? How can that affect the long term? Here lies the interesting thing about Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden and the importance of decisions.
Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden is also an action game. The control scheme and gameplay are reminiscent of the new God of War, although with the obvious differences that separate a medium-budget game like Don’t Nod and an almost infinite budget project like Santa Monica. New Eden is presented as a semi-open world that the player travels through as they complete missions. Every few meters there is a combat or a puzzle.
At any time you can switch between Red and Antea. The apprentice interacts with the earthly world, while the teacher influences the spirit realm. Both have their own abilities and ways of combat. This section is surprisingly well resolved, although the lack of polish or detail is noticeable compared to God of War, its direct reference.
Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden is to God of War what A Plague Tale: Requiem is to The Last of Us. The video game industry seems obsessed with huge games and excessive ambition, even though this leads to neglecting developers and artists. Big companies are looking for the new viral phenomenon, the new Fortnite or the new Roblox.
But perhaps the future of a more sustainable industry lies in mid-budget games, known as Double A. A Plague Tale: Requiem demonstrated in 2022 that great stories can be told with restrained and focused projects, a bit like Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice did. in 2017. Now Don’t Nod arrives with Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden to vindicate the validity and importance of Double A.
Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden está disponible en PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S y PC.
