Delve into the mysterious new IP from Don’t Nod in our Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden review!

It’s no leap to say developers Don’t Nod Entertainment are masters at storytelling. From the original Life is Strange, to the more recent Harmony: The Fall of Reverie, they have taken another leap here with a brand new IP filled with action, intrigue and a heartfelt story.

Amazing concept art is shown at every loading screen

This is a new world for both Don’t Nod and the titular Banishers but does Ghosts of New Eden successfully keep the spectres at bay or does it fall into the otherworldly abyss? Find out in our Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden review!

Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden Review – Story

New Eden, 1695, a place where people can begin again, no ties to the past and or claim to the land (according to the British). However, this new land of America harbours one of the most deadly spectres around, known as a Nightmare. You play as a pair of Banishers, Red and Antea who are sailing to New Eden town after they receive a letter requesting assistance from their mentor, Charles Davenport.

It begins…

The Banishers quickly realise the nightmare is too strong for them on their first encounter with it, as it ends with Antea dead and Red thrown into the ocean. Waking up several days later, Red has been cared for by a witch named Seeker. She explains that the nightmare has forced everyone to leave New Eden town and scatter to the other settlements nearby.

Someone forgot their moisturizer today.

After some soul searching, the sarcastic Scottish man (Red mac Raith) finds Antea in ghost form, as she lingers due to their failure. Here is where the real quest begins, as they make the long trek back to face the nightmare once more. However, Red must first make an oath to his beloved, either to bring her back to life or send her into the afterlife peacefully.

An emotional tale.

This is the first big decision of many throughout the game, all leading to several different endings. With each haunting mission/case, you’ll uncover the ghost’s purpose and generally find a misdeed by the human being haunted. It’s up to you to play judge, jury and executioner and if you wish, can banish the ghost, ascend them to the great beyond or blame the human and sacrifice them. The latter is paramount in bringing Antea back to life as she uses the blamed human essence to return to the earthly realm.

What will you choose?

Red and Antea journey across forests, marshes, mountains and harrows to uncover why the nightmare of New Eden has plagued the village. Each of the three smaller main cases all adds up to the one large mystery surrounding the powerful spectre. After you solve all of these hauntings, you can move on to face your fear and choose how you want Red and Anteas’ story to come to an end.

Stunning scenery in every area!

Depending on your in-game choices and the outcomes of each main mission, you can receive up to five different endings. When you pick an oath at the beginning of the game, following that to its completion will net you either one of the two good endings. If you go against this oath you make with Antea, you will receive one of the three bad endings. Whilst this story was quite drawn out, the good endings are by far worth the journey in these untamed lands.

Till death do us part.

Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden Review – Gameplay

Antea Duarte is dead. No that’s not a spoiler, it’s actually a mechanic in this instance (aside from story purposes). After a lengthy introduction, Red and Antea meet once again to combine their talents to tackle the land of New Eden and its spooky inhabitants. Whilst Red retains his hack-and-slash style of combat, Antea now has ethereal powers that literally pack a punch.

Every time you switch to Antea, you see the world as she does in her ghostly form!

This is handled by Don’t Nod incredibly well, as you are able to instantly switch between the two characters at almost any time. Body swapping is helpful in combat as Antea does more damage against possessed bodies whereas Red deals out punishing blows to the ghouls in their natural form. You have your standard and heavy attacks for Red (including some parrying), with a dash attack from Antea on top of her standard ghost fist attack.

I just wanted a nice walk in the woods.

As you go through the narrative, you’ll unlock more abilities and are even able to do combo moves with both Banishers if you time your swapping right. Red eventually unlocks a rifle that you can spec into if you prefer to stay back from the action. Levelling up nets skill points for Reds’ abilities and once you complete haunting cases you get some for Antea to use on her powers.

Guns work surprisingly well against ghosts, someone should tell the Winchesters.

Health vials, not dissimilar to Dark Souls, will help in combat as will your equipment. Finding hidden chests or completing optional activities will provide more powerful gear and items to upgrade your existing armour, again choosing what to upgrade depending on preference. There are also plenty of materials strewn across the land just waiting for Reds’ rough hands to take them into his grasp.

Enough gear to fill your backpack but where’s all the cool outfits?

Alternatively, you can switch to Antea whilst exploring to find items hidden behind ethereal webbing, that only she can see. Plus as she unlocks abilities, you can go back to previously visited areas to use them to unblock pathways to new areas containing more side activities and collectibles.

Burn baby burn!

Whilst there is a decent amount of variety in skills, the combat starts to turn a bit repetitive towards the end of the 25-30 hour story. Once you find a few combos that work for you, each encounter is a rinse and repeat of the last. There are a few different types of enemies, around 3 or 4 spectres and the same of possessed bodies, but throughout the protracted tale, this also becomes somewhat mundane.

One of the 5 skill trees, each with an increasing number of skills

The only time battling differs is against the mini-bosses as side tasks or the few mostly brilliant main boss fights. With each big boss at the end of a main mission being a rare form of ghost, it’s a refreshing fight and each has a great backstory behind it. What’s more, the lack of Slimer was a slight disappointment.

Scissors, paper, rock!

Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden Review – Visuals

The unforgiving, harsh land of America is only endured due to the gorgeous landscapes that lay before you. Each area is extremely detailed and whilst you generally stick to a certain path it definitely doesn’t feel like that. Dense forests turn to snowy mountains, each more realistic than the last, especially when the game gives you certain moments to stand upon a clifftop and take in your surroundings.

The snow effects were brilliantly done!

The only exception to this was a specific cut scene that contained rain, it looked shocking and for some reason the water effect made the scene look incredibly grainy. Luckily though this only lasted around 5 minutes. Every other location in this game is meticulously crafted including the sea, so the rain may be fixed in a future patch,

Rain rain go away…

Although the scenery is detailed, the people that you interact with aren’t as lucky. Red and Anteas’ faces and outfits are elaborately designed but a few of the lesser characters are shown a little bit less love. From generic clothes to terrible facial animations, this small part of the game, while far between, was a bit of a letdown.

His face just looks like a glob of play-doh.

Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden Review – Audio

You may be wondering if Ghosts of New Eden is scary? Definitely not, there’s no horror element or jump scares but it still contains all manner of spooky phantoms so it is a bit spooky. The music adds perfectly to this creepy chronicle, with soft violin tunes and ambient guitar strings in the quieter moments.

Trevor Morris, who created the themes for Banishers has a pretty decent portfolio, mostly containing shows, like Vikings. However, you may know him from a popular game by the name of Dragon Age: Inquisition, so he has had some dealings with stories set in other times.

Aww you sunk my battleship.

Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden Review – What Else?

Burial Grounds, Void Breaches, cursed chests, oh my! Yes there is a hell of a lot to do here as you explore new places on the map. Whilst the main quest takes you through most of the areas surrounding New Eden, there is still a lot to go back and uncover. Once you finish a quest in a certain location, more side quests and haunting cases will unlock for you to undertake.

Each ritual is for specific circumstances, make sure you pick the right one!

With around 15 additional ghosts to bust, there are also many collectibles to find. The biggest extra activity is the void breaches, which entails a short trip through the world between worlds and fighting a few waves of enemies until you reach a mini boss. These can be found all over the map but you can focus on one and increase the intensity (difficulty) to get better rewards.

Into the void…

Aside from all the extra content, trophy/achievement hunters will have an even longer play time due to the fact you must get both endings. These endings rely on your choices to the haunting missions and how many people you either save or sacrifice. However, a speed run on easy mode and skipping cut scenes shouldn’t be too tiresome.

Zoomed out to its extents, the map doesn’t look that big but it definitely is!

Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden Review – Conclusion

The tale of the two Banishers is one that is worth being told. Although some parts of the story may seem a bit drawn-out this is more of a case of experiencing the smaller details to add up to the whole. Some games may be bingeable but Ghosts of New Eden is best done slowly. Your choices will effect the ending and there is a tonne of side content and smaller stories to experience. Each one different to the last.

I ain’t afriad of no ghost!

The combat may get a bit tiresome but the journey you can experience and the stunning vista’s more than make up for it. A truly epic undertaking from Don’t Nod, Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden should be celebrated for a world full of ghostly entities that should not fade any time soon.

A hauntingly beautiful tale.

So, why should you play Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden?

• Enjoy spooky (but not scary) ghost stories with a bit of action
• Lite RPG elements with multiple endings due to choice driven missions
• Great characters with interesting stories

But why shouldn’t you play Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden?

• Some missions contain extensive dialogue
• Quite a lengthy game even if you just play the story
• Combat is a bit repetitive

A review code was kindly provided by Dont Nod Entertainment for the purpose of our Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden review.  You can check out another of Don’t Nods game review here and if you haven’t already, be sure to join the Qualbert Discord to find out about the latest game and review updates!