Review | Banishers: Ghosts Of New Eden - Ghost Out Of The Shell
Don’t Nod’s latest title, Banishers, is an action RPG set during the British colonisation of the Americas, a tumultuous time laden with fear, hardship and guilt manifesting as paranormal beliefs. This framework is fueled by ghost-hunting partners Antea and Red who battle against love, death and a desolate world filled with distinctly depraved figures that test the virtue of a trying relationship.
The pillars that support this journey include a competent, complex battle system with multifaceted mechanics designed to utilise the abilities of each protagonist, and difficult decisions that force the player to cast judgement on interpersonal issues. These features are presented with a gorgeously grim open world populated with possessed towns that each carry a history of insidious secrets.
Specific figures from each community are haunted and it's the Banishers' job to examine the details of the case and cast judgment to lift the curse. Surprisingly, this setup doesn’t involve stereotypical detective work, as the required information is awarded to players by fighting deceased dangers and arriving at their destinations. The lack of puzzle-based detection is surprisingly necessary to the story having any impact as it allows players to determine the conclusion themselves.
Evidence is often subjective and found in the tomes of text scattered throughout the journey and at each checkpoint. You can choose to engage with extra material by chatting to townsfolk and exploring areas of interest, which can provide substantial context. Each piece of evidence is written and spoken from different biassed first-person accounts which add an extra layer of interpretation to the mix.
Each story concludes with you either blaming or forgiving the involved parties. This has massive consequences as key characters can be killed for their misdeeds, and the effects of these choices are felt by both protagonists and the residents of each affected area. Banishers cleverly opens up sidequests once these decisions have been made, making new subplots feel like a natural extension of the affected area.
These choices arguably have an even bigger effect on the central story surrounding Antea and Red’s relationship. One of the biggest conflicts comes from a pact that is made between the couple regarding their banishing rituals, this commitment knowingly affects the conclusion of the game and is made by the player before the main storyline kicks in to test morality.
Every story element has been carefully curated, contributing to an unforgettably harrowing yet heartfelt tale (that I will expand on later with a spoiler-filled discussion dissecting my favourite aspect of Banishers), but I can’t move on without delving into the action first. Admittedly it’s unsurprising that Don’t Nod has provided players with a nuanced narrative with plenty of emotional levity, but the fighting styles of Red and Antea are equally engrossing.
Banishers has a distinct flow to its fights, there's clearly a ton of inspiration lifted from Sony’s recent God of War duology, but this framework is only used as a blueprint for gratifying combat encounters that require mastering multiple disciplines in the midst of battle. Alongside the familiar sight of parries and dodge-rolls is a creative suite of additional abilities that involve switching between multiple partners and adapting to rulesets to keep you on your toes.
A typical brawl takes place in open areas where multiple ethereal beings have the chance to attack. Enemies each have a weakness to either one of the swappable protagonists who have their own set of strengths and attacks.
Red’s brave heart bests foes with a barrage of battle stances and ballistics. His strategy mostly consists of succinct stabs and slices alongside the formidable banishing finisher, but gunplay is sometimes required to snipe certain spirits that lurk in the backdrop. One of the most interesting aspects of the character is how much of an effect items have on his playstyle.
Every piece of equipable apparel has positive and negative modifiers that drastically change the way you play. I personally sacrificed health slots for added damage that increased every time I landed a hit without being damaged. The importance of items is unfortunately under-communicated and will likely lead to frustration upon first impression, but the impressive amount of customization available to players easily offsets the somewhat steep and unclear learning curve.
Antea supports Red with powerful abilities that can stun, disperse and provide additional power to the onslaught; she can also get hit without affecting the health bar. Her time in combat can be short-lived if moves are mismanaged as a lack of stamina (spirit) will forcefully discharge the partner until the Scotsman strikes in succession.
For the most part, this system solidifies the sanctity of the couple’s relationship through defiant duels that reward cooperation Banishers effortlessly innovates with a smart shakeup of established ideas that, in some ways, is an improvement on its contemporaries. The only notable exception is the disparity in complexity between the two fighters, as Antea is often less exciting to play as her counterpart.
There’s also a beautifully fleshed-out world that rewards exploration with meaningful upgrades to useful items. Alongside this is a ton of open-world busywork that proves to be surprisingly engaging thanks to New Eden’s intricate and purposeful design feeding into a slew of environmental puzzles.
Unlike other adventure games, there aren’t any puzzles breaking up Banisher’s dungeon-esque caves. I ended up appreciating this as it gave my brain more space to think about the cases, the story and the two main character’s relationship. Other arbitrary annoyances absent from the game include the lack of sprint gauges, limited inventory slots and typical stamina meters which is much appreciated.
That being said, Banishers has a lot of luxuriously animated sequences that overstay their welcome. There’s an abundance of long, unskippable environmental accoutrements to accompany the simplest of tasks like rope climbing and chest examinations. These animations become especially egregious during mainline missions as backtracking is required in the majority of instances.
However, this doesn’t take much away from a journey that respectfully navigates through heavy themes, showcases societal setbacks, sets up a surprisingly succinct set of skirmishes in an ever-changing world and places an impressive amount of power in players' hands. It manages this feat with evocative art, intelligent writing and emotional voicework that personify this particularly polished product.
*Minor spoilers ahead for the game’s premise*
It's now time to talk about the best aspect of Banishers and the impact it left behind through its thought-provoking discussions of death and its effect on the human psyche.
Death is often treated as an afterthought in games, especially in action-packed adventures that kill off contemplation in favour of delivering dopamine. There's nothing wrong with pillaging pixelated avatars with no regard. In fact, this template has pushed the medium forward by allowing developers to focus on game feel through tantalising tactility and immersive interactions.
But stripping the subject from such a heavy theme has emotionally stunted the narratives surrounding and seen within mainstream titles. Banishers overcomes this issue as it puts players in the role of a widower who can choose to either accept the harrowing fate of bereavement or let out their emotions on others through rage and anger.
This is depicted through a story that places Antea’s untimely death at the core of every decision. Idle conversations cycle between silly and serious situations in an unnervingly natural manner, the weight of player-led choices is heightened by the emotional weight of the couple, and the different ways each protagonist feels towards the subject creates conflict that feels warranted.
One of the biggest ways Don't Nod demonstrated its diligence in demonstrating fey was the escalation of tension seen throughout the protagonists’ journey. At the start of the game, Red and Antea try to bury their desolate feelings through shock, awe, and the distraction of duty. Each major step of the journey tears the mask away piece by piece as they each show elevated emotions as their time together becomes ever-fleeting.
As someone who's unintentionally invited a myriad of health issues into their relationship, the raw depictions of affection and loss at the heart of Banisher’s story resonated with me like no other game. The way that Antea and Red demonstrate their intimate feelings about the subject emulates my own experiences talking to trusted parties about equally difficult issues to a surprising degree.
If there’s one thing to take away from this review, Banisher’s artful, intricately researched depiction of death has the power to help people think about an incredibly difficult subject to come to terms with. It does so with an impressive amount of confidence that quite frankly defies its genre to positively impact an often overlooked audience.
