Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden Lands to Strong Reviews
The latest game from DON’T NOD (best known for the Life is Strange series) has just arrived, and its got some positive buzz surrounding it. A completely new IP, ‘Banishers: Ghost of New Eden’ is an action RPG in which you play as two ‘banishers’ in 1695 where you are tasked with lifting an ominous curse that has the world consumed into darkness. Playing as both a human and ghost, you take on dual roles in an emotional story that has some interesting RPG-like choices involved.
So far, it seems that most critics are quite fond of this 17th Century paranormal tale. The game is currently sitting at a strong 82 on Opencritic- with 84% of critics recommending it. Compared to previous lower-budgeted AAA new IPs from last year such as ‘Forspoken’ and ‘Immortals of Aveum’, this is an impressive score. God is a Geek were especially impressed with their 9/10 score- praising the compelling story as a highlight:
“Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden is a powerful, emotional and compelling tale that shows off a side of Don't Nod that we've never seen so well-lit.”
While most critics were impressed with the offering in place here, others felt like ‘Banishers’ was more ‘missing potential’ than ‘fully realised vision’. The Game Crater felt this with their 6/10 rating- calling out the lacklustre character chemistry and half-baked combat as weighing the whole experience down:
“Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden falls short of its potential. Its central protagonists lack the chemistry and development to make meaningful choices feel impactful. Its combat and exploration feel like they've been lifted from better games, barely iterating on established formulas and, in some cases, making them worse. While there are some enjoyable side quests and the occasional glimmer of hope in the main subplot, Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden never reaches the heights it should.”
Image by DON’T NOD
In terms of where it lies with the public, the game is currently sitting at an impressive 90% very positive rating on Steam and a 4.81/5 stars on PlayStation- indicating that its worth picking up if the story and setting seem interesting to you. You can pick the game up now on PlayStation, Xbox and PC for a reasonable less than AAA price point of £50 digitally and physically, which isn’t too bad considering its substantial 20–25-hour runtime (according to the developers).
