With so many video games that end up being announced throughout the year, sometimes it is a bit difficult to remember each and every one of those that are presented, especially if they have gone somewhat unnoticed. Recently that’s what happened to me Banishers: Ghosts of New Edena new video game developed by Don’t Nod Entertainment.
Although most of its works have been graphic adventures, the company already demonstrated a few years ago that it is perfectly capable of creating a highly recommended action RPG, as was the case with Vampyr. I will try to prove the same thing once again next year with this new title that I have had the opportunity to try and about which I am glad to have done so without knowing anything about it, because then the surprise has been much more rewarding.
The weight of consequences when saving or eliminating humans and ghosts
The action of this RPG takes place in the year 1695, in a purely fantasy world in which the protagonists are Red and Antea, a couple of warriors in love with each other and whose greatest quality is being ghost hunters. And in the lands where they live there are all kinds of evil ghosts that terrorize the population, so their task is to eliminate them to maintain peace.
However, a terrible tragedy comes between our characters’ relationship, because Antea will also transform into a ghost, precisely the beings they hate. This situation will leave them no choice but to find a way to return it to its natural state, although that will depend solely and exclusively on what the players want to happen.
The reason for all this is because at Don’t Nod they are very experts in narrative experiences and here the study demonstrates it once again, because we ourselves are the ones who We will decide what fate awaits Antea. And throughout this exciting journey the couple of protagonists will encounter human beings and also ghosts whose destiny will be in Red’s hands.
The truth is that the part that I had the opportunity to play already placed me at an advanced point in the plot in which Antea was already a ghost and had to carry out a mission. In it I found a human who was being tormented by the death of one of his companions, so I had to act as detectives in search of any clue that could determine what really happened and, in the process, find the aforementioned ghost.
After fighting a few fights and covering a large part of the stage, I managed to meet the specter in question, talk to him and explain to his companion who was still alive what had happened. Naturally, this is nothing more than a few small glimpses of the mission, so as not to spoil it entirely, but once I reached the final part of this objective, I was faced with a series of options that I had to opt for: kill the human, let the ghost rest in peace, or destroy it completely.
None of the three options should be chosen lightly, because they are the ones that will have serious consequences on Antea’s progress to become human again, on the main plot and on the inhabitants of New Eden themselves. In fact, shortly afterward she herself wanted to know what Red intended, whether to help her return to her normal state at the cost of the lives of humans and the suffering of the souls of the ghosts or to assume the consequences and continue exercising her oath as hunters. of ghosts, which will mean in the future that both of them cannot be together.
From all this it is clear that the narrative plays a brutal and tremendously important role from beginning to end in this title, with crucial decisions and in which morality will have a fairly large weight, since everything has its positive and negative part that cannot be overlooked at any time. Especially since Antea will not end up looking favorably on killing others for the profession that she has always defended.
A fantasy world full of fearsome threats
Beyond the great plot component, the numerous conversations that parade on the screen and the cinematics that invite you not to miss anything, the gameplay is another fundamental section as a good action RPG, because the combats pose a good challenge. The first ones I found myself involved in were against some normal wolves and it didn’t take me too long to crush them, but by advancing it was no longer possible to relax.
The truth is that the controls are very simple and intuitive, since you have a button for weak attacks, another to charge them and hit harder, as well as it is possible to protect yourself to block or roll to dodge. Still, sometimes The groups of enemies are very powerful and do not mess aroundso you don’t have to lose sight of anything around you so as not to quickly bite the dust.
Despite everything, Red and Antea are actually as if they were the same being, because another of the buttons on the controller allows you to switch between one and the other whenever you want. This same affects the scenario thanks to the capabilities of each one, since for example Antea can discover materials that are not visible to the living, but where the differences between the two are most noticeable is when facing any enemy.
The good thing about our traveling companion being a ghost is that she cannot die in any way, but she does have her own life bar. Therefore, it is possible to hit with it without fear of receiving hits and thus preserve Red’s health in a somewhat dangerous situation. Besides, Antea is much more powerful
To avoid only playing with Antea, she has a kind of energy bar that decreases incessantly, so that the only way to recharge it is by fighting with Red. A good way for the game to guarantee that none of the two stay aside and at the same time delve into their respective skill trees to strengthen them the further you progress in the plot.
In general, the enemies have very simple patterns to learn, although I also ran into some in the form of minibosses that were difficult to defeat. These were especially abundant in a kind of Alternate dimensions that can be accessed later in the adventure to unlock improvements if you successfully overcome these areas.
In any case, when the time came to be able to move freely through the open world in this adventure, it was time to let go of the controls, but at least it gave me time to appreciate that the map has a huge size and there were countless points of entry. interest to visit, so it looks like completing the game will take a good amount of dozens of hours. Of course, I have to admit that this first contact has completely sold me.
I found the plot very interesting, as well as the fact that the decisions are so impactful in the events, and the combats are not short either, with a difficulty that will make them not a walk in the park and without becoming a very desperate challenge. Perhaps the only bad thing is the date on which it will go on sale because it will be met with a lot of hype, but without a doubt Banishers: Ghosts of the New Eden It has many ballots to be one of the most interesting games of the first quarter of 2024.
- Platforms: PS5 (played version), Xbox Series X/S and PC
- Multiplayer: No
- Developer: Don’t Nod
- Company: Focus Entertainment
- Launch: February 13, 2024
