Set during the settling of America in the 1600’s, the game begins with Banishers (effectively mercenaries that deal with hauntings) Red and Antea arriving on boat to New Eden - a small settlement near Boston - having received word from their friend Charles that their ghost handling skills are required in this fledging town.
Upon arrival, they find that Charles has actually died since sending the correspondence, and the ensuing battle against the being that haunts New Eden – known as ‘The Nightmare’ – makes short work of the intrepid couple, killing Antea, and throwing Scotsman Red out into the unforgiving ocean. Waking up sometime later, Red find himself being nursed back to health by a mysterious young woman, and accompanied again by Antea – this time as a ghost – as they work together to finally rid New Eden of The Nightmare that plagues them.
As mentioned above, I didn’t expect to get as drawn into the world of Banishers – or, more specifically, the relationship between Red and Antea – as I did. The locations that you visit are brought to life by a rich cast of characters who are desperately trying to carve out new lives for themselves on this unknown continent in the bleakest of circumstances.
Everywhere you turn, people are harangued by strange plagues, dying crops, evil visions, seemingly demonic possessions and the avarice and selfishness of those who wish to prosper from – and amongst -the suffering of others. Needless to say, our duo are busy.
As you make your way around the open-world, gaining new equipment, abilities and – of course - banishing ghosts – you’ll find yourself engaged in myriad side quests, all of which feel completely at home in the lore of the game, and pose questions and mysteries begging to be solved. Not since The Witcher have I found myself so drawn to the plight of side characters, everything from a missing villager to a farmer asking you to pick herbs for her ends up in some wonderful tapestry, melding the supernatural and the mundane.
The central conceit as you reach the end of each tale, is that you must ‘blame’ (kill) the still-living human/s involved in the quest or ascend / banish the ghostly apparitions that require dismissal from the world of the living, or perhaps assistance in completing unfished tasks from their lives. I loved it.
On top of this is the central relationship between Red and Antea. Red may be a fierce, bearded, fiery Scots warrior, but he is also a man dealing with incredible grief, and each step towards their goal, is a step closer to ultimately losing the spirit of his love, completely. Antea might be the more pragmatic and seemingly strong-willed of the pair, but still struggles with the fact that her time is limited, and she too must soon move on from the corporeal world, leaving those she loves behind.
This isn’t an overly sentimental story, however - the game has an incredible amount of dialogue, and the relationship between Red and Antea feels lived-in and real. Yet every conversation and shared memory or laugh has ripples of melancholy underneath, as the unspoken knowledge that their time together is finite pulls them towards the end of their quest.
The solid writing is bolstered by an incredible score that underpins the on-screen action. Long-held, mournful notes ring out as you ascend clifftops and make your way through marshes, plains and forestry – and a nice touch is that the cast all have regional accents that suit their personal lore, which adds to the immersion and earthiness of the citizens of New Eden.
The game isn’t perfect, however -although it is tailored to differing playstyles, which is much appreciated. In terms of issues, the combat feels generic, and, whilst the ability to flit between characters at the press of a button, switching up physical and ghostly attacks and abilities is initially fun, the sheer amount of fighting – especially if the enemies respawn, which they do if you choose to fast travel at any point in the game – gets wearing, I found the combat to be the weakest aspect of the game, and too often found my character not locking on to enemies properly, each skirmish dragging on for a little longer than I’d have liked.
In terms of personal tweaking, however, the game caters for people such as myself, who lean more towards the story aspect, as well as those who enjoy a firm challenge, as the many difficulty settings do have a serious impact, and you can go anywhere here from cheesing through most enemies mindlessly, to a more Souls-esque challenge should you so wish.
The main story moves along at the pace you dictate - with no grind points – so you can take on as many side quests as you wish, or plough through the main questline, whichever appeals. Even better – due to the way the story and characters are laid out, both make sense in terms of the narrative, as Red wants to make the most of his time with Antea, and so getting distracted by the myriad side quests makes sense in terms of his side of things, whereas Antea – the more practical and stoic character – wants to shuffle off her spiritual trappings, so to her, moving ever forwards to directly deal with The Nightmare – thus moving on herself– makes sense, too.
SUMMARY
I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden, and whilst I wasn’t particularly drawn in by the combat mechanics and slightly over-used environmental puzzling, the weight, tone and presentation of the narrative, atmospherics, and character arcs were very much up my strasse. Whilst you need a good 30-50 hours to unlock every aspect of the game, it never loses sight of the personal journey at the hearts of the core characters, and thus the impact of the various circumstances and situations never lessen - an early GOTY contender for me, for sure.
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