Ghost Song (2022)

This game is getting the score it's getting for having such good elements to it and failing to follow through and being a huge disappointment.

It's basically a souls-like mashed with a Metroidvania. It's got an other-worldly creepy vibe and I'm sure it goes places. It's delightful in appearance and I really liked some aspects of the world and weapons they've put together.

That said, there are some egregious things that turned me off, and ultimately caused me to just uninstall.

First, I'm not sure if I'm just not good, or if the weapon damage scaling is just off, but the boss fights became way too hard...and this is coming from someone that has played through several Dark Souls games.

Second, the traversal is so slow, which is not what you want from a game like this. Forcing a player to trek back through the map to deliver a widget, forgoing the fast travel system, is a huge disrespect of my time that is valuable to me as a player.

In the end, I just decided to make peace with moving on and uninstalled.

~David.

I was enjoying this game at first, but it gets gradually worse as you go along. The main objective is to find five ship parts and take them back to the ship. The issue is that you can’t fast travel during this time, and there are these horribly annoying robot enemies that appear during the first section that just made it more frustrating than challenging.

So many boss fights include random enemies thrown at you, and the game’s kinda clunky controls make managing all these threats a chore. The hit boxes are also totally off. I shot a missile at a tiny enemy, and it somehow went under his stubby little legs. Meanwhile I fought an boss who carried around a giant blunt weapon it had to drag on the ground, and if you land on the weapon, it damages you somehow? Just so many amateur design choices.

The art direction is beautiful, and some of the writing is entertaining, but beyond that, the game itself is just too flawed to recommend. It was made by one dude, apparently, so I hope for this guy’s next project, he just works on the artwork and hires people who know what they’re doing for the game design.

While compiling a list of gripes about Ghost Song, I began to realize just how much it sounded like I hated the game. I have issues with the controls, the pacing, the boss fights, no widescreen support, an awful ending, etc. It has a lot that could be improved and even after 8+ years in the oven it feels a bit unpolished and incomplete. So why did I still love it? Why, after completing the story, do I feel the urge to pop back in and explore? Because it succeeded in the most important aspects - namely world building, characters, graphics, music and just the overall atmosphere and aesthetics.

Ghost Song, like many games these days, takes its inspirations from Metroid and Dark Souls. It was difficult not to spend many moments comparing it to Hollow Knight as the most similar game in terms of genre. You spend most of your time exploring and backtracking through a two-dimensional world, unlocking new items and abilities that expand your options in both combat and traversal.

Early into the game, you are given a main quest that forces you to explore the deepest corners of the map and Ghost Song does a great job of making these trips feel like expeditions. Many of the first times you encounter a new enemy you will yelp and run away. Other times you will find a peaceful oasis within the depths and stare in awe as you gather yourself. Much like Hollow Knight and Dark Souls, Ghost Song does a great job of making you feel both curious about where you haven't been and scared at the unknown at the same time. Every time you set off to reveal more of the map, it is intense.

Ghost Song also does a great job of feeding you bits about the world and characters. Most of this is simply in the form of voiceover or text from NPCs you speak with but a lot is done through that simple medium. The writing is effective and gives the inhabitants of most of the world a lot of personality. At times it can be a little bit too obscure (à la Dark Souls) but in most cases succeeds in making you care about the people you meet and curious to know more about your situation. It's just a shame that the game couldn't stick the landing as the final dungeon and ending sequence are immensely unsatisfying and don't live up to the rest of the game in this respect.

The important thing to understand is that Ghost Song is very far from perfect. If you love this style of game and value an awesome aesthetic, somber tone, beautiful graphics and haunting music, you will likely enjoy the ~10 hours it takes to run through. If you think you will get frustrated at something a bit clunky and incomplete, maybe give it a pass.

Ok I was EXTREMELY excited for this one. I was counting down days. It has every element I love. Beautiful art, a combination of hollow knight and Metroid gameplay, and a great soundtrack.

The game was everything I dreamed… for the first 2-3 hours. Then, it slowly began to sink. The pacing slows to a crawl once the game opens up.

The backtracking is the worst part. The movement speed is so slow, and 90% of the rooms are just empty. It takes a LONG time to explore - the best element of a Metroidvania. This kills the game first and foremost.

The combat feels decent at the beginning. But it never really picks up. The boss fights are extremely underwhelming and seem half baked. The regular enemies don’t have much variety, and every encounter feels about the same.

The story / writing has its moments, but overall didn’t explain much and the ending is sooooo sudden and feels rushed as hell

The art style is great and that’s where all my praise is. The soundtrack is also pretty cool, but kinda made me feel sad. I never felt excited to jump back in, because the music just drips sadness… in a bad way.

But ya biggest disappointment of the year. I know it’s hard being an indie dev, but the whole “he worked on it for 8 years” thing kinda feels more like marketing than a testament to the work put in.

There’s a lot of room for growth for the dev for sure, but I think they really need to focus on level design, combat, and pacing for the next one. The art is perfect. But as a game/story/Metroidvania/experience, it falls super flat for me.