Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden (2024)

A bit over halfway, and I'm enjoying this so far. I think it's quite well written, and definitely shows how the studio has kept growing stronger over time. That said, I do think that one weakness with the narrative is that there's not a lot of differentiation between Ascending and Banishing spirits. Red and Antea differ on which one to use (the pro-banish Antea says her way is safer, the pro-ascent Red says his is gentler), but I don't feel like the game explains the difference or the narrative really explores it. Not having that nuance undercuts most of the big dramatic choices that have come up.

I also think the game could have benefited from an option to reexplore or double down on your Oath partway through. I could see our increasingly disillusioned protagonists either giving up on doing the "right" thing and going all in, or committing to the promise they made to either hold fast to their vows or to burn it all down for each other. It might not change anything, but it'd be an interesting bit of writing.

Could be better i guess..

• combat is dull and wonky. theres only like couple types of enemies and u just hit2. harder difficulty just make them bullet sponge not smarter. only 1-2 hard fights
• voice and lip syncing out of place sometimes. buggy environment, screen tearing
• to me, the chemistry between the main characters are just not there.. kinda too forced of a romance and end up feel like they are acting in play or something..Antea particularly .. her personality also non consistent from start to finish.

But otherwise,

• story is the saving grace . i kinda like the settings and environments. side quests also unique to each other. ( but i prefer a balance between story and gameplay)
• voice acting kinda neat
• graphics okay. facial expressions could be better

on side note, i had some issues fps drop/glitching during traversal and mountains area. finally finish it, moving on 6.5/10 for me

Man oh man... Without spoilers, this is the second time this game has left me stunned from the main story. Like just holding the controller and staring at the screen in silence. (The Dark Woods and Fort Jericho main missions, for those who've played it).

I'm really excited to write a review for this one, because there's a lot to say, but my ADHD ass wants to go for 100% world completion and get all the trophies I can. But having completed mooooost of the story now, I can confidently say that this is one strong, well-written narrative.

And that's not even considering the side-quests, which are all self-contained stories in themselves.

I've come around a bit on the character Antea. I actually think she's quite well-written, and she has moments where she's a bit of a badass. But I still find her quite unpleasant, immature, and honestly kind of abusive. The writers did a good job though, they're presenting a flawed person who's been through some shit.

Man... Didn't expect something in this game to tear at the marrow of my bones like this.

Minor spoilers for a side quest in Banishers.

I had the opportunity to seek retribution for a man selling smallpox blankets to indigenous peoples as part of a scheme to take their lands. This is an issue I feel strongly about... Indigenous rights, worldwide, matter immensely to me. But the guy did try to make amends... In his own way. I hate him to my core for what he did, and yet... I feel terrible for killing him. A video game that makes you fundamentally question your morality, that's powerful stuff...

i still think this is a great game, particularly when it comes to character and narrative, but navigating the world really does feel awful. Add backtracking and it becomes atrocious.

Maybe the answer was to not have this sprawling spaces, regardless of how beautiful they are, because a lot of the time they actively work against the game, specially after you seen the first time and are just running back to some new activity or whatever.

Alternatively, they should have just left us fast travel from any point in the map to any established hideout. That would have ameliorated the worst of it at least.

By the GODS do I not like this character of Antea. She is constantly meeting Red's remarks with snide, sarcastic comments. I think the writers believe this shows them as a playful couple, but as someone who's seen most of his family members divorce at one point or another, it strikes me as incredibly toxic and condescending. I hate this character. You're supposed to make a tough decision between helping her spirit ascend and sacrificing the living to revive her... But there isn't even really a dilemma for me. Antea sucks and Red will be a happier man without her.

Overall though, I am REALLY loving this game. Easy GOTY contender for me. The whole game feels "damp" in a way that's tough to describe. Have you ever been camping in the forested lowlands of Canada and the American Northeast? It's that. The cold damp that pierces your bones and saps your energy. Everything feels sullen and uncomfortable and dirty in a way that drives the story, and there are moments of genuine horror that I did not expect from a narrative-driven RPG. Between this one and Vampyr, it's clear that Dontnod have some serious horror chops.

I am really enjoying this game, and its unusually calm and sullen tone, but I have a bit of a gripe.

I really, really do not like the female lead, Antea. She is presented as the male lead, Red's, lover and mentor... But they have absolutely no chemistry. Red has a strong personality, and is unsure of himself as an apprentice, but Antea comes off as both clingy and commanding. Given that she appears to be a bit older than he, it is honestly giving me creepy vibes. Like. She's his teacher. That's a power imbalance. She's emotionally stuff as a board, and I see no reason why these two characters would be lovers, and it all just feels icky.

I've also noticed this thing a lot of Focus-published games do where they have racialized characters, but completely stripped of any culture or authenticity to their identity - often casting white characters in roles of racialized people in an historical setting. Greedfall was REALLY bad for this, where their analogue for indigenous Americans was a racially diverse population of people that spoke with a weird fake Russian accent.

I am not an expert on the social justice of race, and I'll never claim to be, but it makes me feel really uncomfortable when devs use race this way, especially in an historical setting. It makes me feel like racialized people are being white-washed as to "not be offensive," but being inaccurate to who these people are and their cultural differences feels wrong.

With Antea in particular, it feels like they gave her zero personality so she wouldn't be "too black". I can't say if that is the case of not, but it feels that way. The actor really doesn't have much to work with, the character is really written like shit. Red gets all these quirky Scots mannerisms and turns of phrase, but Antea is just a boring Londoner? This ain't it...