Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden Critic Reviews

The best art tells us something of relevance to the world around us. Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden is a dark and intense fantasy of ghosts, vengeance, and human resilience through the bleakest of nightmares. It’s unfortunate that it offers such a strong allegory to the real world, yet it does and that makes it all the more thought-provoking, however inadvertent it was for the developers. Thankfully it’s also exceptionally good to play, even as it challenges your intellect and moral core.

It tried to do something different, and it did it in a distinctly Don’t Nod way, and the end result was a beautiful story about characters I will remember for a long time to come. Red and Antea’s tale is one of love and loss, and it finds the beauty in both.

Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden is well beyond anything Don't Nod has ever done. It successfully merges their renowned knack for solid characters and great stories, engaging and enjoyable combat and a unique setting to create an experience like no other. It's a incredible fun and easily the studios most ambitious game so far. It doesn't get much better than this.

The middling world activities and RPG elements don't detract from the fact that Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden is a remarkably engaging story to follow. From the first moment you'll be entranced by the tale of Antea and Red and the contract they have been tasked to fulfill.

Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden definitely doesn't want to be a revolutionary game. Instead, it plays it safe to deliver a solid and fun experience, with an original story and gameplay that should please fans of The Witcher 3 and God of War (2018).

Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden is a splendid experience crafted intricately by Don’t Nod. The game starts off strong, but a bit of the allure wears off over time as you peek behind the curtains of the various systems within the game. That said, the game’s intriguing narrative, relatively tough decisions, and overall solid gameplay elements make Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden one of the strongest gaming experiences of early 2024.

After finishing it, we thought that Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden is the kind of experience that only a studio like DON'T NOD can afford to make and that should be rewarded even just for the courage shown to propose such an adventure in a completely new setting, although not exactly original. A rarity these days. It is not without problems, between having to retrace one's steps too often and the lack of some useful information in the inventory, but on balance these are venial defects for an experience that has proven to be truly engaging in many ways and which grows in the end, always proposing borderline situations that test the player from different points of view.

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.

It's not going to be the game of the year, but it is a great example of both light RPG adventures and those games that make you crazy with their decisions. Pure Don't Nod with an extra show.

Banishers: Ghost of New Eden isn't a perfect game, but a great example, why games are much more than a sum of their single components. The dual character combat is fun and just one of the aspects, where Red and Antea form an inextricable unit. The world looks nice and is worth exploring. The heroes are pleasant and there is a lot of room for experimenting in the skill and perk system. What's partly absent is the moral dilemma within the decisions, which could have intensified this unique action journey.

Having completed Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden, I can confidently say that it will go on as one of 2024's best games. If you are looking for a story full of tension, exciting moments and hard to make choices, as well as great animations and completely awful monsters, then you'll definitely hit the mark with Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden. To sum it up: as a semi-open world RPG video game, it is with no doubt one of the best video games that Don't Nod has ever made.

Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden is a compelling tale of love and loss brought to life by phenomenal writing and performances with solid combat to boot, and it serves as a reminder that good storytelling remains a crucial element of video games.

Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden is most probably the magnum opus (so far) of Don't Nod, which is a remarkable achievement, considering the great games they have developed so far. The haunting atmosphere is excellent, the writing is thoughtful and mature, and the gameplay gracefully completes the package.

Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden is about a moral choice regarding life and death. And its sturdy, plaintive narrative, sometimes reminiscent of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s romanticism, makes the decision difficult: You can’t help but be moved by the outpouring of love displayed by two ghost hunters in a haunted New England town.

Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden is a bit disappointing with its technical problems and lack of simple features, but DON'T NOD managed to create a magnificent and addictive world that makes the player want to follow it to the end - after all, you are responsible for the fate of Red and Antea.

Despite a stiff combat system that sometimes feels imprecise, Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden presents a compelling story about love, human misery and crucial social themes.

Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden surpassed my expectations thanks to its incredible sense of exploration, gripping story, and gorgeously-presented characters. Sure, it's easy but the adventure is still well-worth going on for any curious ghost hunters out there.

An excellent action-RPG that follows in the footsteps of God of War and The Witcher 3 while proposing a very different but equally fascinating setting and two really cool main characters. Net of a few technical stumbles and some design naivete, Don't Nod's most ambitious project hits the mark rather well.

Banishers isn't going to appeal to those who demand continuous action and top-tier combat. The fact is, there are just so many games that do hacking, slashing, and shooting so much better. Banishers is for those who want to be told a scary story and face some difficult moral choices along the way…It's for those who relish the opportunity to play as a pair of seventieth-century supernatural detectives and solve some spooky mysteries while coming up with a solution to an inevitable, and much more personal problem…Banishers felt like we were living in a Washington Irving story such as The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, so if you think this sounds like a vibe, then we'd highly recommend it.

Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden sees developer DON'T NOD reach a new development peak, as it marries an excellent narrative with engaging and enjoyable gameplay. Poor enemy variety and technical flaws hold it back from true greatness, but its excellent, story-focused side quests on the other side make a few drab combat encounters worth pushing through. The studio's best game to date, Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden is a new IP we hope is here to stay.