Life Is Strange devs' sad ghost romance Banishers gets release date
Play as a human/ghost couple this November
Don’t Nod have announced their tragic romance Banishers: Ghosts Of New Eden is coming out on November 7th. The game seems to be a marriage between everything the studio’s done previously, from their choice-based drama of Life Is Strange to the action-RPG parts they played with in Vampyr. And the result looks great.
Banishers casts you as two lovers, Antea Duarte and Red Mac Raith, who work as ghostbusters. The twist? Antea dies and becomes a ghost herself, which is a slight conflict of interest in their line of work. Wasting her new ghostly powers would be a shame though, so the couple continue fighting spectres with Red’s swords/guns and Antea’s supernatural abilities, all while looking for a way to reanimate her.
Banishers seemingly doesn’t separate the couple into two playable heroes. Instead, you’ll mainly control Red with Antea popping out when you use certain flashy moves. It’s somewhat similar to how it looks in the Shadow Of Mordor games when your body roommate comes out for a special attack.
Despite the heavier focus on beating up foes, the team say their signature tough decisions make a return as you deal with other humans and other lost souls. “Will you honour your banisher oath or sacrifice the living in a desperate bid to bring your beloved back?” asks a recent press release, teasing some of those story-altering choices.
The last trailer had an emphasis on bringing “closure” to the wandering ghosts, which seems awfully on the nose for a game about resurrecting your dead wife. Who are we to judge, though? I wouldn’t part with a superpowered loved one either. Think of all the XP you can share.
Don’t Nod’s adventure games have largely been delights, but their last dip into action-RPG waters received a more mixed response. Alec Meer’s (RPS in peace) Vampyr review said it “falls just short of truly combining a smart choose-your-own-adventure game with a meaty action one.” Hopefully Banishers can marry those two sides with better luck.
Banishers: Ghosts Of New Eden comes out on November 7th. You can grab the game on Steam and consoles then. And fans of the developer might want to check out freshly released adventure game Harmony, and the stunning climb ‘em up Jusant.