Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden

Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden is the latest title from developer Don’t Nod, best known for their work on titles such as Life is Strange, Jusant, and the spiritual predecessor of this game, Vampyr. Ghosts of New Eden is a narrative-driven action RPG with a heavy decision-making element. With Don’t Nod’s past experiences, it is hard not to feel that Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden has taken on some of the best parts of their previous games and put it all together here.

Don't Nod drops the melodrama for a poignantly performed story about grief and injustice, where the difficult choices tug at your heart and principles.

Banishers: Ghost of New Eden isn’t the most polished game out there. With a love story at its heart that asks you to ponder the morality of your choices throughout, however, you can’t help but be drawn into its world. It also helps that it’s a game filled with variety; exploration is finely balanced with combat and investigation to create an experience that keeps you on your toes and stops tedium from seeping in, even though none of those three aspects are particularly impressive by themselves. Basically, it’s greater than the sum of its parts, especially if you get on board with the tale it w...

Despite some frustrating design choices, pacing and technical issues, there is a prevailing magnetic chemistry to Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden that is felt within its narrative and mirrored in its gameplay, in large part thanks to its two brilliantly written and acted protagonists. Its thoughtful dissection and unique exploration of grief ultimately resonated with me in a way that allowed me to forgive most of its other sins.

Don't Nod has taken several key lessons from Vampyr and applied them to great effect with its second action RPG. Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden might not be revolutionary in anything that it does, and from a gameplay standpoint, it can sometimes feel a bit too straightforward for its own good, but with a well-realized setting, captivating story, excellent protagonists, and genuinely compelling choice-and-consequence moments, it's an easy game to recommend to fans of the genre.

Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden is an example of Don’t Nod doing what Don’t Nod does best - deliver an enthralling, story-driven title that had me hooked in its world and characters from the opening titles. It’s elevated by inspirations from other titles with bigger budgets in this genre and is all the better for it with a stunning world that invites you to explore.

Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden is underwhelming as an action RPG, but is a must-play thanks to solid character drama and challenging moral decisions.

Death is just the beginning.

A grim ghost-hunting story filled with moral decisions that focus on the question of what we would sacrifice for a partner we love.

Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden is an incredibly meaningful story-driven Action RPG that runs very well on the Steam Deck.

Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden is a love story about loss and sacrifice, propelling its choice-driven narrative forward amidst middling combat.

Banishers is a spooky, loving tale about two incredible people. I cried a few times, both for these two characters I grew to adore, and for the very sad stories of others just trying to make it in a difficult world. While the combat is not spectacular, and the graphics are middling, everything else makes this a very special game. With superb writing, excellent performances, a clever central mechanic, and thoughtful, engaging stories, Banishers is Don’t Nod’s best game yet.