Don't let the quiet release fool you. Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden isn't just another action-RPG filling a slot in a publisher's fiscal calendar; it’s basically the spiritual successor to those weird, mid-budget AA games that used to have actual souls. Developed by Don’t Nod—the folks who gave us Life is Strange and the criminally underrated Vampyr—this game does something most $100 million blockbusters are too scared to try. It makes you feel terrible about your own choices. Not "video game" terrible, where a red bar goes down. I’m talking "staring at the pause screen for ten minutes because both options feel like a betrayal" terrible.
It’s 1695. The setting is New Eden, a fictional slice of North America that feels suffocatingly real. You play as Antea Duarte and Red mac Raith. They’re Banishers. Think of them as 17th-century ghost hunters, but without the proton packs and with a lot more trauma. They’re lovers. They’re partners. And then, ten minutes into the game, Antea dies.
That’s not a spoiler. It’s the premise.
The Brutal Weight of the Oath
Most games treat death as a fail state. Here, it’s the mechanic. Antea returns as a ghost—the very thing she spent her life hunting. This creates a massive, agonizing conflict that drives every single interaction in Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden. You have a choice. You can either perform the "Ascension" ritual to let her soul pass on peacefully, or you can attempt a "Resurrection."
But there’s a catch. A big one.
To bring her back, you need to sacrifice the living. You have to "Blame" the settlers you encounter during your investigations. Every time you find a haunted person in the woods, you are effectively deciding whether that person deserves to die so your girlfriend can live. It’s messy. It’s selfish. It’s honestly one of the most compelling narrative hooks in recent memory because it forces you to choose between your morals as a player and your empathy for the characters.
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If you’ve played The Witcher 3, you’ll recognize the structure of the "Haunting Cases." You arrive in a settlement, talk to some miserable people, find some clues, and fight some specters. But unlike Geralt, who usually just kills the monster and takes the coin, Red and Antea have to judge the humans involved. Is the husband being haunted because he’s a jerk, or because he’s grieving? Is the ghost a victim or a vengeful spirit? Don’t Nod excels at making everyone feel like a shade of gray. There are no "good" endings in New Eden, just different flavors of heartbreak.
Combat is More Than Just Button Mashing
Honestly, the combat starts off feeling a bit stiff. You’ve got your sword, your firebane, and your rifle. But once you start hot-swapping between Red and Antea mid-combo, things click. It’s a literal tag-team match between the living and the dead. Red handles the physical threats; Antea punches through supernatural defenses with spectral blasts.
Beyond the Basics
- Red uses a rifle for long-range weak points, which is vital for some of the more annoying bosses.
- Antea’s "Leap" ability isn't just for traversal; it's a gap-closer that can stun enemies.
- The "Manifestation" skill tree lets you customize how they synergize, like Antea leaving a zone that buffs Red’s damage.
It’s not Elden Ring. It’s not trying to be. The challenge comes from managing the "Decoction" (your healing) and timing your swaps to maximize Antea’s spiritual energy. On higher difficulties, you actually have to pay attention to the enemy types. Some ghosts are resistant to physical damage, meaning you have to stay in Antea's form even though taking hits as her drains your "Spirit" bar faster. It’s a constant tug-of-war.
The Atmosphere of a Dying World
New Eden is miserable. I mean that as a compliment. The art direction captures that specific, damp, colonial dread. Everything is wood, mud, and fog. The sound design is particularly haunting—lots of snapping twigs, distant whispers, and the heavy thud of Red’s boots. It feels lonely.
The game world isn't a massive open map filled with icons. It’s more of a "wide-linear" design, similar to the recent God of War games. You’ll find shortcuts, hidden chests, and environmental puzzles that require Antea’s powers to solve. This keeps the pacing tight. You aren't wandering for forty minutes looking for a herb; you're moving from one intense narrative beat to the next.
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One thing people get wrong about Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden is thinking it’s a short game. It’s not. If you actually engage with the Haunting Cases—and you should, because they are the best part of the writing—you’re looking at a 30 to 40-hour experience. Each case feels like a self-contained short story. One involves a blacksmith who may or may not have murdered his apprentice. Another involves a cult-like community hidden in the woods. These aren't "fetch quests." They are character studies.
Why the "Blame" System is Different
In most RPGs, "evil" choices are just for people who want to see the world burn. In Banishers, the "evil" choice (Blaming a human) is motivated by love. You aren't killing people because you’re a psychopath; you’re doing it because Red promised Antea he’d bring her back. This flips the script on the standard morality bar. It makes the player an accomplice to a very personal crime.
Every time I clicked "Blame," I felt a pit in my stomach. The voice acting by Amon Akuntor and Russ Bain really sells the desperation. You hear the crack in Red's voice. You see the hesitation in Antea's eyes. It’s phenomenal performance capture for a studio that isn't Sony Santa Monica.
Technical Performance and What to Expect
On PS5 and Xbox Series X, the game offers a Performance mode (60 FPS) and a Quality mode (30 FPS). Go with Performance. The combat is too timing-heavy to play at 30, and the visual hit isn't that bad. PC players will want a decent GPU—something in the RTX 3060 range for a smooth 1080p experience—as the volumetric fog can be a real resource hog.
There are some minor gripes. The map can be a bit confusing to navigate because of the verticality. Sometimes the "investigation" prompts (looking at glowing blue circles) feel a bit "gamey" compared to the high-level writing. But these are small potatoes.
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The Nuance of Colonial Horror
We don't get many games set in this period that aren't Assassin’s Creed. Banishers uses the 1690s setting to explore themes of isolation, religious fanaticism, and the harshness of the frontier. It’s not just window dressing. The historical context informs why these people are so terrified of the woods and why they turn on each other so easily. It’s a pressure cooker.
The ghosts aren't just monsters. They are manifestations of "lingering intent." Usually, that intent is something ugly—betrayal, greed, or unrequited love. By the time you reach the final act, the game has built a massive web of consequences based on who you spared and who you sacrificed. The ending isn't just a cutscene; it’s a reflection of every hard choice you made over thirty hours.
How to Get the Best Experience
If you're jumping in, don't rush the main quest. The core "Golden Path" is fine, but the soul of the game lives in the side content.
- Investigate Everything: The lore entries are actually worth reading. They explain the mechanics of the "Void" and how the Banisher rituals work.
- Spec into Synergy: Don't just focus on Red's sword. Look for gear that triggers effects when you switch characters. "Switch-trigger" builds are the most fun and visually impressive.
- Listen to the Banter: The dialogue between Red and Antea while exploring isn't just flavor text. It’s how the game builds their relationship, which makes the final decision that much harder.
- Be Consistent (or don't): You can try to play as a "good" Banisher and then flip at the last second, but the game tracks your "sacrifices" toward your chosen goal. If you want to resurrect Antea, you have to be prepared to get your hands very dirty.
Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden is a rare breed of game. It’s a mid-tier production with top-tier ideas. It treats the player like an adult, capable of making difficult moral decisions without holding your hand. It’s moody, it’s romantic, and it’s deeply haunting. If you missed it at launch, now is the time to go back.
Pick it up on a sale, turn off the lights, and prepare to feel like a terrible person for all the right reasons. Your first step should be checking your platform's store—this is a game that frequently hits deep discounts but offers more value than most full-price releases. Don't skip the "Haunting Case" in the Dark Woods early on; it sets the tone for everything that follows and will let you know immediately if this game's brand of emotional torture is for you.