An extended gameplay trailer just dropped for Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden, an upcoming RPG from the developers at Don’t Nod. If that name sounds familiar, it's because this is the very same studio that brought us Life is Strange.
Announced at the 2022 Game Awards, Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden looks to be a game fraught with ethical challenges. If the studio’s past alone doesn’t hint at an intimately personal, emotive game with hard choices to come, I don’t know what will. And by the looks of the new trailer, there will be plenty of chances to exercise your morally questionable muscles.
"Vengeance. Vengeance incarnate", the disembodied voice of your dead lover whispers in your ear you stand, concerned, over a mutilated corpse. Vengeance is going to be a running theme, no doubt, and it gives a little taster of just how emotionally charged the game is going to be. Your job as a Banisher is to push back against such evils, ridding the world of demons who would prey on those they haunt.
The new trailer goes into more detail about one specific story that the lovers and Banishers Antea Duarte and Red mac Raith have to tackle with heavy heart and hand. These "ghost-hunters who vowed to protect the living from the threat of lingering ghosts and specters" will be faced with tough decisions, like whether to sacrifice or spare a wayward and cold-hearted sister in front of her kin.
And I’m sure that’s not the only time your conscience will be called forth as you battle the hounds of hell.
The trailer comes with a little info around the character's origins, and what you can expect from the gameplay.
"In a world where the souls of the departed roam, you play a couple of Banishers. Antea Duarte and Red mac Raith. Combine Antea’s spiritual powers and Red’s powerful arsenal to defeat and banish the souls that torment the living. Uncover secrets, navigate mysterious landscapes, and meet memorable but tormented characters whose fate rests in your hands.
"Will you honor your Banisher oath or sacrifice the living in a desperate bid to bring your beloved back?"
Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden is out on Steam from November 7, 2023. From what we've seen here, it looks like it’s worth a look, for Witcher likers like us, as least. Or in case you’re still feeling the remnant spooks from Halloween come November.
