Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden is an action-adventure RPG from DON’T NOD, the team behind Life is Strange and Life is Strange 2 as well as Vampyr. Like God of War Ragnarok, the game will also feature two playable protagonists: Red mac Raith, a ghost-hunter, and his recently deceased lover, Antea Duarte, who is now a ghost herself. With varied combat possibilities, differences in traversal, and even two separate storylines, Banishers should look at how God of War Ragnarok handled these elements to understand what the game needs to be successful.
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God of War’s Two Playable Protagonists
God of War Ragnarok marked the end of the Norse saga for the series and saw Atreus embark on a journey without his father. Throughout the game, players were not only able to control Kratos as he did everything in his power to protect his son, but also play as Atreus, who was trying to find meaning behind the Giant’s prophecy and discover what it means to be Jotnar. The game provided a good balance of gameplay. Players controlled Kratos for the majority of the game, yet Atreus’ solo sequences never felt out of place and were arguably even more enjoyable than controlling the Ghost of Sparta.
With Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden following a similar formula with two playable characters thrown into a vast and dangerous world, DON’T NOD should attempt something similar. Red will likely be the main protagonist that fans will control, especially since he was the focus of the trailer, and Antea might get a few missions where she must journey on her own. Striking a good balance between the two characters and ensuring that both their combat styles are varied enough to give players an enjoyable experience on both fronts.
Combat Variety for Banishers
The most exciting part of any God of War game is the combat, with Kratos being able to mow through waves of enemies using his godly strength and brutal weapons. However, in God of War Ragnarok, the game included moments where players had to use Atreus in battle, focusing more on ranged combat using his bow and his new shapeshifting powers. This gave the game a lot of variety as players could be battling enemies with one of Kratos’ famous weapons, only to be flung into Atreus’ shoes moments later, and fight as the Jotnar against similar enemies.
One of the highlights of Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden’s glimpse of gameplay was seeing both Red and Antea prepare to charge up against a creature known as a Bonewalker. Here, fans got a look at the three weapons available to Red: a sword, a torch, and a rifle, as well as the magic that emitted from his hand, while Antea seemingly wielded no weapons. This likely means that the gameplay for Red and Antea will be very different and will force players to learn the best way to handle both characters, in and out of battle.
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Traversal and World Exploration
With nine realms to explore, countless enemies to kill, and a series of secret locations, loot, and enemies to discover, God of War: Ragnarok contains one of the most well thought and executed open worlds in gaming. Each of the nine realms held different enemy types for the father-son duo to take on, and everything from traversal to puzzle design was unique to each realm. Journeying through the nine Norse realms and having so many different enemy types helped keep the game enjoyable throughout and ensured that there was always a new challenge right around the corner.
Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden will need to have a similar strategy in their enemy and world design to ensure that the gameplay does not grow too stale quickly. The game needs to feature a lot of different enemy types, each requiring a different approach, to give players more of a challenge and encourage them to learn about the enemies they fight. The open world as well should include various puzzles that would require the player to utilize certain abilities and use both Red and Antea to tackle various obstacles across New Eden and the year of 1695.
Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden is perhaps one of the most anticipated games coming out of The Game Awards 2022, and fans hope to see more soon. While it is important for the game to forge its own place, it should look at how God of War Ragnarok handled elements such as world and enemy design, team-based puzzles, and an exciting combat system to ensure that the game delivers on the promises depicted in the trailer. Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden delivered a stellar first trailer, but DON’T NOD needs to follow up with some more information and content from its upcoming game.
Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden is scheduled to be released in 2023 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.
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