Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed Reviews
Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed is a fun experience for friends packed with nostalgia in the form of iconic characters and imagery and its fair share of easter eggs, but there is concern that love for the game could flame out faster than if you crossed the streams. If you are a fan of the franchise, though, it brings just enough joy to make it worth the price tag no matter what.
While a bit surface level at times, the cooperative experience of busting ghosts always brought a smile to my face. Whether you're priming the proton pack or spooking civilians, fans of Ghostbusters will find a lot to love. However, fans of existing asymmetrical experiences may struggle to look beyond the simplicity.
All in all, Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed is fine enough and certainly a good representation of the Ghostbusters franchise. I just wish there was a bit more meat on these ghoulish bones.
This game never makes the leap from smaller-scale locales to more epic-sized ones, meaning that the notion of laying waste to a city block as Mr. Stay-Puft or some similarly silly, over-the-top paranormal leviathan against the Ghostbusters remains only a fantasy. Like the film that preceded it, Spirits Unleashed is stuck sending us down memory lane at the expense of stepping forward into new terrain. For many, this nostalgia will be enough, but even with updates it seems unlikely that Spirits Unleashed’s core gameplay will sustain it for long.
Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed is an unsatisfying multiplayer experience that lacks the wry character of the movies it's based on.
Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed faithfully will satisfy fans of the movies, but its asymmetrical concept leads to some balance issues.
Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed serves up short, sharp shocks of supernatural asymmetrical play. It may prove a bit too simplistic for some, but the game will likely hand out more of a treat and less of a trick for longtime Ghostbusters fans.
Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed is a clear love letter to a much-beloved franchise, and it’s IllFonic’s most polished product to date. It’s a great multiplayer title that takes the core gameplay of Prop Hunt and spins it into something all of its own. While it’s unclear how the game will grow and evolve with time, what’s presented in the base package is a ton of fun to play, both as a Ghostbuster and a Ghost. That said, while bots are a nice inclusion, they’re not a substitute for real players.
Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed is the closest we've yet come to an authentic Ghostbusters experience. Undoubtedly better with friends, it's still a genuine thrill to play alone - especially if you're the ghost.
Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed is hands down Illfonic’s best game to date and by and large probably the most approachable asymmetrical multiplayer game on the market. Having OG Ghostbusters on board with some new blood is an awesome way to get people into the lore and making it so that player can create their own character was a super smart move as well. I’m excited to see what the team will add into the game, perhaps Dr. Venkman will show up down the line, maybe a playable mini Stay-Puft ghost; whatever it is I am excited to get more. I hope that this game sees a longer lifespan than the developers’ previous games, with all of the polish and the obvious love for the license this is one scare fest that everyone should experience.
The ideal way to experience Spirits Unleashed is to round up your buddies, rotate through maps, take turns playing as the ghost, and proceed to hoot and holler. If that’s not an option, matchmaking with random players is smooth and quick, and in-game markers make teamwork possible even if everyone’s playing off-mic. The thrill of Ghostbusting eventually starts to wane, but it takes a while to get to that point, and updates down the road could help to keep those Proton Packs humming.
Ghostbusters Spirits Unleashed really places you in the Ghostbuster world. The entire firehouse is accessible and voice actors from the movie are here that will delight fans for sure. There are lots of Easter Eggs. There are lots of games fighting for your attention these days, Ghostbuster Spirits Unleashed will be fun for Ghostbusters fans, but the game needs some updates and additional content or modes to keep people playing after the fan fun wears off.
Easy to learn, intuitive to play, with hours upon hours of new toys to play with, Spirits Unleashed is a real labor of love. For a franchise that’s long struggled with a consistent margin for quality, Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed goes above and beyond to answer the call. Now if someone can just convince them to incorporate some ghosts and levels from the IDW comics, then it’ll be darn-near perfect!
Being a Ghostbuster has never been this fun on a console before. Illfonic unleash a multiplayer romp that is sure to be your new Saturday night fix.
The core concepts for a good adversarial game are certainly present in Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed. With a patch or three to fix the crashes that I ran into while playing the PC version for review, as well as the various issues that I mentioned, along with improving the overall online performance during matches could potentially make it a viable online game. And if you can find like-minded folks to play it with, it can definitely be quite a bit of fun for the little that there is to do in it.
Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed stands as Illfonic's best game to date, a respectful addition to the Ghostbusters legacy that, despite a lack of content, is incredibly fun to play.
Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed is a great fit for asymmetrical multiplayer. I’ll take any chance to engage with a film that made a huge impact on my childhood. Also, the film lends itself very well to this style of gameplay. My hope is that future support includes new content. I’d love to see maps set in iconic locations, like the Sedgewick Hotel. Additional ghosts and equipment (like the pink slime gun) would be great, too. There’s a solid foundation to work with and future plans would go a long way to keeping the experience fresh.
IllFonic showed a great deal of love and attention to the Ghostbusters franchise with this one. Though it won't consume your life, Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed is a ton of fun to play every so often with a group of like-minded friends.
Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed can entertain you for a couple of hours, but as long you stay here the more bored you gonna be.
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