Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden Reviews

Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden is ranked in the 83rd percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
9.5 / 10.0
Feb 13, 2024

Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden is well beyond anything Don't Nod has ever done. It successfully merges their renowned knack for solid characters and great stories, engaging and enjoyable combat and a unique setting to create an experience like no other. It's a incredible fun and easily the studios most ambitious game so far. It doesn't get much better than this.

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8 / 10
Feb 13, 2024

Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden has turned out to be another strong IP for developers, Don’t Nod. The game features unique, real-time character-swapping to access different techniques and a solemn story that works best when it’s focused on the protagonists, Red and Antea. While the enemy variety is lacking and the investigation elements can be a tad tiresome, this 25-hour action RPG should absolutely be on your radar.

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6 / 10.0
Feb 13, 2024

Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden falls short of its potential. Its central protagonists lack the chemistry and development to make meaningful choices feel impactful. Its combat and exploration feel like they've been lifted from better games, barely iterating on established formulas and, in some cases, making them worse. While there are some enjoyable side quests and the occasional glimmer of hope in the main subplot, Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden never reaches the heights it should.

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7.5 / 10.0
Feb 13, 2024

Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden represents Don’t Nod’s latest attempt to try and make the whole action thing work. This time out, though, they’ve taken the novel approach of trying to play to their strengths, by creating a narrative-heavy action game with a heartfelt story and multiple endings that depend on your choices. Does it work? I can definitively state: kinda, sorta, depending on how you look at it.

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8 / 10.0
Feb 13, 2024

I didn't wait for Banishers, and I didn't expect the game to be such a pleasant surprise for me. It's a wonderful and quite long adventure, filled with side stories. Banishers is a game haunted by the ghost of satisfaction – satisfaction from good gameplay and a great story. I want more.

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8.1 / 10.0
Feb 13, 2024

An excellent action-RPG that follows in the footsteps of God of War and The Witcher 3 while proposing a very different but equally fascinating setting and two really cool main characters. Net of a few technical stumbles and some design naivete, Don't Nod's most ambitious project hits the mark rather well.

Review in Italian | Read full review

Gameblog
KQuent
Top Critic
6 / 10
Feb 13, 2024

In the end, we see that it's a game that has a lot of good ideas, but didn't know how to execute them all in the right way.

Review in French | Read full review

98 / 100
Feb 13, 2024

Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden is yet another masterpiece from Don't Nod, with a captivating story, stunning visuals, and even voice acting to help drive the nail home. This game is definitely worthy of the title, and even though it has that one slight issue during the initial start, it's nothing when you compare it to the experience you're in for as you take on the role of a Banisher in a land plagued by ghosts. Another thing to note is the replayability when you consider the two paths at the start and how they affect the entire story as you progress, possibly making Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden a game that might build a fun little cult-style fandom.

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7.5 / 10.0
Feb 13, 2024

Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden is a great example of less being more. What it does well, it does very well, but those elements are bogged down in a needlessly large, open world that's been padded out with thin gameplay. When you reach the meat of the game, it's usually worth the effort, but there's so much dilution that it has difficulty shining through. The poor performance also makes the tedious elements feel more so. Like its main characters, Banishers is stuck in limbo between excellence and blandness, and I can only hope that any sequel will focus on quality over quantity.

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Feb 13, 2024

The best art tells us something of relevance to the world around us. Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden is a dark and intense fantasy of ghosts, vengeance, and human resilience through the bleakest of nightmares. It’s unfortunate that it offers such a strong allegory to the real world, yet it does and that makes it all the more thought-provoking, however inadvertent it was for the developers. Thankfully it’s also exceptionally good to play, even as it challenges your intellect and moral core.

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7 / 10
Feb 13, 2024

Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden explores profound themes through the well-written and acted story of Antei and Red. The game presents morally complex choices without clear-cut good or evil. While the combat becomes repetitive and the music and graphics are unremarkable, the story stands out as original and entertaining in today's gaming landscape.

Review in Czech | Read full review

8.5 / 10.0
Feb 14, 2024

Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden blends together captivating storytelling and compelling gameplay mechanics into one heck of an enjoyable experience, with the pacing of the adventure balancing out its combat, explorative, and investigative elements perfectly. Best of all? It feels unique, with your role as a Banisher making for plenty of morale dilemmas that’ll keep players hooked in until the very end. It could be a bit guilty of being on the easy side whilst the frame rate hitches were a little bit annoying, but neither issue stopped me from having a really good time with the game. Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden might not have been on everyone’s radar, but it stands out as one of the early surprise hits on 2024.

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9 / 10
Feb 14, 2024

Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden has a particular charm; it is easy to be intoxicated by a well macerated aroma, composed of a story that grabs you, a magical universe and a combat system suitable for living with the necessary tension each confrontation against the unknown.

Review in Spanish | Read full review

8.5 / 10.0
Feb 15, 2024

Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden is a compelling tale of love and loss brought to life by phenomenal writing and performances with solid combat to boot, and it serves as a reminder that good storytelling remains a crucial element of video games.

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8 / 10.0
Feb 15, 2024

Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden is a great adventure game that tells a love story mixed with life and death, set in the colonial era. It looks at remembering the sacrifices and bloody history.

Review in Chinese | Read full review

Recommended
Feb 15, 2024
Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden (Quick Review) video thumbnail
4.7 / 5.0
Feb 15, 2024

Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden has one of the best-written, captivating, immersive, and dramatic stories in a video game I’ve ever played, followed by incredible combat mechanics, abilities, weapons, and animations. Albeit, it needs a little more polishing to get a more playable fighting experience. Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden is a game that’ll grab and maintain your interest, and I would recommend yet another fine project from Focus Entertainment to anyone. Yes, including God of War fans.

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4 / 5
Feb 15, 2024

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.

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INVEN
Top Critic
8 / 10.0
Feb 16, 2024

The narrative, crafted through repeated moral dilemmas, allows players to immerse themselves deeply in the story. While the depth in combat may be somewhat lacking, the captivating world of New Eden undoubtedly provides the thrill of an adventure.

Review in Korean | Read full review

8.5 / 10.0
Feb 16, 2024

Continuing their mission to create immersive and memorable experiences, Don’t Nod Entertainment will certainly leave a mark in the hearts of players who journey through their new game. Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden already is one of the best titles of 2024, no doubt.

Review in Portuguese | Read full review