I just finished Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden after about 42.4 hours, unlocking 33 out of 43 trophies, and overall… I liked the game. But it’s clearly a game of huge highs and frustrating lows.
Let’s start with the positives, because they are really strong.
Visually, the game is beautiful. Not necessarily mind-blowing technically, but very solid overall. What truly stands out is the artistic direction and the universe. The setting, the atmosphere, the tone, it’s all incredibly well crafted. The game has a strong identity, dark, melancholic, and immersive. You really feel transported into this haunted version of New Eden.
The story, the lore, and the core concept are honestly amazing. That’s what kept me playing until the end. The whole idea of dealing with spirits, making moral choices, investigating hauntings, and deciding the fate of people, it’s genuinely engaging. The investigations and narrative arcs in side quests are often very well written, sometimes even better than the main story.
The characters also deserve praise. They feel alive, believable, and emotionally grounded. The voice acting is strong, and the relationship between the protagonists carries a lot of the emotional weight of the game. There’s real depth there, and it works.
Now… the problems.
The biggest one, by far, is the gameplay. It is extremely repetitive and honestly not very good. Combat lacks depth, variety, and impact. You end up fighting the same enemies, with the same patterns, using the same moves, over and over again. And the game throws a lot of combat at you; between the main story, side quests, and exploration, you’re constantly fighting.
At some point, it becomes a chore. I stayed for the story and the universe, but I had to push through the gameplay, and that’s never a good sign.
This leads directly to the second major issue: the length. The game is just too long for what it offers gameplay-wise. It follows a structure similar to a God of War-like semi-open world, with interconnected zones and progression systems. But unlike God of War, which has incredibly polished and satisfying combat, here the gameplay doesn’t support such a long experience.
So instead of feeling epic, it often feels dragged out and exhausting.
The RPG elements, crafting, skills, progression, are there, but very basic. They do their job, but nothing stands out or really enhances the experience in a meaningful way.
The soundtrack is also quite forgettable. It’s not bad, but it never really leaves an impression, which is a shame given how strong the atmosphere and world-building are.
In the end, Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden is a frustrating game. It has an incredible universe, great writing, strong characters, and a genuinely compelling concept, but it’s held back by weak, repetitive gameplay and poor pacing.
It’s one of those games where you stay for the story, not for the moment-to-moment experience.
To much filling and Assassin's creed like trophies, I was thinking about 100% the game, but it's useless AF.
For me, it lands around a 6.5 / 10.
A good game with amazing ideas, but one that could have been so much better with stronger gameplay and tighter design.
