Ghostbusters Spirits Unleashed proves to be heavy on hits in our preview. But we wonder if the age-old franchise can still excite the Fortnite generation.
The 1980s were a remarkable decade. In the film landscape alone, they prepared the ground for today’s ubiquitous nerd culture. Dune, Tron, Predator, Mad Max … to name a few. And of course the honourable Ghostbusters! Back when ghosts were cool and jokes were shallow – before the triumph of bitter-serious grumpy heroes and humourless zombies – kids wanted to be like Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd and Sigourney Weaver when they grew up.
After two new films, the last of which even did surprisingly well, Illfonic ventures a return of the ghost hunters to the interactive stage. In Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed you are supposed to catch a silly-creepy ecto- monster as a co-op ghost hunter, which happens to be controlled by a real opponent.
We had a look at the asymmetrical multiplayer game from the developer of Friday the 13th and Predator: Hunting Grounds and were pleasantly surprised! The light-hearted comic style captures the spirit of the films better than one might fear. Even if we wonder who the game is actually aimed at.
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In the spirit of the original
The story of the new game sounds like a superfan’s dream: you take over the legendary Ghostbusters firehouse and follow in the footsteps of Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, Egon Spengler and Winston Zeddemore himself! The aged heroes accompany you as NPCs! You’ll even go on missions in the legendary converted ambulance ECTO-1! Okay, you can tell I’ve got a thing for the Ghostbusters.
Ray Stantz aka Dan Aykroyd runs an occult shop right next door to the Firehouse, which serves as a sort of “side hub” for your activities as a ghost player. But the Firehouse in particular has taken my heart by storm, because like many kids of the 80s and 90s, I have vivid memories of the place. I didn’t just see the films once, more like once a year!
I’m in good spirits that fans of Ghostbusters will have a really good (old) time with Spirits Unleashed. And they’ll be able to live out their dream of one day keeping order in New York City as ghostbusters themselves. At least Illfonic should succeed in the retro factor. And the gameplay seems solid at first glance.
Only the childish graphic style might annoy adult fans. I’ve already sensed very strong Fortnite vibes, which doesn’t have to be bad per se, but I personally don’t like it. On the other hand, the high-contrast art style is a great match for the humorous, overdrawn ghosts, which are in no way inferior to those in the films, if they don’t even outshine them!
The really neat trailer illustrates what I’m talking about:
Asymmetrical Ghost Hunt
How does Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed play? You build your own personal Ghostbuster and, if you wish, go on the hunt alone with three AI companions against an AI ghost. As soon as you feel confident or online gaming in general doesn’t scare you, you can use the built-in matchmaking and play the intended 4v1. Or, if PvP is too scary for you, hunt an AI monster with three friends.
The iconic Slimer or one of the numerous other representatives of his ectoplasmic species haunt one of numerous planned maps, for example in a beautifully modelled museum. His greatest wish and the player’s goal: to chase away as many shivering NPCs as possible with creepy spookiness and thus win the round. To do this, you use a simple spook button until the poor fellows run away screaming, hide in pieces of furniture, and trick the stupid ghostbusters until the ghost wins after no more than 10 minutes.
This, of course, is exactly what the crafty ghostbusters try to prevent, with the power of their crossed proton streams! Just like in the movies, crossing the energy beams, while dangerous, enhances the power of the proton cannons. Remember the exploded marshmallow man? That’s how powerful this trick is. So in Spirits Unleashed you first weaken the spooky creature and then, as in the films, effectively suck it in with a thrown ghost trap.
If you succeed in catching the nasty ghost player, the haunting is far from over! For at previously placed portals, the opponent can re-enter up to three times. Now the game of hide-and-seek begins anew. So the core of the puzzle is a race: Will the ghost manage to scare off all the NPCs first and completely haunt the map, or will the Ghostbusters stow the ethereal troublemaker away in the black-and-yellow striped sardine can in time?
The core of the game principle should be fairly simple to learn, but not always easy to master, depending on the abilities of fellow players and opponents. Especially as various special abilities make the whole thing considerably more complicated.
Witty game of hide and seek
For example, the ghost has a nerve-wracking mechanic that uses the trendy genre Prop Hunt. As a ghost, you can “haunt” pretty much any object in the levels, for example a warning sign or a mop.
Then you sit in front of your monitor, giggling, while the unsuspecting Ghostbusters stumble stupidly past you. At least the ghostbusters have their trusty PKE meter to track down the monster and chase it out of hiding. There’s a lot of tension and “twitchability” in here, so entertaining gameplay to watch as well.
For long-term motivation, there’s the obligatory game progress by serving powerful upgrades to your weapons and the Proton Pack. You can also unlock new ghosts, of which there are dozens according to the developer.
Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed is scheduled for release in the fourth quarter of 2022, presumably at Christmas time, exclusively in the Epic Store and for last- and current-gen consoles. By the way, it will not be a Free2Play game, but will be classically based on a purchase price.
Who should Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed appeal to?
Whether Spirits Unleashed will be a success is another question entirely. In any case, I see one possible stumbling block: old Ghostbusters fans like me are going hard towards 40! Obviously, the game is not primarily aimed at them, otherwise the cheerful candy style could hardly be explained. Of course, how many of them are still able to gamble like crazy at 37, like me, because they don’t have children or other worldly obligations?
In its current presentation, Ghostbusters looks more like Illfonic wants to appeal to the Fortnite generation, which is also supported by the exclusivity with Epic. Whether they will enjoy something that the 40-year-old uncle always raves about is by no means certain. But before I continue to make noises here: maybe everyone will be happy in the end, in which case I don’t want to have said anything. In any case, as an old fan, I’ll give Spirits Unleashed a chance, even if the more recent films haven’t really picked me up.
Editor’s Verdict
The gameplay shown of Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed leaves me with a solid and fun impression. Although I would have to play extensively myself first for a rating, I’m pretty sure after the presentation that the thing is fun in the end.
However, the fact that my beloved Ghostbusters franchise is following the Hollywood trend of remaking honourable classics at the drop of a hat leaves a bitter aftertaste. It seems to me as if the film industry is trying to whitewash the dwindling number of original ideas by bringing back from the dead what feels like every other brand that was successful at one time or another.
I would still wish Spirits Unleashed a success, from the bottom of my heart even! Because I haven’t had such warm Ghostbusters vibes for far too long. It just remains to be seen whether other old fans will feel the same way.
