How Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden’s Combat Can Be Improved in a Sequel (2024)

Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden is an action RPG title from developer Don’t Nod, best for its work on the Life is Strange series. The title tells the story of Antea and Red, two Banishers sent to investigate a supernatural curse gripping the settlement of New Eden. However, their first encounter with the source of New Eden’s troubles, The Nightmare, sees the pair defeated, leaving Antea dead, and Red haunted by her spirit. As the pair trek back towards New Eden, they contend with a variety of hauntings, many of which see them drawn into combat. While Banishers’ rich storytelling and deeply impactful decision-making are both marked strengths, its combat is a different story, leaving plenty of room for improvement in a potential sequel.

Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden sees Red and Antea investigate a series of hauntings throughout the settlement of New Eden, connecting the dots between certain individuals and the settlement's overarching curse. However, many of the spirits they encounter take the form of enemy combatants, whom Red and Antea must defeat using their unique abilities. Early in the narrative, players are forced to take an oath to either aid Antea in ascending or siphon power from the living for her resurrection. Depending on which is chosen, Antea will be granted access to a certain level of combat abilities, leaving players with more or less skills with which to face the title's enemies.

Banishers Combat Sees Players Swap Between Red and Antea

Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden is a full-blown action RPG, and the title features a host of unlockable equipment, weapons, and special skills for its Banishers to utilize. Banishers’ Red fights with a rifle and sword, offering fans a more traditional approach to action-adventure combat. Antea, on the other hand, uses ghost powers, teleportation, and punches to subdue wayward spirits. Players are encouraged to swap between the two and to leverage the individual strengths of each in overcoming the title’s encounters. Additionally, Banishers makes it easy to balance skills and equipment, granting fans plenty of ways to modify one character's loadout to complement the other's. Unfortunately, once combat starts, juggling these mechanics can prove frustrating.

Controlling Red and Antea in combat feels sluggish and clunky. Enemies attack in droves, and both characters can easily be interrupted by the smallest object or attack. Evasion is particularly frustrating, as the camera moves erratically and Red can become caught on the smallest structure, object, or elevation change. While the title does feature a lock-on mechanic, Red and Antea’s attacks can wildly miss with the slightest enemy side step. Lock-on also exacerbates Banishers’ camera issues, leading to random spinning or pointing in the wrong direction, depending on enemy location. While combat is still playable, these issues persist from the moment players face the title’s early wolf-like enemies to their confrontation with The Nightmare, upon their return to New Eden.

A Banishers Sequel Could Easily Improve Upon Its Combat Weaknesses

Banishers’ combat shows plenty of promise but lacks the polish found in most modern action RPGs. While its deeper systems are present and functional, the literal act of combat often hinders players. A sequel could remedy this, by modifying the camera to automatically lock on to the closest enemy, with players able to fine-tune and swap focal points, as necessary. Additionally, Don’t Nod can modify the environments for more natural elevation traversal. Rather than force Red and Antea to ascend or descend at a specific point, the title could allow for more free-range movement, removing the error that leads them to become stuck on small structures and elevations. Lastly, a small alteration to attack speed and enemy tracking could reduce the sluggish near-misses that plague Red’s sword swings and Antea’s punches.

Banishers is a solid action RPG title. That foundation, coupled with Don't Nod's classic storytelling formula, makes for an experience that sticks with fans long after the credits roll. Should a sequel be developed, simple changes to its traversal restrictions, camera, and lock-on mechanics could elevate its combat above and beyond the original's. Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden is a stunning epic, that fans of Don't Nod's interactive stories and action RPGs can both enjoy. Were a sequel to make simple improvements to combat, the haunting tale of Red and Antea could potentially grow into a formidable RPG franchise.

Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden

Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden is an upcoming action role-playing game developed by Don't Nod and published by Focus Entertainment.

Platform(s)

PC , PS5 , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S

Released

February 13, 2024

Developer(s)

DON'T NOD

Publisher(s)

Focus Entertainment

Genre(s)

Action RPG

ESRB

T For Teen Due To Blood and Gore, Language, Use of Alcohol and Tobacco, Violence

How Long To Beat

30 Hours

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