Highlights

  • Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden draws inspiration from God of War but offers a unique narrative RPG experience with player choice.
  • Players should complete side quests early to fully immerse themselves in the supernatural adventure tale.
  • While Banishers shares similarities in gameplay with God of War, it differentiates itself through its linear structure and emphasis on player choice.

Those who love PlayStation's specific brand of video game stories, present in hits like the new God of War titles, should check out Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden. Developed by Don't Nod, the studio behind the Life Is Strange series, Banishers is a supernatural adventure tale that places a premium on cinematic storytelling while folding in elements of RPG and action-game design, in a manner that is reminiscent of newer God of War games.

Though they are a continuation of the long-running God of War narrative, God of War (2018) and God of War Ragnarok are remarkably different from the rest of the franchise, making fundamental changes to things like camera placement, combat, traversal, and narrative presentation. God of War takes a grand premise and grounds it in real, relatable human emotions and struggles, leveraging naturalistic cinematic techniques to elevate its narrative themes. Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden takes a similar approach.

Why Players Should Complete Banishers- Ghosts of New Eden’s Side Quests Early
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Why Players Should Complete Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden’s Side Quests Early

Banishers offers plenty of side activities for fans to get lost in, and players should try to complete them all before returning to New Eden Town.

Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden Is a Good Companion to God of War

Banishers' Presentation Is a Lot Like God of War's

The differences between Banishers and Don't Nod's previous releases should be immediately apparent at first glance. While a game like Life Is Strange boasts a more stylized and simple visual style, Banishers moves further in the direction of photorealism. The impressive graphical fidelity of the game and its tight camera perspective, which impacts the feel of combat, exploration, and interactive narrative moments, means that the game certainly looks like God of War, in the literal sense.

The structure of Banishers also sports a few similarities to God of War. Like God of War, The Last of Us, and A Plague Tale, Banishers features two protagonists, and the gameplay and story are both designed around their close relationship.

Between dialog-heavy cutscenes, players can engage with narrative-laden side quests, semi-open-world exploration, and third-person combat encounters that are built around similar design principles as God of War's; combat in Banishers pits players against a conservative number of enemies, encouraging thoughtful blocking and dodging and a mix of methodical melee and ranged combat maneuvers. The third-person action gameplay is supported by light RPG systems, offering players the ability to craft high-level builds.

The combat of Banishers has been criticized for feeling clunky and unpolished. So, while it may share some fundamentals with God of War 's combat system, it doesn't appear to be as universally appreciated.

Banishers Is Far More Than a God of War Clone

Several parallels can be drawn between Banishers and God of War, with Don't Nod's Philippe Moreau directly citing Santa Monica's work as inspiration for its gameplay. However, Banishers does a fair bit to differentiate itself from its inspiration. For one thing, the game is more linear overall, not fully adopting the open-world design of God of War.

At the same time, Banishers leans a bit more into narrative RPG elements with a heavy emphasis on player choice and the player having the power to alter the outcome of the game's story. The core gameplay of Banishers is also unique as, while players can control multiple characters in God of War Ragnarok, Banishers allows for seamless transitions between the two leads, letting players swap between them on the fly.

Despite some low points, Banishers is a worthwhile adventure game that draws heavily from prestigious titles like God of War while still boasting its own distinct identity. For anyone interested in the newer God of War games or the narrative-driven Life Is Strange series, Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden might be a perfect fit.