Sneaking into the 2022 Game Awards world premieres was a dramatic trailer from Dontnod Entertainment’s upcoming action RPG, Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden. Amidst the more flashy and boisterous trailers, this one was a little more subdued. But we did get a little bit of story and gameplay.
The trailer began slowly. As a talkative woman narrates, a man and woman just stare at each other across the table for so long, it’s kind of uncomfortable. If this wasn’t promotional material, the talker was probably creeped out by the main character’s silence. We find out that there’s a good reason for it though. The man is accompanied by a ghost, and by the way he looks at her and holds her hand, he seems to care about her.
While a bit slow, this intro gives us the basic premise. The man is a Banisher named Red mac Raith, and the ghost is his late girlfriend and fellow Banisher, Antea Duarte. Banishers have a responsibility to protect people from ghosts, which they banish, as the name would suggest. Sadly, Antea was killed during a mission and became a ghost herself. The story will follow the couple as they take on ghosts and search for a way to help Antea.
The reveal trailer ended with a bit of gameplay, which was arguably more interesting than the story portion. Set in the 1600s in a fictional North America, the world looks dark and woodsy. New Eden is full of lore, supernatural creatures, and mystery, and when the two heroes come across a group of creepy creatures in front of a log cabin, they move in on the targets. Red has an arsenal that includes a gun and a sword while Antea will have spiritual powers to contribute.
This is a love story as much as it is an action game and Dontnod’s track record for deeply emotional storytelling is likely to be continued here. Antea and Red hunt ghosts to banish them, considering them evil and a threat to humans. So what does it mean for them to have Antea become a ghost? Clearly she’s still helping out, but do all ghosts become bad eventually? Is there a way for her to come back or move on? Does she want to?
Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden will be available for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S sometime towards the end of 2023.
