Life Is Strange and Vampyr devs announce action RPG about "ghost hunters and lovers"
Ghosts of war
Don't Nod are still primarily associated with Life Is Strange and a handful of other narrative-focused adventure games. Back in 2018, however, they also made action RPG Vampyr, which mixed more substantial combat among their usual focus on story.
It's in this vein that Banishers: Ghosts Of New Eden seems to continue. It's an action RPG about "two proficient ghost hunters and lovers" set in the haunted, frozen wilderness of 1695 North America. You can watch the reveal trailer below.
Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden - World Premiere Reveal | The Game Awards 2022
Banishers was revealed tonight during The Game Awards, which we're liveblogging over here.
The protagonists in the trailer are ghost hunters Antea Duarte and Red mac Raith. Antea was fatally wounded in the pair's previous mission and is now "one of the spirits she loathes", which seems sure to set up some inevitable ethical quandaries as you continue to work together to rid the world of what the press release calls "the threat of lingering ghosts and specters". When in combat, you'll be using both Red's arsenal of weapons and Antea's new spiritual powers.
Banishers: Ghosts Of New Eden is aiming for release in late 2023.
Alec found plenty to fault in his Vampyr review, while being surprised he enjoyed it more for its combat than for Don't Nods more familiar conversations and choices. That gives me some hope that perhaps Banishers will finally marry their two strengths together. (Regrettably, Alec already used "Afterlife is strange" as a strapline on his Vampyr review, when that would have been perfect for this game about ghosts. Curse you, Alec.)
For more of the latest news and trailers, check out our Game Awards 2022 hub. We also live-blogged the show as it happened right here.