Another 80s movie classic is turned into a 4 vs. 1 multiplayer game, but is the world of Ghostbusters really a good match for the formula?
Every time we review a new Ghostbusters game, we end up saying the same thing: why has no-one ever made a business sim based on the franchise? That was the whole point of the original movie; the parts that didn’t directly involve ghostbusting were all about setting up and running your own business, with a very Reaganomics era view on capitalist excess and government agencies getting in the way of profit, with all their weak-willed talk about health and safety.
The original 1984 Ghostbusters game realised this, but every other video game has just been some variant of lacklustre actioner. You could have action elements in the sort of game we’re imagining but the core element should be running a business, which in turn would allow a lot more time for comedy to be inserted in a more organic manner. But alas, there’s never been anything even remotely like that.
This latest game only vaguely touches upon the idea of running a Ghostbusters franchise, since it’s really just another of those interminable 4 vs. 1 multiplayer games based on 80s horrors movies, that has so far included everything from Predator to Friday The 13th. The last one we played like this was Evil Dead: The Game and, as usual, despite being filled to the brim with fan service it got old within just hours. So welcome to Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed…
Apart from the fact that the original Ghostbusters is not an action film, the problem with turning it into an action game is that the process of catching a ghost, as demonstrated in the movies, doesn’t translate very well to a video game. You tire the ghost out by shooting it with your proton pack and then trap it, and that’s pretty much it. This works perfectly in the film (where the climax was basically four men shooting a door) but as a video game it lacks dynamism and variety.
This is an issue that Spirits Unleashed struggles with but never resolves, hoping instead that the nostalgic thrill of playing as a ghostbuster, and the intrinsic fun of multiplayer, will see you through. Although the weird, cartoonish art design for the human character is instantly off-putting, as they look more like generic Fortnite players than anything related to the Ghostbusters franchise.
Dan Akyroyd and Ernie Hudson return to provide some authentic-sounding voiceovers and all the gadgets like the PKE meter and Ecto-1 are present and correct, but these elements are not new to video games. The recently remastered Ghostbusters: The Video Game had all that good stuff as well, but in the context of a single-player story game that at least varied somewhat from level to level.
Spirits Unleashed is a multiplayer game and according to the conventions of its sub-genre that means four people get to play as a customisable ghostbuster (nobody gets to be Venkman) and one plays as the ghost. As with the Evil Dead game, the player on their own has a lot more options at their disposal, although no goal more complex than just not getting caught.
There are various different types of ghost, including a slimer, and while each has slightly different abilities they all work in the same basic way, as they try to fill up a ‘haunted’ meter by scaring the other characters. This can involve a classic sliming, but also simply making spooky noises and possessing ordinary objects. Ghosts can not only turn invisible but float around in 3D space, tracking along the ceiling or moving through furniture, making controlling them a lot more involving that the regular human characters.
Playing as the ghostbusters you have three ‘portals’ to disable before you can capture a ghost for good, which is further acknowledgement that what happens in the movie isn’t really a good template for a video game and that everything has to be strung out and over-complicated to make it work.
Conversely, crossing the streams is not a danger you have to worry about, although catching a ghost in a proton stream and yanking it about is quite fun and one element that does work exactly how you’d imagine from the films. Especially as keeping the stream going for too long threatens to overload your proton pack, so if the ghost can keep out of a trap for long enough it can still escape.
Your base of operations is the iconic firehouse in New York City, where you can upgrade your equipment and add cosmetic items to your character, while across the road is Ray Stantz’s occult bookshop, where you can keep up to date with what passes for the game’s story.
None of this adds any real longevity though and, like most of these games, you begin to feel your attention wandering by the second or third match. Spirits Unleashed has two particular problems though, the first being that the artificial intelligence is absolutely terrible. This is especially true of the ghost, perhaps because of the 3D movement, but even ordinary team-mates will happily sabotage your plans or just stand around not helping.
The other issue is simply how repetitive it all is. The gameplay loop is purposefully repeated three times in a match whatever you do, and none of the five maps are unique enough to add any real variety. The game does try its best, with various collectibles to discover and ordinary civilians to help, but none of it amounts to anything substantial.
If Spirits Unleashed had been a small part of a larger game then it probably would’ve worked a lot better, although we still have a feeling you would’ve started to resent its appearance and wish you could just fast-forward through it. It is fun the first few times, especially if you’re a Ghostbusters fan, but there’s not enough ectoplasmic excitement here to last you past Halloween.
Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed review summary
In Short: Bustin’ will not make you feel good in this shallow and repetitive asymmetric multiplayer, that is one of the worst of the recent crop of 80s movie homages.
Pros: Despite the bland visuals the atmosphere feels authentic, and Dan Aykroyd and Ernie Hudson are gracious enough not to phone in their performances.
Cons: The gameplay starts to get old halfway through your first match and it only gets worse from there. Extremely shallow and borderline unplayable unless every player is human-controlled. Bland visuals.
Score: 4/10
Formats: PlayStation 5 (reviewed), Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, and PC
Price: £34.99
Publisher: IllFonic
Developer: IllFonic
Release Date: 18th October 2022
Age Rating: 12
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