Hi everyone, we are Elise Galmard, Lead Narrative Designer, and Simon Svoboda, Lead Level Designer at Don’t Nod. We’re a part of the team bringing you Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden, a supernatural tale of two lovers and ancient secrets.
In this supernatural Action-RPG, play as two ghost hunters and lovers who face impossible choices that harbor dramatic consequences for the living… and the dead.
From February 13, you’ll get the chance to sift through the shadows of the past in New Eden, but before then we’d love to give you a glimpse into the world. Today we’re talking all about haunting cases, a common form of quest you’ll encounter in Banishers.
Behind The Veil
Our game universe is set in the world of the 17th century as we know it, with one major difference: the world is plagued with curses and ghost hauntings.
During a Haunting Case, you will find ghosts that are still attached to the world of the living, which you as a Banisher, will be asked to investigate and solve. Haunting Cases serve as side quests in our game.
A ghost is the lingering spirit of a dead person, holding onto some of their memories and feelings. Bound to the Incarnate world (the world of the living) by unresolved emotion that takes the form of an item called the Soul-tie, a ghost is also attached to one or more living beings, forever linked and wandering until you set them free. You must discover the truth behind each lingering ghost and why they’re here.
With time, all ghosts will decay and turn into specters: entities reduced to their base primal emotion, and with no memory or personality. This dilution of their humanity – also called paling – can be resisted if they feed from the surrounding life force. Indeed, the only way for a ghost to sustain themselves in the Incarnate is to feed on the essence of the living to keep their hold and grow stronger. That is the main reason as to why Banishers dispatch the dead: to protect the life force of the living, and to keep ghosts from paling into terrible, forever hungry spirits.
In the game you’ll encounter characters with deep secrets and concealed truth. For instance, you’ll uncover the story of an anxious wife awaiting her husband’s return, only to later realize that she had taken his life to escape an abusive marriage. As Banishers, a crucial choice awaits. Wil you blame her, seeking retribution for murder? Or will you banish the soul of her departed, abusive and revengeful husband?
Reveal The Unsaid and Bring Closure
To bring Closure, a Banisher needs to investigate and gather Hints on all people and ghosts involved in the case to understand everyone’s Intent.
In the case’s final moments, the Banishers will be presented with a choice to solve the situation. Three different solutions are available: releasing, banishing, or blaming the people and spirit involved. Ascending the departed souls allow them to find peace, whereas banishing lead them to infinite torment in a realm where souls wander without finding any solace. Blaming on the other hand, is a darker path where that involves a sacrifice: taking the life of the living to feed Antea with their soul.
Each decision that you take during the game will have a consequence on the remaining settlers. Each choice will have an impact and lead to different outcomes, especially for Red and Antea.
In Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden, you’ll fall into a powerful and intimate narrative. We have put a lot of ourselves in each of the stories and narrative branches. We can’t wait for you to discover the game on Xbox Series X|S on February 13!
