With the resurgence of ’80s nostalgia over recent years, it is of no surprise that Ghostbusters, one of the biggest movie hits of that era, has seen more than its fair share of media. With the excellent 2021 sequel Ghostbusters: Afterlife and its so-so follow up, fans are being spoilt. In the gaming world, however, saying that the offerings have been a mixed bag is a generous description at best. With the fantastic Ghostbusters: The Video Game being the standard against which all titles will be judged, it’s a pleasure to announce that Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed is an absolute delight, reviving the long stale PvP shooter.
Serving as a canon part of Ghostbusters lore, original members of the team Ray and Winston (voiced as they should be by Dan Ackroyd and Ernie Hudson) are franchising ‘busting duties out to new recruits. This fits in well with the direction the latest movies have gone, and having familiar faces discussing recent events sets the stage comfortably for what is to come. Once kitted out, recruits head out to multiple locations working co-operatively to make areas spook free. While the PlayStation 3 classic went for realism, this takes a more stylised approach. Surprisingly, this works really well and character designs look great.
As is expected, the base hub is the iconic Firehouse, which although not as packed as some previous iterations, still looks very well realised, with a simple but effective inclusion of all upgrades and missions being accessed in a very logical way. Want to start a new mission? Check the phone. Fancy a change of outfits? Just use the wardrobes next to Ecto-1. It makes total sense but could have been easily missed in favour of a quick menu. A nice bonus also is Ray’s Occult Books store, which now seems to have moved directly next to the Firehouse with a shooting gallery alleyway joining the two buildings together. Again, this locale is beautiful, using Tobin’s Spirit Guide as the Ghost Hub. All are brought to life with some enthusiastic voice work – the love for these characters clearly shown.
Gameplay-wise, there is only really one thing to get right with a Ghostbusters title: the busting itself – and by gum, they have got this spot on. Again, taking its cue from the PS3 instalment, proton streams are used to wrangle and eventually trap the opposing ghost team. Before trapping, however, each PvP battle starts in the same way. One player takes control of a ghost with the aim of fully haunting the environment. This can be done by possessing objects, scaring civilians and hiding artefacts. The Ghostbusters themselves play in a team of four, scanning for ghost activity and calming down anybody they come into contact with using a quick time event. Get it right and the full percentage of haunting can be tamed. Get it wrong and civilians can potentially run out of the building making things even worse. Each artefact serves as a life for the ghost and if destroyed, trapping will end the match with the Ghostbusters taking the W. If the percentage of haunting reaches 100, it’s Spook Central. It’s a simple and incredibly fun mechanic done right. It is fast, tense and, most importantly, very much in the spirit (this critic is here all week) of the franchise.
Progression feels fair and one is never left waiting too long before another upgrade or cosmetic becomes available. Sensibly as progression is made, the story, brief as it is, continues, providing more incentive to keep on playing – not that any is needed when the experience is as enjoyable as this. Cosmetics also draw heavily on the lore, and fans of all iterations of Ghostbusters will enjoy the nods to the cartoons and movies. Contracts can also be taken to speed up grabbing these items and upgrades. Although all gameplay essentially boils down to the same elements, the different equipment pieces all serve a worthwhile purpose, and keeping a constant cycle of each will improve the experience. As of time of writing, a regular DLC has been released for free, which has drawn on the latest big screen outing as well as one of the classic episodes of The Real Ghostbusters. Again, fun inclusions enhanced by the excellent voice work.
