Over the years, there have been many attempts to bring the popular Ghostbusters movie franchise to life in video games, but all have failed to make an impact. Fans of the movie series have always craved a game that truly captures the movie’s spirit. IllFonic attempts to revive the concept with the Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed launch.
Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed Characters and Role
We were provided codes for the game from IllFonic and had a chance to play quite a bit of it. Here is our Ghostbusters: Spirts Unleased review.
The game starts with a cutscene with Ray or Raymond Stantz, who is probably as famous as the Ghostbusters franchise, talking about their fame and demise. The game then introduces you to the remaining characters, the most crucial being Catt and Eddy Chan.
You will find yourself often visiting Catt as she is the one who hands out quests or jobs. The game also has reminiscent moments from the movies, like the telephone that you pick to take on jobs.
Eddy Chan is your upgrade guy. After you have leveled up the equipment by use in the field, you can choose all kinds of customization options for each gear at the table in Eddy’s lab. While the gear level unlocks various customization options for your gears, the player level allows you to unlock more gadgets, such as the Ionizer Pods, Radar Puck, and Ecto Goggles.
Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed also allows you to create a custom character that also unlocks the cosmetics as you level up. You can choose your body type and features, voice, and pick from some unlocked cosmetics and accessories as you start.
Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed Gameplay
Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed is a 4v1 asymmetrical multiplayer. You can choose to play as the ghost or a ghostbuster. You can form a party of 4 friends and take on a spirit to rid the place of it. You can choose from various locations and unique ghost types you can encounter at these locations. So far, there are 18 known entities that you can meet at these locations. The kind of ghost you encounter is random, with unique abilities you need to understand and counter. The equipment at your disposal is Particle Thrower and Proton Pack, the P.K.E Meter, and Ghost Trap.
The P.K.E meter is your primary equipment. It indicates the presence of the ghost in objects as well as in the open. The P.K.E Meter starts to glow as you get closer to a possessed object and can be used to destroy the object and bring the ghost into the open. You can then lay down the Ghost Trap to capture the spirit. The Proton Blaster allows you to bind the ghost to a tether and then drag it to the previously laid and activated ghost trap. If the ghost trap is thrown in advance, it drains its battery and would need to be retrieved to charge.
One of the main objectives you need to achieve before starting a job is tracking the rifts placed by the ghost. The ghost can place three rifts that can be revealed once you destroy the possessed objects. Failing to destroy the rift will cause the ghost to respawn even when trapped. The ghosts in the game cannot kill you but can throw slime spits, which will prevent you from capturing them.
In a nutshell, you and your team are required to capture the ghost until the Haunt Meter at the top-center of the screen reaches 100%, at which point the location will be wholly haunted, and you fail the job. But you are given a chance to catch the ghost once the game is close to its end. Once the meter fills up, all the rifts will automatically destroy, and you have 90 seconds to catch the ghost.
While the game’s mechanics is quite simple to start, it would require some practice and understanding of the ghost’s abilities, making this game enjoyable. You can get started without many game mechanics but need to work further to hone your skills. The game will reward you with various achievements and level-up rewards as you improve.
The nuances of the equipment you use is that the Proton Thrower can overheat quickly; the ghost trap can drain the battery quickly. So, the timing between throwing the Ghost Trap and then using the Proton Thrower to drag the ghost into the trap is vital.
Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed Multiplayer, Solo, and Story
While the game is a multiplayer experience to be enjoyed with friends, it does have a story that progresses with the multiplayer experience. After completing some jobs, you will enter cutscenes that take the story forward. The story and gameplay are entirely separate and do not appeal much. Sadly, if you are jumping into this game for the story, there is not much to it. The multiplayer, on the other hand, is quite enjoyable.
The game is a multiplayer experience to be enjoyed with friends, and bots are no fun. We tried playing with the bot teammates, and the coordination is just not there that can be with a human team. However, for a solo player, the game offers something.
If you want a solo experience, playing as a ghost is the best option. As a ghost, you have a lot of things in your arsenal that varies from one ghost to the other. You can traverse the location without the hindrance of walls, scare civilians to fill the haunt meter, hide the rifts in places the ghostbusters cannot find, spawn minions, and much more.