After a long break about "Ghostbusters" started to remember more and more often. Either a remaster of the old game will suddenly be released, or a film about the heirs of the famous four, the sequel of which is promised at the end of next year. And now a new game has appeared – Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed from the creators of Friday the 13th: The Game . The team seems to be experienced – they probably created another licensed game! But in reality it’s not that simple.
Four beat one
In general, it’s strange that an asymmetrical multiplayer game based on this universe is only coming out now – the very idea "Ghostbusters" almost perfectly fits the gameplay of the 4 vs format. 1. However, if you’re expecting familiar characters like Peter and Ray here, you’re in the wrong place. The hunters here are created by players: first you sculpt the hero in the editor, and then change his hairstyle and clothes, unlocking more and more options as you level up.
At the same time, the plot element is present in the game, although it does not go beyond the fire station. But the story is limited to videos on the engine: watch the video, you are told to go hunting (that is, play one or two matches), after which they show the next video. So the mini-plot about Winston Zeddmore, who is possessed by a ghost, is not very interesting, and it ends before it even begins.
In multiplayer Spirits Unleashed works about the same as other 4vs action games. 1. On the one hand, there is a team of four hunters who catch a ghost in one of five locations. And the ghost is controlled by the fifth player: he scares people, summons groups of minions, spits mucus and, if caught, is revived up to three times per match thanks to artifacts with hidden portals.
Ready for anything
All hunters are equipped the same. The sensor allows them to search for ghosts and portals hidden in figurines, vases and other objects. The particle emitter fires a beam that destroys objects and is capable of binding a ghost so that it can then be dragged to a trap. You must place this trap on the ground and then activate. Well, on the backs of the hunters hang proton packs, which power the emitters and give bonuses to the characteristics.
The more actively you participate in matches, the more equipment settings appear. For example, you can replace the generator on the backpack – this will affect the damage to portals and movement speed. Different antennas on the sensor change the speed at which equipment is selected, and its charge consumption depends on the body of the trap. To ensure that catching a ghost does not take too long, a limitation has been introduced: after activating the trap, you are given a few seconds to catch the enemy, after which the trap will run out of charge – you will have to put it back in your backpack to charge it.
This is not the only timer in the game. The particle emitter gets hot during use, so you may need to press the button periodically to cool it down. For some reason it cools down with the same button you use to pick up your trap from the ground, and in about every match it bothered me. How the testers did not notice that the controls should have been slightly changed is unclear.
The ghost can be stunned with a https://katie-sbingocasino.uk sensor before being caught.
The problem is that the above modifications do not change the gameplay much. I installed a quantum accelerator on the particle emitter, which improves control over captured ghosts and slows down the heating, but this did not at all affect what and how I did in the next match. You pull out the sensor, look for portals and the ghost itself, report the danger to your friends, and then try to catch the ghost. At the same time, you calm down people – workers of the museum, prison and other locations, otherwise they will run away in horror, speeding up the process of capturing the building for the ghost.
The game gets boring pretty quickly – if after the first matches I was ready to bet Spirits Unleashed positive assessment, then over time the game became more and more boring. The runs are very similar to each other no matter which ghost you’re up against. I immediately remember the recent Evil Dead: The Game, where there was more randomness, and leveling up significantly changed the characters. I sat there for several weeks, but here I had the feeling that I had seen everything in one session, and the next day this fear was confirmed.
Ready to fight
Ghosts are the exact opposite of hunters. They cannot change their equipment, and the appearance of ghosts is almost not customizable. But there are already five types of ghosts, and they open as you level up. Each type has several variations, differing in one of the skills: for example, one eyeball covers hunters with slowing mucus, and the other releases a ball of mucus and throws it towards opponents. All ghosts have different passive skills: some shock people nearby, some call on more durable minions to help, and some are more difficult to stun or catch with a beam.
The creature’s task is to avoid being caught by hunters and capture the building. To do this, you need to grab objects – statues, vases, chairs and much more. Progress in each room is different, and the overall level of capture determines how much time opponents have to capture you. If you get caught one time, it doesn’t matter – reborn in one of the portals. True, enemies can destroy portals, but they can be moved and hidden again.
Attacking techniques and capturing objects consume energy, and you can replenish it by inhabiting objects. It looks very funny – the developers paid a lot of attention to animations. Running starfish amusingly move their “rays”, drawers open at moving chests of drawers – you always grin when you see such devilry. And in general, the gameplay for a ghost is more fun than for people: there are enough ways to mock hunters – breaking backpacks and covering people with slime.
Alone in a big company
But the main thing is that the ghost does not depend on anyone. Playing for people Spirits Unleashed brings only pain and suffering – many allies do not care about teamwork. Everyone runs around in corners, does not calm people down (and they are useful – they can give tips) and seems to be busy with their own affairs. This is true for any game of this type, but especially here.
Some things are given out solely for completing contracts – eliminating three portals alone, capturing a hundred ghosts, and so on.
In this regard, playing with real people is not much different from playing with bots, since they don’t really want to win either. Thanks to the developers for the opportunity to earn progress in single player mode, but very often the AI doesn’t seem to understand what to do. When I found the portal and tried to destroy it, my partner ran up half a minute later and just looked at him. They catch ghosts thoughtlessly, sometimes without even setting a trap, and they rarely search for portals.
Spirits Unleashed great for a group of friends who understand the rules of the game and work together. But it will be difficult to assemble such a team, since the game is paid. “Randoms” can also be handy, but there is a suspicion that the game will not live long – there is too little depth in it. The tactics are the same, the equipment doesn’t really change, and there aren’t enough cards. I played almost all the matches with bots, because the game couldn’t find people even with cross-play enabled.
At the same time, it’s clear that the developers like the universe "Ghostbusters" and they wanted to make a good game. The locations look nice, the ghosts are charming, there’s a ton of customization options for the hunters, and when you return to the fire station, the first thing you see is the famous hunters’ car and indulge in nostalgia. However, the gameplay of the new product does not match other, more popular representatives of the genre.
Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed has soul, but it’s not enough to make the game last long. If the first matches bring pleasure, then over time the gameplay becomes monotonous, and teammates become more and more annoying. Maybe future updates will change something?
Pros: funny references to "Ghostbusters"; funny animations when playing as a ghost; the presence of a single player mode with bots; a lot of settings for the appearance of hunters, which open as you level up.
Cons: the gameplay is not deep enough to keep you interested for a long time; bots are very stupid, and random people don’t like teamwork; Upgrading equipment does not greatly affect the gameplay; the plot is very sparse, and some of the events take place in the absence of the player; few cards; management is inconvenient.
