Although it shares many things with Vampyr, Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden is more ambitious in almost every way. That includes the scope of Red and Antea’s adventure. DON’T NOD created a sprawling map for players to explore, and there’s a fair bit of backtracking you’ll need to do if you want to solve every mystery, resolve every haunting, and get the best gear. It’s a game in which your choices matter a great deal, but how much does that extend to choices about where you go? Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden have an open world? We have the answers.
Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden’s Semi-Open Map
Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden has a semi-open world. Its large map consists of five biomes, each connected by linear pathways. You have the option of fast travel between campsites, but most of the time you’ll be hoofing it through swamps, mountain passes, and abandoned villages while you hunt for achievements. You can clamber over some barriers and sidle along narrow cliff faces, but you won’t be doing the kind of freeform exploration that you do in a game like Elden Ring or Breath of the Wild. While there’s often only one path to the next quest marker, there are numerous detours and hidden resources along the way.
The semi-open world of Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden is comparable to Lords of the Fallen, often feeding back upon itself. As your supernatural powers improve you’ll unlock new ways to clear formerly blocked paths. Is a cave-in disrupting passage through the mines? Blast them apart to continue your exploration below. This system means access to new areas and new ways back to familiar territory, but the game doesn’t offer the kind of unbridled exploration experience that you’d associate with the phrase “open-world.” Regardless, the emotional paths you take through Ghosts of New Eden might be the most important ones. In that department, DON’T NOD doesn’t miss.
Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden is available for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.
