We had the toys, we used vacuum cleaners as proton packs, we bought toy slime out of capsule machines to pretend it was ectoplasm and wore swimming goggles pretending they were Nightvision headsets. We did whatever we could to feel like a Ghostbuster. May you be a fan of the films or cartoon series growing up, nothing felt more awesome than pretending to hunt ghosts and duel out supernatural justice… well now Illfonic has brought this childhood nostalgia to life in Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed! A big thank you to Illfonic for making this review possible as well as fulfilling the dream of seven-year-old me that’s still deep inside.
In Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed players take on a role of a new recruit that was just hired by Winston Zeddemore (voiced by Ernie Hudson), who has bought back the old firehouse HQ to bring back the Ghostbusters to help rid NYC of ghostly troubles. Winston is not the only Ghostbuster that came back, Ray Stantz (voiced by Dan Aykroyd) re-opened his occult bookstore just next door to the firehouse.
Now onto the game itself. The controls were easy to learn and thankfully you can go into the alleyway to target practice on ghost cut-outs with the proton pack allowing you the opportunity to familiarize yourself. The sound in the game is amazing, with a lot of familiar sounds from the films that tickle the nostalgia bone, nothing like seeing yourself charging up your proton pack and hearing that baby startup! The soundtrack just like the sound design transports you into the world of Ghostbusters.
I came, I saw, I kicked its ass!
You can customize your character in great detail (facially at least) and really put yourself into the game! As you play and level up you can unlock more clothing options, accessories, and colors for your hair and outfits. I’m surprised by the amount of customization for your character in an E-rated game.
The gameplay is pretty addictive, you can play either with 4 friends (three as fellow Ghostbusters and one as a ghost) OR 4 AI teammates. You go around the level using your PK meters to locate ghost portals and other haunted items (that are possessed by the ghost or its minions). Using your equipment earns you points towards upgrading them, players should beware, just like in the films your proton packs can cause damage to the environment around you which can cost you points. Also in the levels, you can find newspaper clippings you can collect for Ray’s shop, and as a nice easter egg, you can also collect spores, molds, and fungus…
Speaking of easter eggs, fans will enjoy knowing that if you look hard enough you can find things from the films in the game, all over the firehouse there are a lot of boxes of generically named snacks to avoid copyright issues, as well as a dancing toaster.
Overall, I really enjoyed playing Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleased…a lot. Part of me hopes I don’t get any other games to review soon because I want to devote more time to this one! I feel like I’m reliving a childhood dream and scratching an itch that was never scratched back then. This game is full of charm from films and cartoon series that will appeal to old and new fans. The game is definitely something younger players can play so parents who are fans of the films won’t have to worry, heck, I’m sure some tech/gaming-savvy parents out there might find a way to play this with their kids!
On my scale of 1-10, Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed is far beyond a 10 as it’s fitting for this time of year and has something for everyone who loves the franchise.
Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed is out now for PC, Playstation 4 and 5, and Xbox series X/S and Xbox One.
