Ghostbusters - Spirits Unleashed is a Ghoulishly Good Time

 

I'm no super big 80's nerd when it comes to Ghostbusters (Hey, i'm a 90's guy, after all) but I do like the franchise. The films are fun and the theme song is just perfection. I also enjoyed the latest film, Ghostbusters Afterlife. I'm looking forward to what the future of Ghostbusters holds, as apparently there's a new film based off the "Afterlife" universe in 2023. However, it's not been announced if any of the main cast of the original film will return.

However, while we wait for the new movie to come out at least we have Ghostbusters Spirits Unleashed to keep us entertained. In this game you play as a new recruit joining the team of fellow Ghostbusters and also 2 of the main cast members are back, Ernie Hudson and Dan Aykroyd (Obviously, this game doesn't include Bill Murray at all, maybe that's a good thing as it was made around the time of all of those misconduct allegations against him from members of the Hollywood film industry that had occurred in the past and even up to the present.).

The game is straight and to the point. You can either be a Ghostbuster, or a ghost. It's kind of like a Ghostbusters-meets-Need For Speed scenario. I found this idea fun and unique. So you can either catch and trap the ghosts as a Ghostbuster, or run...er, fly - around and cause havok as a Ghost. You don't get to play as the ghosts straight away. You have to unlock that feature later on after a couple of missions from Act 1 are completed. 

Obviously, this game doesn't include Bill Murray at all, maybe that's a good thing as it was made around the time of all of those misconduct allegations against him

You get thrown into a character customization option at the beginning of the game that's actually very well detailed and you can also unlock different clothes, uniforms, accessories and whatnot for your character when you level up later on. 

The tutorials I found were very basic and easy to understand. We've got the classic music soundtrack in the background of the stages too that makes it feel like an official Ghostbusters game. That's because it is. I think I enjoy this more than the 2009 Ghostbusters game on PS4. I duno why. I think it just controls better. The character designs are really nice. 

Every stage is set in different premises of a certain city, a building, appartment, museum, prison complex, or whatever. Wherever places Ghosts would like to haunt you can go to. Each part of the game is set around separate acts. I had a lot of fun running around and exploring in the different areas for the levels that this game provides. You can also cause a hefty amount of destruction with your proton packs, for example you can smash the glass at the museum with them and the glass breaks, but you'll lose a large amount of points for that.

I really like the way the ghosts hide and how you have to track them down. If you don't want to do online multiplayer, you can play this game in single player mode, without needing to connect to the internet. This version is a godsend if anybody doesn't want to sign up to PS+ (like me) and do the adventures from here offline.

One of my favourite parts in the game is the main Hub area, the Firehouse. You can have fun exploring the firehouse while you wait around to go and find more jobs to do. You can explore downstairs, or run upstairs and even go down the pole. It's really fun and I ended up running up the stairs and sliding down the pole many times. It never got boring. The Ghostbusters van is parked inside the Firehouse. I'm not sure if you're meant to use that later or not. Would be cool if you could.

If you use your Proton packs for too long it will overheat and get stuck. This will be a problem if you're trying to catch the difficult ghost. But your team mates on your side will help you. It usually works better if you catch the ghost with all your team. It's just easier that way.

I ended up running up the stairs and sliding down the pole many times. It never got boring.

Also, make sure if you're a Ghostbuster, to destroy any Dimensional Rifts opening up. Once all 3 or so are destroyed in each level the ghosts have a harder time coming out.

But it is sometimes possible for the ghosts to win and haunt the place. You don't want that. You'll have to do the mission all over again! That happened to me once and I had no idea they were able to do that. I haven't tried playing as the ghosts yet, but I look forward too. I ended up staying on it for quite a while on my first time. 

Ghostbusters - Spirits Unleashed offers quality fanservice to  the fans of the series. i'm sure a lot of them would appreciate and enjoy. It may leave you wanting for more, but maybe that's a good thing. The gameplay runs smoothly plus you can play it online or offline. You'll be in for a ghoulishly good time!

Ghostbusters Spirits Unleashed is out now on PS4, PS5 and Xbox Series X , from Illfonic.