Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed review | Switch

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While the Ghostbusters franchise has had its ups and downs in pulp culture over the years, the core idea of paranormal rat catchers has always leant itself to a game, and so Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed is here for another round of busting, with an Ecto Edition Switch release of the 2022 game.

by James Michael Parry

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@james_parry

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Developer: Illfonic
Publisher: Nighthawk Interactive
Platforms: 
Players: 1-5

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The benefit of the years has been a big help to this iteration of the Ghostbusters. The series has been having a rough patch since the well-regarded 2009 instalment, and now the popularity of asymmetrical multiplayer has given a format for this release to centre around.

Worst things first – this game is online only, which means that on Nintendo Switch it requires Nintendo Switch Online. While it is upfront in telling you this – it won’t even let you open the game unless you have an active subscription, it did leave a bit of an aftertaste. (Fortunately a 7-day trial was available to put it through its paces.)

Once you do get into the game though, the iconic theme is there to welcome you and set the mood in a way only Ray Parker Jr. can. The setting too feels on point, with the firehouse and the more recently established Ray’s Occult Books both recreated faithfully.

What’s also familiar is the returning voice work from original ‘busters Ray and Winston, known in this realm as Dan Akroyd and Ernie Hudson, who both put in a effective performance. It’s made clear from the outset though, that this story isn’t about these old-timers, but the “new generation”, who, unfortunately, don't share the same charisma.
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The game is cross-platform, so the pool of players is big enough that you won’t have too much of a wait on your hands, and you can always try a private match with AI if you want to hone your skills before getting out there, but, generally the variety of experience is limited.

The game could thrive if it happened to be dished out free on multiple platforms at once, bringing all the Ghostbusters enthusiasts together to have some fun with the experience...

If you can get a group of friends together, it’s a different story, combining parts of Dead By Daylight and Left 4 Dead in a package with a few unique quirks. Over time you can beef up your character’s kit, and unlock additional cosmetic options, but otherwise the replay value is limited to a more creature-focused mode alongside matchmaking.

Musically, besides the main theme, the rest of the score is a little heavy-handed, a bit too eager to be playfully fun and a little too loud to really gel with the gameplay (though of course this is easily adjusted in seconds).

Technically, this version does show cracks here and there, with some texture pop-in and a few low quality textures in general, but it still plays fairly smoothly and is robust enough to give you an end-to-end experience that isn’t distracted by bugs or crashes.

In all, the game achieves what it set out to do without really showing us anything we haven’t seen before. It feels like the sort of game which could thrive if it happened to be dished out free on multiple platforms at once, bringing all the Ghostbusters enthusiasts together to have some fun with the experience.

As it is, it’s not an essential experience on Switch, but certainly a serviceable one and something which younger players in particular might get a kick out of.

Pros

• An authentic look and feel, complete with THAT theme
• Movement and gameplay is solid
• A few interesting ideas

Cons

• Nothing which really breaks the mould
• Inconsistent soundtrack
• Forgettable story and characters

7/10