Ghostbusters: The Video Game Remastered

Genre: Third-Person Shooter

Players: 1

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Review:

Ghostbusters: The Videogame is far from the first videogame based on the film franchise, but when it released in 2009 on PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 (with a different version released on PlayStation 2, Wii, and PlayStation Portable), many argued that it was the best… although given the quality of prior games in the series, that’s not saying much. With the warm reception this game received (and despite the not-so-great reception to the 2016 film reboot), Ghostbusters: The Video Game was given the remaster treatment, with improved visuals and a release on modern platforms, with the PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch getting this revamped version in 2019, a decade after the game’s initial release.

In some ways, the visuals of this game have aged very well, and in other ways they’ve aged poorly. This game’s environments are full of detail, the textures are nice, and the creativity of the designs for the ghosts and locations here is superb. Having said that, the characters look a bit rough by today’s standards (except in pre-rendered cutscenes), and animations seem a bit stilted – there’s no question this is a prior-generation title with upscaled visuals.

However, even a little dust on a decade-old game can’t tarnish the absolute labor of love that this game represents. So much of what made the first two Ghostbusters films iconic (particularly the original) is faithfully reproduced here, from re-used locations and characters, the general atmosphere and tone, and even minor “blink and you miss it” elements from the originals occasionally get highlighted in this game. The voice acting here is good too – it doesn’t seem like any of this was phoned-in by the voice actors, and it certainly helps that they’re being backed by a score from the films.

This shouldn’t be a major surprise here – not only does this game get most of the original films’ cast to reprise their roles here (even Bill Murray, who has infamously been reluctant to agree to continuing the franchise), but Dan Aykroyd and the late Harold Ramis both had an active hand in writing this game’s script, which was cobbled together from cut elements from the original Ghostbusters film and plot ideas for a never-released third Ghostbusters film. The re-used characters and locations aren’t empty fan-service either – this game’s story really does feel like it’s building on prior entries in the franchise to be a de facto third entry in the series of sorts. In virtually every way, this game is a love letter to fans of the original Ghostbusters franchise, coming straight from the original creators who still feel passionately about their creation.

The gameplay here is pretty good too, although I think time has been a little less kind in this regard. To its credit, tracking down ghosts using the PKE meter and goggles is a nice touch, and firing proton packs to wear out the ghost and then having to wrestle it into a trap is something so distinctly “Ghostbusters” that it does a great job of pulling you into the universe of the game.

On the other hand, your equipment sure feels unwieldy and inaccurate next to the standard gunplay you see in most shooters. The proton pack’s stream fluctuates wildly, and is easily blocked by obstructions in the environment. As you fire, it overheats frustratingly quickly, frequently requiring players to manually call for a cooldown or be stuck dealing with an unusable weapon for even longer. And while wrestling ghosts into the trap using a “capture stream” is fun when it works, for some reason the beam frequently seems to unlatch from the ghost as you do so. Also, the game is overall a very linear experience, and it doesn’t feel like you’re investigating ghosts with the cast of the movie so much as being led around by them and told where to go and what to do at every turn.

Finally, a note about the unique Nintendo Switch features for this game… there are none. No gyroscopic motion control, no touchscreen, nothing.

In the end, as a videogame, Ghostbusters: The Videogame is a decent but not great Third-Person Shooter. As a game for Ghostbusters fans, this is an experience far beyond what most players could possibly hope for, a true labor of love that really gives us an idea what a third film featuring the original cast could have been. So in the end, whether this game is worth it to you comes down to how much you love the Ghostbusters franchise.

tl;dr – Ghostbusters: The Videogame Remastered is a Third-Person Shooter that’s a good but not great game, but with an overwhelming amount of fan service for anyone who loved the original Ghostbuster films. The presentation here is so good (outdated visuals aside), that fans of the films can overlook the frustrating combat mechanics and linear level design. But those who never got sucked into this franchise may not see what’s so special about this game.

Grade: B-

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