Is Banishers Ghosts of New Eden souls-like?

The release of Banishers Ghosts of New Eden, the latest offering from Don't Nod, the developers of titles like the Life of Strange series, Vampyr, and more, is right around the corner. With Banishers Ghosts of New Eden being a combat-focused action RPG, many fans might be wondering if Don't Nod's latest title is a souls-like game.

Despite starting as a niche genre, souls-like games have seen a massive surge in popularity recently, thanks to games like the Dark Souls Trilogy, Bloodborne, Elden Ring, and more. As such, it's not a surprise that developers nowadays tend to take a lot of inspiration from souls-likes, especially when it comes to designing an engaging combat system.

Since Banishers Ghosts of New Eden features a combat system that looks a lot like something you'd see in a FromSoftware title, it's only natural for players to consider it a souls-like game.

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Is Don't Nod's upcoming game, Banishers Ghosts of New Eden souls-like?

Although the game's combat system might remind players of games like FromSoftware's Dark Souls Trilogy, Elden Ring, and Bloodborne, Banishers Ghosts of New Eden is not a souls-like. Instead, the title is a supernatural action role-playing experience, with a heavy emphasis on storytelling and exploration.

While the game is a far cry from what Don't Nod is best known for, i.e., scripted narrative-driven linear experiences, it retains some of the key elements of the traditional "Don't Nod experience." Banishers New Eden leans more towards the action RPG side of things but is still very much driven by its narrative.

Banishers Ghosts of New Eden is somewhat similar to Vampyr, Don't Nod's first attempt at creating a semi-open world action RPG. Released back in 2018, Vampyr became a cult classic among fans. While the title was marketed as an action role-playing title, it felt more like a linear narrative-driven game with mild RPG elements.

The game's concept was quite innovative, mixing Don't Nod's signature choice-based narrative system with an action-focused RPG progression system, all within a dark fantasy setting. But it failed to garner mass appeal due to its rather clunky combat, and mostly linear quest structure.

However, Don't Nod seems to be aiming to address most of the criticisms players had with Vampyr and its combat system with their latest title, making it much more fluid, flashy, and enjoyable. Thankfully, fans will not have to wait too long to get their hands on Banishers, with Don't Nod's upcoming RPG being scheduled to be released on February 13, 2024.