Banishers Ghosts of New Eden: Worth It? Reviews, Length & More

If you’ve been eyeing Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden, you’re probably wondering whether it’s worth your time and money — and whether all that talk about “great story, too long” actually holds up. I spent time digging into the critic scores, player playtime data, and sales numbers so you don’t have to guess. Here’s what the numbers and people actually say.

Developer: Don’t Nod · Publisher: Focus Entertainment · Release Year: 2024 · Platforms: PS5, PC · Genre: Action role-playing

Is Banishers of New Eden worth it?

The short answer depends heavily on what you value in a game. Critics gave it a solid 85 on Metacritic for PC — but players are more divided on whether that quality justifies the time investment.

Critic reviews

Professional reviewers largely praised Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden for its story and paranormal investigation system. Areajugones called it “one of 2024’s best games” after completion, while Dexerto scored it 80. Travis Northup’s IGN review highlighted “a stellar paranormal investigation system” but noted “sluggish pacing and wonky controls” as drawbacks. ACG placed it in their “Buy, Wait for Sale, or Never Touch” framework after purchasing the game independently.

Player feedback

Steam community discussions reveal a more nuanced picture. One player summed it up: “I finished the game, it’s a good game but they extended the story… unnecessarily long.” Gamalytic data shows an average review score of 85%, with SteamSpy recording an old userscore of 86%.

Value for playtime

The $49.99 price tag buys roughly 16.5 hours of average playtime according to SteamSpy data, though median playtime sits at just over 5 hours — suggesting many players didn’t finish. The game has since dropped to $19.99 at 60% discount, making it significantly more accessible for those on the fence.

The implication: critics universally recommend the experience, but player retention tells a different story. If you value narrative over replayability, the investment pays off.

How long is Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden?

Playtime data reveals a stark contrast between average and median completion times that tells a story of its own.

Main story length

SteamSpy reports an average total playtime of 16 hours and 36 minutes, with a median of 5 hours and 1 minute. Gamalytic’s figures align closely at 18.6 hours average. The last two weeks show similar patterns — average 16:42 versus median 33:23 — indicating engaged players who stuck with it are investing substantially more time.

Completionist playtime

For players aiming for 100% completion, Mortismal Gaming’s pre-launch review covered all content ahead of the February 13, 2024 launch. Steam Ladder tracks top playtime leaders worldwide for those curious about how long dedicated players spent. The wide gap between median and average suggests many players quit before finishing the main content.

HowLongToBeat data

The discrepancy between SteamSpy’s average (16:36) and median (5:01) hours points to a common issue: length that doesn’t always serve the story. One Steam Community discussion user explicitly mentioned the game being “good but boring and unnecessarily long” — a sentiment echoed in various player reviews.

The trade-off: committed players get a full experience, but casual players may find the pacing drags.

Is Banishers a souls-like game?

This question comes up often, and the answer is definitively no — though it borrows some familiar mechanics.

Combat mechanics

The combat system in Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden features swapping between corporeal and ghostly planes rather than souls-like stamina management. IGN’s Travis Northup praised the “paranormal investigation system” while noting the controls felt “wonky” at times.

Difficulty curve

The game is classified as Action, Adventure, RPG on Steam, combining combat with story-driven case solving. It’s not designed around the trial-and-death loop that defines souls-like titles — the focus is dual character mechanics and haunting case resolution rather than punishing difficulty.

Genre comparisons

Banishers shares more DNA with narrative RPGs like Life is Strange (also by Don’t Nod) than with Dark Souls or Elden Ring. The genre blend prioritizes story and investigation over pure combat challenge.

Is Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden open-world?

Understanding the game’s world structure helps set expectations before purchase.

World structure

Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden is set in 17th-century New Eden and follows a supernatural plague narrative. It’s not an open-world game in the traditional sense — the Steam store page describes it as an action RPG with focused story progression rather than vast exploratory freedom.

Exploration features

The game emphasizes “haunting case solving” and dual character mechanics. Players switch between characters to tackle paranormal investigations, with combat and wits as parallel paths forward.

Map design

BGeek’s review notes critique progression and world design, suggesting the map and level structure serves the story rather than encouraging open exploration. Wikipedia’s summary aligns with this assessment — a narrative-driven experience rather than a sandbox.

Was Banishers a success?

Commercial performance tells a more complicated story than critical reviews suggest. For a deeper dive into the game’s reception, you can read our review of The Capture Season 2.

Sales performance

SteamSpy estimates approximately 500,000 owners on Steam. Gamalytic data shows average daily concurrent players at 111, with 55,900 Steam followers. Recent 7-day sales reportedly hit just 12 copies according to Gamalytic — a concerning figure for ongoing commercial viability.

Studio impact

Don’t Nod reportedly paused other projects due to sales performance concerns. The studio, known for Life is Strange, faces pressure to demonstrate commercial viability beyond critical praise.

Critical reception vs sales

The disconnect between critical reception (Metacritic 85) and sales figures represents the game’s central dilemma. Excellent reviews haven’t translated to strong sales, possibly due to marketing, timing, or genre limitations. The $19.99 discount price at 60% off signals the publisher is working to move units.

The implication: Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden earned critical respect but struggled commercially — a familiar pattern for ambitious narrative RPGs that don’t fit neat genre boxes.

Having completed Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden, I can confidently say that it will go on as one of 2024’s best games.

— Areajugones, GameFAQs Review

Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden is a fun action game with a solid concept and a stellar paranormal investigation system.

— Travis Northup, IGN Reviewer

I finished the game, it’s a good game but they extended the story… unnecessarily long.

— Anonymous Steam User

Bottom line: Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden delivers a compelling story with excellent critical reception (85 Metacritic), but the commercial story is less triumphant — roughly 500,000 Steam owners with low recent sales. For narrative RPG fans, the $19.99 discounted price makes it an easy recommendation. For action-focused players expecting souls-like combat, look elsewhere.

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