The last great Ghostbusters game released over 10 years ago. Titled Ghostbusters: The Video Game, it was the answered prayer of years of hoping for more stories involving the paranormal professors. What made this game truly spectacular was the fact that not only were Dan Aykroyd and the late great Harold Ramis was given a bit of creative control when writing the story; they suited up(vocally) and reprised their roles as Raymond “Ray” Stantz and Egon Spangler respectively. Bill Murray as Dr. Peter Venkman and Ernie Hudson as Winston Zeddemore also end up lending their vocal talents to the game and bringing back their beloved characters. This along with other actors coming back and the above-average gameplay remind fans why they fell in love with this world that was so lovingly crafted 38 years ago.
Fast forwarding to the current year and the release of the new Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed, people wonder if this asymmetric multiplayer game touches any of the same nostalgia nerves as the 2009 fan favorite did. More specifically, if there are any original cast members coming back to the world of the undead.
What Original Cast Members are in Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed?
Without spoiling too much about the story of the game, players have their question answered immediately as the first two people to talk in the game are original cast members. Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed may not have as many main cast members as the 2009 video game, but the two original Ghostbusters who are back are loveable and great to see again. Dan Aykroyd and Ernie Hudson are the two actors who have lent their likenesses and voices to the game and story as the loveable Ray Stantz and the enigmatic Winston Zeddemore. Continuing their characters’ roles from the movies, Ray still runs his Occult book shop and is now giving tips to the new ghostbusters, and Winston has become the big boss man running the day-to-day activities at the firehouse.
Does Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed have a campaign mode?
When it comes to how our returning characters will interact with the player and if there is a campaign mode, the answer is pretty straightforward. The way the game weaves its story into the gameplay loop is through its narrative. Throughout the game there are story acts that can be completed by doing a specific task in the hub world or sometimes just going out and busting more ghosts. Completing these objectives will unlock pieces of the story for players to view in between the different ghost hunting jobs. Story pieces present themselves by receiving a call asking players to head to the book shop, or letting people know that a mysterious package has arrived from a friendly parapsychologist.
Any fan of the original Ghostbusters movies will find a lot of great lore and story telling in this new Ghostbusters game. It might not take the form of a normal storytelling adventure, but what it does is give hardcore fans like myself another chance to hop back into this lovingly crafted world of the living and the dead.
