Ghostbusters

We sit down and review Ghostbusters: The Video Game Remastered. The classic team is back and remastered. Here is our review of Ghostbusters: The Video Game Remastered

Just over ten years ago we all had a chance to give Ghostbusters: The Video Game a solid chance. Something that was touted as being the spiritual sequel to the original films and brought to life for gamers to enjoy what they could have had. Now we jump forward and here we are again with Saber Interactive bringing us the game yet again and remastering something that was a sight from before. Also with some of the updated voice work that makes the immersion just a bit extra nice. Here we go with our review for Ghostbusters: The Video Game Remastered to see how well the game holds up and has been remastered to fit in with the PS4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC gamers yet again.

Story

The Ghostbusters are still hard at work after the action that was caused by Vigo The Carpathian. They are taking on some new recruits and gearing up with some new equipment to go out and do what they do best. Crack jokes and maybe survive some insane haunts in the process. This is where we step in to give the boys a hand in bringing order back to the world and try not to cause too much damage along the way. With a small nuclear reactor on our backs, how hard could that truly be?

Hated

One of the bigger issues I have with so many remastered games is that they do not remaster the cutscenes or story portions of the game and Ghostbusters: The Video Game Remastered has the same issue. In some instances, it makes sense as they were pre-rendered scenes that would be hard to recreate easily. In others, as we see here, they are using in-engine technology to do so and it seems odd that they were not redone here. This causes a hard shift from playing a game that feels modern to something that is obviously from a decade ago. Obviously, it never broke anything for Ghostbusters here but it was jarring to move from scene to scene to have such a drastic change in visuals. It is just something that I wish was fixed with each remaster along the way but was not here.

Another aspect that could have been fixed from the original Ghostbusters: The Video Game could have been the checkpoint system and when they fired off. It would seem that was left intact here as I was constantly finding myself being whisked further back in levels and missions if I had a mishap along the way. On one level specifically, I could barely make it halfway through the whole level to find I had to start over if I was swarmed too hard. Would it have been too difficult to allow for more checkpoints in Ghostbusters here or was it mainly the basic visuals that were updated with not much else touched? I would like to say that is not the case, but when you are plagued with a system that was horrible a decade ago, it is hard to say otherwise.

Loved

One of the things I loved from the original Ghostbusters: The Video Game was something I was worried about not holding up well over the years. That would be the fun story and voice work that was placed in the game the first time. The script was written by Harold Ramis and Dan Aykroyd, so it is hard to believe it was a concern. Given that this is down in the "loved" section, you can guess how I feel about it. It really does hold up well and brings us all right back into the fun of the 80s film and story. With all of the fun wisecracks and humor, it was known for from all of the actors involved. For this alone, I would say Ghostbusters: The Video Game Remastered is worth the price of admission here. It also helps that it has some solid gameplay mixed right in to help all of this.

This was something I was worried we would have been spoiled on since the first time Ghostbusters came out and how gaming has changed. It feels like the updated controls and HUD for the game made a perfect bridge between the classic and modern style for gaming. Even if it is a bit difficult to wrangle a ghost after beating it down, it feels just about as right as it would be in the real world. At least to me. It uses the same FPS-style controls for firing and then requires some moving around to position the ghost in a trap, but when it happens it works so well. Even down to the hunting with the "new tech," it all blends into a modern style game just as much as Ghostbusters did back when it first launched so long ago. Worries have all been put to rest now.

Overview

If you did not have a chance to experience Ghostbusters: The Video Game back in 2009, then you really need to get on top of it here. It was a great game for the time back then and still holds up just as well today. Sure, this remaster does not fully hit on everything that would feel 'dated' in modern times, but it is something that can be overlooked for the sheer fun of it all. Granted, I would recommend playing on an easier difficulty if you get frustrated with having to replay full level sections if things go south. Other than that, Ghostbusters: The Video Game Remastered holds just as strong as the films do to date. Obviously, if you are not a fan of those then you may want to steer clear of this game. Who does not like them though?

I give Ghostbusters: The Video Game Remastered 45 Tobin’s Spirit Guide Entries on the Tobin’s Spirit Guide Entry scale.

Ghostbusters: The Video Game Remastered was developed by Saber Interactive and published by Mad Dog Games for the PS4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC on October 4^th, 2019. A PS4 copy of the game was provided by the publisher for reviewing purposes.