Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed is yet another just-okay asymmetrical multiplayer game – Review

gamepur.com:

Asymmetrical multiplayer games have been making a bit of a resurgence lately. There have been quite a few contenders in the ring, although none of them have had nearly the same popularity as the horror icon-stuffed Dead by Daylight. Illfonic is one of the developers that really has tried making this type of game stick, being the creators of Friday the 13th: The Game and Predator: Hunting Grounds.

The studio’s latest IP draw comes from the popular spirit hunters franchise made famous in the 80s supernatural comedy Ghostbusters. While Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed is probably Illfonic’s best work yet, the game does not do much to win over anyone who is not a diehard Ghostbusters fan.

Related: Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed is a promising iteration from IllFonic’s previous titles – GDC 2022 Preview

Every match in Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed revolves around the team of Ghostbusters tracking down and capturing the ghost before they can get the haunting meter on the area up to 100%. The meter is essentially a time limit for the Ghostbusters that the ghost can slightly speed up by haunting objects and scaring civilians. While doing this, the ghost also wants to avoid being tethered and dragged into a trap by the opposition. So far, so Ghostbusters.

Three rifts are scattered around the environment hidden in objects to give the ghost multiple chances. Rifts act as spawn points for the ghost if they get captured, so essentially, the ghost has four lives unless the Busters find the rifts and destroy them.

On paper, this is a good idea for a game. In practice, the gameplay loses its luster quickly. Unless the person playing as the ghost doesn’t understand how to