Developer IllFonic best known for Friday the 13th: The Game has just surprised fans by releasing the official trailer for Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed. The film-based game will be released later this year on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One and PC later this year in Q4 2022.
“Ghostbusters is one of the most beloved IPs in the world, so we are pulling out all the stops to make something special and accessible to this diverse fanbase,” says Charles Brungardt, CEO, IllFonic. “If you’re someone who loves the movies or asymmetrical multiplayer games, this was made for you.”
This game is a 4 versus 1 asymmetrical game, meaning players experience the same game but on two different sides. Players have the option to become the Busters or play as the Ghost. As the Busters, which plays in first-person, the mission is to keep citizens safe and calm while capturing terrorizing ghosts. Equipped with a Proton Pack, a Ghost Trap, and their handy PKE Meter, Busters navigate the map to bring down their shady opponent. In order to truly win the match, the Busters must destroy all 3 rifts the Ghost uses to teleport and capture it.
As the Ghost players are able to haunt the opposing team in a third-person perspective with a range of unique abilities including possessing items, flying, teleportation between rifts, spawning ghastly minions, sprew slimes and more. To make matters worse for the Busters, the Ghost must wreak havoc by scaring away citizens. After that is achieved, there is a 90-second countdown to win the game and evade capture from the Busters. Each side must complete their goals and race to reach 100% of their objective meter first.
Ghostbusters is a beloved IP with over 25 video games recreating the supernatural ghost-wrangling adventure first enjoyed on-screen in 1984. Following the 2021 film Ghostbusters: Afterlife, there is already speculation as to whether or not Spirits Unleashed is its sequel. In a panel with actor Ernie Hudson during CelebFanFest last year, he states he received an email about “doing another video game”. After the events of the film, Hudson as Winston Zeddemore along with Dan Akroyd, as Ray Stantz were recruiting new Ghostbusters to the team, and make an appearance in Spirits Unleashed. They aid the newly recruited player in sending them off on missions or aiding them on their journey.
Past Ghostbuster games are not typically asymmetrical, but IllFonic brings this gameplay to fans, such as with playing as Jason in Friday the 13th: The Game. Spirits Unleashed will be cross-platform to play with others, use AI for extra assistance or play as a Ghost offline.