Ghostbusters: The Video Game Remastered Review (Nintendo Switch)

It’s not every day that you see popular IPs successfully transition into video games. Ghostbuster: The Video Game Remastered is able to do just that and then some. For anyone who’s a fan of the franchise knows that only two films were created with a third stuck in production hell. Many were left wondering what was going to happen to the possible trilogy and whether it would even come out. Fortunately, this title serves as the third installment in the franchise thanks to its narrative structure. On top of that, the original cast returns to provide the voice acting for the game and even doctored the script for it. All of these features, as well as some varied gameplay mechanics, help make this a great title for fans and newcomers to the series. This remaster is another solid entry for the Nintendo Switch.

Ghostbusters 3

Ghostbusters: The Video Game follows the team two years after the events of Ghostbusters 2. The well-known team of parapsychologists has hired a new recruit that is going to bring in some much-needed help to the team. Dubbed “Rookie” so the team doesn’t become too attached, is used to test out new equipment and hardware to capture ghosts and weed their way through various scenarios. It’s a great way to have the player become involved in the storyline in a fitting and understandable way. This character isn’t shoehorned in nor do they try to steal too much of the screen. Instead, the player’s character is more of a background entity during cutscenes and plot points but is still a necessary aspect of the game. It can feel a bit weird knowing that nobody in the game really cares for the Recruit since you’re playing as them, but that’s what helps make this more enjoyable as it falls in line with humor from the series.

Various paranormal sightings and events begin to pop up throughout the series, which prompts the Ghostbusters team to respond. After going bankrupt in the second film, they’re now back to prominence and are city contractors. Because of this, they’re able to have access to a larger portion of New York and can cause damage without worrying too much about the repercussions. Many notable faces and characters from the films make their return, as well. They never pop up as a way to service the fans nor do they come off as pandering to nostalgia. Instead, these instances are well-explained and serve the plot’s advancement in a meaningful way. As a result, it makes it easier to digest for newcomers to the franchise rather than serving only longtime fans.

Feeling Like a Ghostbuster

Becoming a Ghostbuster is incredibly fun and feels like a dream come true at times. Being able to capture ghosts alongside the main cast is something that is very enjoyable. As a recruit, you’re trained to handle every type of situation that a member of the team should be able to handle. You’ll find yourself investigating long hallways and tight corridors seeking out a ghost hidden in the environment while also chasing after them in an attempt to capture and study it. Players are given the infamous Proton Pack which can shoot ghosts with energy beams and also contains the ability to capture them. In order to capture spirits, the Pack is used to weaken them until they can be hit with a capture stream. Once this takes place, users must try to place them within a trap. It’s a fairly simple concept that doesn’t take much to execute, yet the capture mechanic can feel a bit wonky at times. Trying to throw down a trap and effectively capture a ghost can take longer than necessary which makes it a hassle when there are multiple ghosts coming after you.

Another aspect of the game is scanning ghosts to find their hiding places and to learn a bit more about them. It’s used mostly as a way to follow a trail to where a specific ghost went to avoid its capture. Although fun at first, it took away from the exploration of an area. Instead of just being in the third-person point of view and going through the environment, you’d be looking through a scanning screen trying to advance the story. It shouldn’t have been an aspect of the game so heavily relied on but its inclusion does make it feel like a Pokemon Snap experience with the scanning feature at times. There are also loads of upgrades that can be purchased for the Recruit. Upgrading the Proton Pack by enhancing various types of streams and capture mechanics make later encounters a lot easier and become incredibly useful. This keeps the game from feeling to redundant as new features are introduced throughout the experience and are able to be upgraded.

A Solid Remaster

Ghostbusters: The Video Game Remastered is obviously an upgraded experience from its original 2009 release. Cutscenes look way better than they did thanks to HD enhancements. Never does the game feel dated or out of place since Saber Interactive did a stellar job at remastering this release. The Nintendo Switch version plays great in both handheld and docked modes, but especially in handheld, you’ll notice how crisp the experience remains. There isn’t a need for it to be on a TV to look its best, so Switch Lite users won’t have to worry much. Graphical slowdowns did not occur throughout my playthrough nor were there any crashes. It’s an extremely well made remaster that can be enjoyed whichever way players feel more comfortable with.

This remaster doesn’t include the Online Multiplayer functions from the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of the game. There, players could participate in cooperative missions that weren’t a part of the main story. It would have helped make this a definitive remaster of the game and could have added to the replayability. What did stay intact, though, was the solid voice acting in this title. Bill Murray, Dan Akroyd, Harold Ramis, and Ernie Hudson all return to lend their voices to this experience. It feels much more like a Ghostbusters game should, thanks to their inclusions. Listening to them talk with one another, as well as interacting with the Recruit are absolute highlights. Bill Murray has some of the best dialogue in the game and is always a high-point when on screen. He isn’t around for every portion of the game but Akroyd, Ramis, and Hudson still have enough banter to make this title worthwhile.

Saber Interactive’s Ghostbusters: The Video Game Remastered remains one of the best-licensed games on the market. Fans who have always wanted Ghostbusters 3 won’t have to look much further as the original cast returns to provide their voices and even helped to craft the narrative. Although some aspects of the game can be a bit cumbersome at times, the plot and atmosphere more than makeup for it. If you haven’t played this yet, now is definitely a good time.

Thank you to Saber Interactive for providing us with a review code!