I'm partaking in Steam's Zombies vs Vampires Festival by showcasing a different type of creature: a real-time strategy game demo that's essentially a flipped version of Ghostbusters, turned into a strategic adventure.
The main frustration with the Ghost Keeper demo is its limited scope, as it's merely a prelude to the full game. Fans who have recently completed Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 may find themselves yearning for a new fix, but instead find themselves drawn into a game without a concrete release date.
However, this new Steam demo offers a tantalizing glimpse of Quest Craft's upcoming title, Ghost Keeper. It serves as a brief yet engaging preview, offering enough context to pique interest without giving away too much.
Strategic Hauntings
The primary objective in the demo is to free Phineas the Mad, a trapped poltergeist, from a broken elevator within his mansion. Unfortunately, Phineas has already met his end, leaving a house full of unsuspecting humans for the player to manipulate.
The demo serves as a comprehensive tutorial, guiding players through the basics of controlling the ghosts available, placing them strategically throughout the three-story mansion. Each ghost possesses unique abilities, allowing players to affect their surroundings and influence human actions.
Night Blade, the assassin, specializes in manipulating lights, stalking humans, and securing rooms with locked doors. On the other hand, William boasts more offensive capabilities, setting humans ablaze, causing objects to malfunction, and attracting nearby humans to his location using the Whisper skill.
Each of these actions requires ghost energy, with each ghost starting with 100 energy points. If a ghost's visibility meter maxes out or they deplete all their energy, they become inactive or vulnerable to removal by the ghost-hunting Brotherhood— effectively turning the tables on the ghost-catching dynamic.
Brotherhood Showdown
The demo's first stage mainly focuses on freeing Phineas, but the real excitement begins once that milestone is achieved. With access to all three spirits, players can amplify the hauntings and prepare for a confrontation with the Brotherhood.
These spirit hunters are significantly harder to scare than regular humans, boasting a fear meter with 300 charges compared to the household inhabitants' 120. However, players can still manage to terrify the Brotherhood members, sending them fleeing in panic or reducing them to empty shells.
players to devise creative ways to dispose of humans, such as trapping them in a dining room, setting them ablaze with Wild Fire, and immolating them using a combination of ghosts' abilities. Additionally, various spooky tricks and treats can be employed to elevate the level of haunting and increase the overall fear factor.
For enthusiasts eager to usher in the spirit of Halloween a few months early, the Ghost Keeper demo is a welcome addition. Although players may have encountered a few bugs during their adventures, they generally overlook these issues, seizing the opportunity to experiment with new and inventive tricks to achieve their objectives.
All in all, Ghost Keeper's demo offers a tantalizing taste of the action-strategy game that awaits. Details about the full game's release date, platform availability, and intricate gameplay mechanics are yet to be announced, but fans can remain hopeful as they wait for more updates from Quest Craft.
- Despite the Brotherhood showdown being the real excitement in Ghost Keeper, the initial goal is to free Phineas the Mad from his haunted mansion.
- The three ghosts, Night Blade, William, and an unnamed one, each with unique abilities, are available for players to manipulate and strategize with in the mansion.
- Night Blade's specialty lies in manipulating lights, stalking humans, and securing rooms, while William has more offensive capabilities, such as setting humans ablaze and attracting them with his Whisper skill.
- Players can devise creative ways to dispose of humans by trapping them, setting them ablaze, or using a combination of ghosts' abilities to elevate the level of haunting and increase fear.
- Enthusiasts eager for a pre-Halloween scare may find solace in the Ghost Keeper demo, with its action-strategy gameplay even amidst occasional bugs, as they eagerly await updates on release date, platform availability, and further gameplay details from Quest Craft.
