Does Banishers Have New Game Plus?

Does Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden Have New Game Plus?

The burning question on many players’ minds after finishing their first playthrough of Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden is, “Can I play it again with all my cool stuff?” It’s a natural question, especially in a game with so much to see and do. A New Game Plus mode, or NG+, allows players to restart the game with previously earned items, abilities, and other progression elements. This lets you experience the story and gameplay differently the second time around, maybe trying a different build, exploring areas you missed, or making different choices. So, does Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden offer this feature? Let’s explore this in detail.

The Current Situation: New Game Plus in Banishers

At the time of writing, Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden does not have a dedicated New Game Plus mode. This means that when you complete the game’s main storyline, you will not be able to immediately jump back in with your existing character progression. This might be disappointing news for some players eager to replay with all their earned gear and skills, but it’s essential to understand the reasoning behind this and what the game does offer instead.

Why No New Game Plus (Yet)?

Game development is a complicated process, and sometimes, features that players expect don’t make it into the initial release. Several reasons might explain why Banishers currently lacks a dedicated NG+:

• Focus on the Core Experience: The developers likely focused their efforts on delivering a polished and engaging initial playthrough experience. They concentrated on telling the game’s story, refining the combat mechanics, and ensuring the game ran smoothly. Adding NG+ requires more development time and resources, which may not have been available before launch.
• Narrative Structure: The game’s story and the choices players make during the game influence the ending significantly. This makes implementing a traditional NG+ more complex. Simply restarting with all upgrades might not fit the intended narrative flow and might break the balance.
• Development Priorities: Game studios must prioritize features, and adding NG+ might have been lower on the list compared to other enhancements or bug fixes. The team might be working on other quality-of-life adjustments or new content.
• Possible Future Update: While not confirmed, it’s possible that a New Game Plus mode could be added in a future patch or update. The developers might be assessing player feedback and considering whether it’s a feature that the community greatly desires. Player feedback sometimes influences the development direction after the initial game launch.

What Banishers Offers Instead: Replayability Options

Even without a dedicated NG+ mode, Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden does offer some options for players to revisit the game and experience it in different ways:

Save Files and Manual Saves

The game allows you to create multiple save files. This means that after you finish the game, you can load an older save from before the final encounter. This can let you make different choices or take a different path, altering how the game’s storyline plays out. You can experience an alternate ending based on your new decisions without starting from zero.

Exploring Missed Content

A single play through is not enough to uncover all the secrets and hidden areas of New Eden. Banishers is filled with side quests, hidden challenges, and optional areas that you might have missed the first time. Even without a full NG+, you can start a new game and focus on exploring these areas. You might uncover hidden items or learn more about the world and its lore.

Trying Different Combat Styles

The game lets you build your characters in different ways. You can experiment with different abilities and skill builds when you restart. This makes the combat feel very different between playthroughs. You can choose to focus on melee combat as Red, or spirit skills as Antea or create a hybrid combination of both. Try new approaches to the same battles.

The Choice Driven Narrative

The choices that you make throughout the game carry weight, and some decisions that you make can alter not only your relationship with the spirits but the ending as well. By starting a new game, you can make different choices than you did the first time around. This will change the story, the encounters you have, and the ending you get. This is a great reason to play through multiple times even without NG+.

Understanding the Consequences of No New Game Plus

The lack of a New Game Plus mode does impact the replay experience in some ways. Here are a few points to consider:

No Carried-Over Items

When you start a new game, you’ll start with your default gear, and you will have to find all your weapons and equipment again. All those cool weapons, gear and items you earned during your first playthrough will not carry over to the new game. This means that each playthrough is truly a fresh start.

Relearning Abilities

You have to relearn all your character abilities from scratch. You won’t have the powerful late-game skills from your previous save file right away. This adds to the challenge and also forces you to approach the early areas and enemies in a fresh manner.

Limited Character Progression

Character progression, like leveling up, collecting skill points, and boosting abilities, starts from the beginning. This can be seen as both a positive and a negative. Some players like the challenge of restarting from the bottom and growing stronger again. Others might miss the late-game power from their first playthrough.

Community Feedback and Expectations

The absence of New Game Plus has been a topic of discussion within the Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden community. Many players are vocal about their desire for this feature. The community forums and social media are active with players expressing their wish to be able to use all the equipment and skill they acquired in a new run. There are active discussions that highlight how a New Game Plus mode would enhance replayability and add value to the game. The developers are probably seeing this feedback and it could influence their future plans.

Potential Future for New Game Plus in Banishers

While there is no official announcement on a New Game Plus feature, things could change in the future. Game developers frequently listen to player feedback and often introduce new features in patches and updates after a game’s release. If the demand for a New Game Plus mode is strong enough from the community, it is entirely possible that the developers might add this feature. They might be looking at ways to implement a New Game Plus mode that works well with the game’s narrative and game progression systems.

What a potential NG+ mode could look like

If a New Game Plus mode is introduced to Banishers in the future, it might look like this:

• Carry-Over Gear: Players would start with all the weapons, armor, and equipment that they had at the end of their first playthrough.
• Retained Abilities: All skills and abilities would be available right from the start, letting players experiment with more powerful builds early on.
• Increased Difficulty Options: NG+ could have more difficult settings, providing a greater challenge for experienced players.
• New Items and Equipment: Some games add new items or gear to NG+, giving players more reasons to replay.
• Altered Enemy Placements: The game could introduce new or stronger enemies to mix up the gameplay experience.

While not an official announcement, these are all things that many players expect from New Game Plus modes in games. It’s essential to keep an eye on the game’s official communication channels for any possible announcements about updates or future content.

Alternatives for Extending Playtime

In the meantime, while waiting for a possible NG+ feature, here are some things that players can do to enjoy the game for a longer time:

• Complete all side quests, explore every area on the map.
• Experiment with different builds.
• Focus on achieving a different ending.
• Try playing at a harder difficulty level.

Even without New Game Plus, there’s still a lot to do in the game. The world of New Eden is filled with things to find, people to help, and choices to make.

Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden is a game designed to be played multiple times, even without the traditional New Game Plus mode. The branching narrative and diverse choices mean that each playthrough can offer different experiences. For now, while a dedicated NG+ isn’t present, there are plenty of reasons to replay the game and discover everything that it has to offer.