Ghostboy

• DEVELOPER: Two Blackbirds
• PUBLISHER: Two Blackbirds
• PLATFORMS: PC (Steam)
• GENRE: Emotional / Educational / Tower-defense
• RELEASE DATE: June 25, 2024
• STARTING PRICE: 14,79 €
• REVIEWED VERSION: PC

Ghostboy is likely an indie game many people might overlook. Not only is it incredibly unique, but it also blends tower-defense mechanics with a deeply emotional story about grief, loss, decision-making, and mental health. If you are struggling with grief from losing someone, whether a family member or a friend, Ghostboy is a game you must play.

A team of four, including child and adult psychologists, have seamlessly combined educational elements with gaming. According to the developers, the tower defense maps symbolize the struggle with negative thoughts, but the genre has been reimagined from the ground up to offer players new and creative solutions to ever-changing challenges. There are numerous mechanics to engage with, such as dealing with mental disorders affecting family members, solving puzzles to upgrade towers, unlocking new types of ghosts to play with, and strengthening family members’ mental resilience through mutual support. While there is a lot of micromanagement involved, it’s introduced gradually, allowing you to take your time and plan everything. More on that a bit later.

You start the game by learning a harsh truth: a family of four has lost a son. The brother, mother, and father each face their own struggles as they cope with this reality, with various events unfolding as you progress. You play as the boy in his ghost form, helping his family to move on. The events are quite impactful, such as the brother losing his temper and getting into a fight, or the mother being involved in a car crash. These events are influenced by your choices, allowing you to decide how to react and shape the story’s progression. Sometimes, these choices can lead to different mental disorders, which you can combat, showing that these challenges can be overcome.

While the game is not a substitute for therapy for those actively grieving, it can help anyone prepare for future challenges. This is where the tower-defense elements come into play. The game guides you through the five stages of grief, each offering different levels that unlock various cards and mechanics. You start with easier levels and gradually move to more difficult ones. In each stage, you can play as a different family member. Before each level, you choose cards to fill available slots, spending points (EP). Each card represents a different action, such as attacking, defending, healing, or supporting the family. For example, you might take the brother to school option, which helps a family member with their mental disorder. You can also choose cards that provide more starting points or additional EP upon winning a level.

These mental disorders can significantly impact the game, providing negative effects while you play, so it’s best to eliminate them as quickly as possible, as they can carry over to the next stage. However, I have an issues with this card system. You can repeatedly choose the same types of cards and win every time, making the game too easy. Additionally, selecting mental disorders as towers begins healing the chosen disorders. You’ll have a much better chance of success by always taking archer towers, bombing towers, and knights that attack everything in sight, rather than experimenting with other options.

Before entering a level, you choose one of four buddies, each offering a different playstyle. For example, one might shoot a gun while another is a knight who can attack and heal other knights nearby. After making your selection, you proceed to play. Upon entering a level, you have time to prepare, think strategically, and place your assets to protect your family member. Some towers require you to place a worker on a tile to repair and construct them. Once that is done, you control your buddy, attack enemies, and upgrade the towers. Each tower has three stages of upgrades. If you prefer a fast-paced game, Ghostboy offers just that. Most levels are quick to finish, with everything being very affordable, allowing you to build as you wish.

As you progress, the enemies become stronger and more varied. For example, you might encounter a creature that gives mental disorders to your family members, one that can pass through walls, or one that is heavily armored. There is a wide array of enemies, each unique to different family members. Additionally, after completing the normal stages, special stages become available, offering even more unique challenges. For instance, you might play a board game against an evil wizard where you must collect dice to reach the goal line before him. With so many things to do, you’ll never get bored.

Despite the simplicity of the gameplay, there are around 10 hours of content to explore. Unfortunately, there isn’t much variety in the cards you get or the ways you can help your family members, which can make the game feel repetitive. However, the amount of content available helps mitigate this issue. Even so, I wished for more ways to defeat those pesky nightmares.

I did, in fact, lose several times, but thankfully it doesn’t affect the gameplay significantly—you’ll just need to spend points again. This highlights the importance of strategic placement in the game, and using a healing flower to heal your family members can be beneficial from time to time. Graphically, this is a very charming game. While it may not be breathtaking, and there are plenty of gray and dark colors, you will occasionally encounter bright one as well, indicating that not everything has to be gloomy.

There are many aspects I haven’t even touched on yet, such as each family member having distinct symbols and unique personalities that shine throughout the game. Nonetheless, this is probably one of my favorite indie games of the year. I just wish it had a bit more ambition. Adding a co-op mode to explore tower-defense elements with friends or incorporating more content, like an unlimited mode to play against enemies, would enhance the experience.

In case you haven’t heard about this game, I highly recommend you check it out. Not only does it combine two fascinating elements, but it also has an educational purpose that you can explore in depth within the game. Developers from Two Blackbirds, thank you for creating such a beautiful game.

Review copy provided by the publisher

4.5