Ghostbusters: Rise of the Ghost Lord
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| Ghostbusters: Rise of the Ghost Lord | |
|---|---|
| Information | |
| VR/AR | Virtual Reality, Mixed Reality |
| Developer | nDreams |
| Publisher | Sony Pictures Virtual Reality |
| Platform | Meta Quest, PlayStation VR2 |
| Device | Meta Quest 2, Meta Quest 3, Meta Quest Pro, PlayStation VR2 |
| Operating System | Meta Horizon OS, PlayStation 5 |
| Type | Game |
| Genre | Action, Shooter |
| Input Device | Tracked motion controllers |
| Play Area | Seated, Standing, Room-scale |
| Game Mode | Single-player, Co-op, Multiplayer |
| Release Date | October 26, 2023 |
| Price | US$34.99 (standard edition, launch); US$55 (Full Containment Edition, launch) |
| App Store | Meta Horizon Store, PlayStation Store |
Ghostbusters: Rise of the Ghost Lord is a cooperative virtual reality action game set in the Ghostbusters universe, developed by nDreams and published by Sony Pictures Virtual Reality (SPVR). It was released on 26 October 2023 for PlayStation VR2, Meta Quest 2 and Meta Quest 3, with cross-play between the two platforms.[1][2] Players form a team of new Ghostbusters based in San Francisco and use a proton pack, PKE meter and traps to catch ghosts, alone or with up to three other players online.[3][4]
The game was first shown under the name Ghostbusters VR at the Meta Quest Gaming Showcase on 20 April 2022.[5][6] After launch it received several free updates, including a competitive mode and two content drops featuring Dan Aykroyd's character Ray Stantz, the last of them tied to the 2024 film Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire.[7][8]
Gameplay
Players take the role of members of a new Ghostbusters team who run their own headquarters in San Francisco. The campaign visits locations in the city, including the Golden Gate Bridge, and has the team trying to stop the title villain, the Ghost Lord.[6][3] UploadVR's review also names Alcatraz among the locations.[4] The headquarters is the hub where players choose missions, upgrade equipment and change cosmetics.[4]
The equipment follows the films. The PKE meter is used to track objectives and scan the environment. The proton wand fires a bending stream of energy that wears down a larger ghost's shield and health bars, and a weakened ghost is then pulled into a nearby trap or harvester.[4] In UploadVR's preview, Harry Baker wrote that "wielding the Proton Pack and attached wand is a two-handed affair, requiring you to track ghouls as they fly around the environment".[9] nDreams' launch announcement also lists remote turrets and ghost decoys among the gear.[1] A downed player is revived when a teammate high-fives them, which Meta described as "a feature that can only be experienced in VR".[10]
Road to VR's review counted seven maps and four mission types at launch: Exorcism (a wave mode), On the Clock (timed waves), Giga Trap Retrieval (an escort mission) and Harvester (puzzle waves). Only three randomly selected missions were offered at a time.[2] UploadVR put a typical mission at about 10 minutes. After a set number of missions, players unlock a special mission against the Ghost Lord, which UploadVR said "technically rounds out the game's loose narrative".[4] Meta's launch post stated that the campaign offers "12+ hours of gameplay, 20+ for completionists" across "over 40 missions".[10] Single-player play is supported with AI help, though Road to VR recommended playing with others.[2] Both smooth locomotion and teleport movement are available.[4]
Platform features
On PlayStation VR2 the game uses eye tracking, headset haptics and the adaptive triggers of the Sense controllers.[1] According to MIXED, eye tracking is used for menu navigation, grabbing objects and showing where other players are looking.[11] The PlayStation Store listing supports sitting, standing and roomscale play, and states a minimum play area of 2 m by 2 m for roomscale PlayStation VR2 games; online multiplayer for up to four players requires PlayStation Plus.[12]
On Meta Quest the game includes Mini-Puft Mayhem, a mixed reality mode in which players fight an invasion of Mini-Pufts, the marshmallow ghosts from the films, inside their own home.[10] Sony Pictures Virtual Reality presented the mode at Meta Connect in September 2023 for Meta Quest 3 and Meta Quest Pro.[13]
Development
The game was developed by nDreams in partnership with Sony Pictures Virtual Reality.[6] It was revealed as Ghostbusters VR during the Meta Quest Gaming Showcase on 20 April 2022, where Mark Zuckerberg introduced it.[5][6] The full title, Rise of the Ghost Lord, was announced on 31 October 2022 along with a 2023 release window; Road to VR's report on the title named Quest 2 and PlayStation VR2 as platforms.[3][14]
In the title announcement, Jake Zim, senior vice president of virtual reality at Sony Pictures Entertainment, said the game "pits you and your proton pack against the newest, biggest villain inside a totally immersive VR Ghostbusters universe." Tomas Gillo, chief development officer of nDreams, said the studio loved "collaborating with the Sony Pictures Virtual Reality team to bring the world of Ghostbusters into VR through a new story."[14] Nathan Baseley was the game director at nDreams during the 2024 updates.[8]
Writing after a pre-release demo on PlayStation VR2, Harry Baker of UploadVR wrote that levels open up to players gradually, "giving options when squadding up", and that the art direction is "obviously designed to ensure the game's aesthetic can be scaled up and down for different headsets".[9]
Release
The release date was announced on 14 September 2023, after a PlayStation State of Play presentation, and pre-orders opened on the PlayStation Store and Meta Quest Store.[1] Two editions were sold: a standard edition and the Full Containment Edition, which bundled the game with post-launch content that nDreams listed as four equipment skins, more than 10 additional player avatars, and a Slimer Hunt feature and collectible.[1] At launch the standard edition cost US$34.99 and the Full Containment Edition US$55.[13][11][2]
| Platform | Release date | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| PlayStation VR2 | 26 October 2023 | Eye tracking, headset haptics and adaptive triggers[1] |
| Meta Quest 2 | 26 October 2023 | Cross-play with PlayStation VR2[1] |
| Meta Quest 3 | 26 October 2023 | Cross-play with PlayStation VR2; Mini-Puft Mayhem mixed reality mode[1][13] |
| Meta Quest Pro | 26 October 2023 | Listed by Meta as a supported device; Mini-Puft Mayhem mixed reality mode[10][13] |
Post-launch updates
All four content updates below were free.
| Update | Release date | Contents |
|---|---|---|
| Heist & Seek | 16 November 2023 | First competitive mode: players hunt three bank-robbing ghost brothers and compete to collect the most gold, which can be stolen from downed players[15][16] |
| Infestation | 15 December 2023 | Co-op mode in which the team finds the nest of a ghost lodged inside a building; Road to VR reported 10 new missions across all locations[17][18] |
| Slimer Hunt | 31 January 2024 | Mission to hunt Slimer in San Francisco, guided by Ray Stantz with Dan Aykroyd reprising the role; the original flight suits from the first film as cosmetics[7] |
| Frozen Empire | 28 March 2024 | Five narrative missions tied to Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire in which the team works for Ray Stantz, who briefs players at the New York firehouse, and returns to San Francisco to defeat Garraka; adds the 1984 proton packs, a new Heat Beam tool, Lars, Podcast and Lucky as avatars, and lets players choose any mission in the game[8] |
Some updates also brought paid cosmetic skins, which owners of the Full Containment Edition received through its season pass.[15][17]
Reception
| Aggregator or outlet | Score |
|---|---|
| Metacritic (PlayStation 5) | 64/100, based on 6 critic reviews[19] |
| OpenCritic | Top Critic Average 68, 33% of critics recommend, 7 reviews ("Fair")[20] |
| Road to VR | 7.5/10[2] |
| UploadVR | 3/5[4] |
Both Road to VR and UploadVR criticized the repetition of missions. In its review, Road to VR gave the game 7.5 out of 10 and called it a "well-built VR experience", but wrote that "gameplay feels a little padded due to a succession of repetitive missions" and that it lacked an overall structure to keep players engaged over the long term.[2] UploadVR's Harry Baker gave it 3 out of 5. He called the ghost busting "fairly well-designed" with "solid built-for-VR mechanics" and praised cross-platform play from launch, but noted "a lack of depth to most missions", wrote that "maps repeat themselves frequently", reported bugs including frame judders on Quest, and found Mini-Puft Mayhem underwhelming.[4]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 "Ghostbusters: Rise of the Ghost Lord - Launch Date Announced". nDreams. 2023-09-14. https://ndreams.com/news/pre-orders-and-launch-date-ghostbusters/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Scott Hayden (2023-10-26). "'Ghostbusters: Rise of the Ghost Lord' Review - I Ain't Afraid of No VR Ghost!". Road to VR. https://roadtovr.com/ghostbusters-vr-quest-3-psvr-2-review/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "'Ghostbusters: Rise of the Ghost Lord' Gets New (Official) Title Ahead of 2023 Launch". Meta. Meta Platforms. 2022-10-31. https://www.meta.com/blog/ghostbusters-vr-sony-rise-of-the-ghost-lord/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 Harry Baker (2023-10-31). "Ghostbusters: Rise of the Ghost Lord Review - Engaging But Quickly Repetitive Co-Op". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/ghostbusters-rise-of-the-ghost-lord-review/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "New Games, Updates and More From the Meta Quest Gaming Showcase". Meta Newsroom. Meta Platforms. 2022-04-20. https://about.fb.com/news/2022/04/meta-quest-gaming-showcase/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Ben Lang. "Co-op 'Ghostbusters' VR Game 'Rise of the Ghost Lord' Coming to Quest 2 & PSVR 2 in 2023". Road to VR. https://roadtovr.com/ghost-busters-vr-quest-2-announcement/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Henry Stockdale (2024-01-31). "Dan Aykroyd Back With The Ghostbusters In VR Update". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/ghostbusters-rise-of-the-ghost-lord-slimer-hunt/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Nathan Baseley (2024-03-22). "Ghostbusters: Rise of the Ghost Lord launches free DLC with new multi-mission pack on March 28". PlayStation Blog. Sony Interactive Entertainment. https://blog.playstation.com/2024/03/22/ghostbusters-rise-of-the-ghost-lord-launches-free-dlc-with-new-multi-mission-pack-on-march-28/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Harry Baker (2023-09-21). "Ghostbusters: Rise of the Ghost Lord Hands-On: Solid Arcade-like Co-op For Quest & PSVR 2". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/ghostbusters-rise-of-the-ghost-lord-hands-on/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 "Who You Gonna Call? 'Ghostbusters: Rise of the Ghost Lord' Now Available on Meta Quest". Meta. Meta Platforms. 2023-10-27. https://www.meta.com/blog/ghostbusters-rise-ghost-lord-sony-ndreams-vr-slimer/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Tomislav Bezmalinovic (2023-09-15). "The official Ghostbusters VR game gets a release date and PSVR 2 trailer". MIXED. https://mixed-news.com/en/ghostbusters-rise-of-the-ghost-lord-release-date/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
- ↑ "Ghostbusters: Rise of the Ghost Lord". PlayStation Store. Sony Interactive Entertainment. https://store.playstation.com/en-us/concept/10007130/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 Steve Takle (2023-09-28). "Sony Pictures Virtual Reality Unveils Mixed Reality Ghostbusters Minigame At Meta Connect". BeyondGames.biz. https://www.beyondgames.biz/42491/sony-pictures-virtual-reality-unveils-mixed-reality-ghostbusters-minigame-at-meta-connect/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 "Sony Pictures Virtual Reality Reveals New VR Game Name, Ghostbusters: Rise Of The Ghost Lord". WebWire. 2022-11-02. https://www.webwire.com/ViewPressRel.asp?aId=296144. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Noah Rigsby (2023-11-16). "Ghostbusters: Rise of the Ghost Lord adds a competitive mode in first major content update". GamingTrend. https://gamingtrend.com/news/ghostbusters-rise-of-the-ghost-lord-adds-a-competitive-mode-in-first-major-content-update/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
- ↑ Henry Stockdale (2023-11-02). "Ghostbusters: Rise of the Ghost Lord Will Get A Competitive Heist & Seek Mode". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/ghostbusters-rise-of-the-ghost-lord-new-game-modes/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Richard Allen (2023-12-18). "Second free game mode for Ghostbusters: Rise of the Ghost Lord released, called Infestation". GamingTrend. https://gamingtrend.com/news/second-free-game-mode-for-ghostbusters-rise-of-the-ghost-lord-released-called-infestation/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
- ↑ Scott Hayden (2023-12-13). "'Ghostbusters: Rise of the Ghost Lord' Teases "major update" Coming in March". Road to VR. https://roadtovr.com/ghostbusters-quest-3-psvr-2-2024-update/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
- ↑ "Ghostbusters: Rise of the Ghost Lord Reviews". Metacritic. https://www.metacritic.com/game/ghostbusters-rise-of-the-ghost-lord/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
- ↑ "Ghostbusters: Rise of the Ghost Lord Reviews". OpenCritic. https://opencritic.com/game/15802/ghostbusters-rise-of-the-ghost-lord. Retrieved 2026-10-04.