Ghost Master (GOG) [2023]

Ghost Master Introduction:

Ghost Master, titled Ghost Master: The Gravenville Chronicles for Xbox and PlayStation 2, is a puzzle strategy game created by the British studio Sick Puppies. The Windows version was developed by them, while Feral Interactive published the Mac OS X version. The game revolves around the player assuming the role of a Ghost Master, a bureaucratic spirit assigned specific tasks. Although the primary duties involve haunting, Ghost Masters can also be summoned to bolster belief in the supernatural, seek vengeance for deaths, and enlist rebellious ghosts. Since direct intervention in the mortal realm is prohibited, Ghost Masters control a team of subordinate ghosts to carry out their directives. Beyond haunting, Ghost Masters are responsible for training their ghostly subordinates.

The game features 15 levels, where the main objective in most is to frighten humans into fleeing or succumbing to madness.

Ghost Master employs mechanics similar to real-time strategy games. Players start by selecting ghosts to deploy in each level, with limitations on which ghosts can appear where. Each ghost is linked to one or two types of objects, called "fetters," that they can be bound to. For instance, a ghost that perished during a robbery can only be bound to a "Murder Fetter," while a water spirit can only inhabit a bath, sink, or puddle.

Gameplay:

Another significant factor is "Plasm," a resource that determines a ghost's abilities. Frightening humans generates Plasm, allowing the use of stronger abilities and more ghosts simultaneously.

Upon completing level objectives, the game rates the player's performance based on factors like time, impact on humans, and the number of fleeing mortals. Quick completion earns a score multiplier, influencing the amount of "Gold Plasm" awarded. This resource enhances the spells available to ghosts.

The game concludes with a cliffhanger, involving the Ghostbreakers planning to eliminate supernatural presence with a bomb. Due to the absence of a sequel, a bonus level was released, exclusive to the UK version, offering some closure.

The Steam and Good Old Games releases include this bonus level, "Class of Spook'em High," which pits the player against attacking Ghostbreakers at the ghost master's headquarters—an old mansion. Defeating the Ghostbreakers becomes the goal. This bonus content substitutes for a sequel.

Mortals possess belief levels affecting a ghost's power effectiveness. Scaring raises the belief bar, with specific powers boosting belief more than others. Each mortal harbors conscious and subconscious fears tied to certain ghostly powers. Exploiting these fears yields better results and some ghosts can unveil them.

Final Words:

Mortals also exhibit terror and madness levels, with defined limits. Heightened terror makes humans flee, a primary objective. Madness, linked to specific powers, drives mortals insane, rendering them immune to further fear or madness inducement. The fear bar decreases over time, but belief and madness bars remain static.

Between ordinary humans and ghosts, individuals like priests, witches, and mediums exist. They can banish deployed ghosts, rendering them unusable for the level, although they're reinstated after the mission. Allowing ghosts to be banished incurs a substantial score penalty.

Among supernatural threats, Ghostbreakers are paramount. They swiftly detect and banish ghosts and deploy wards preventing ghosts underneath from being deployed or withdrawn, unless the wards' generators are disabled.