Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective Remastered Review

Initially released on the Nintendo DS only in 2011, Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective received critical acclaim thanks to its insatiable puzzle-solving and astral-projecting gameplay, allowing players to rewind the clock to save lives while manipulating objects to cheekily bamboozle ne’er do wells. Now 12 years later, Ghost Trick returns on current-gen consoles, adorned with a facelift and a fresh chance to garner a new audience and a renewed notoriety. Is Ghost Trick worth playing after such a protracted gestation period, or will this ghost remain unseen?

Starring a recently deceased and amnesia-stricken Johnny Bravo-lookalike called Sissel, you embark on a whodunit quest to find out who is responsible for leaving Sissel a hapless corpse. After all; you maybe dead, but you’re brought mysteriously back into a state of undead consciousness by a Pixar-like lamplight spirit called Ray, who settles Sissel into his otherworldly duties to create spurious happenstances in the real-world. Along the way, you toy with objects in the environment whilst simultaneously toying with the heads of assassins and crime bosses so you can undo injustices and restore righteousness – all from beyond the grave.

The novelty of Ghost Trick’s premise hasn’t wavered and is as quirky and awesomely empowering now as it was in 2011. The straightforwardness of Ghost Trick’s tale further positions its status as a cult classic lost in time, but now it’s been refurbished for console players to enjoy, and enjoy you most-certainly will.

Characters are all consistently flamboyant and stylish, helped to no end by the sharp character models and animations that lend a show-stealing panache that was extraordinary on the Nintendo DS and remaining extraordinary on the Xbox One/Series X 12 years later.

Sissel looks the business with his glistening red suit and blazing blonde hair, Jowd’s huge pink apron stands out like it was methodically blotted by a primary school child during an art class, Cabanela’s aristocratic white suit and suave red scarf gives him an unmistakable Elvis Presley vibe, and the gentle-yet-elegant grace of Alma’s delicate majesty backed by her pink hair and slender mid-blue dress makes her echo modest sweetness.

Altogether, the cast is ravishing due to the sheer care of the artistry that makes each character ignite with an unforgettable and distinctive flare. Few, if any, games out there spotlight each character with distinguishing artistic features that are pronounced idyllically through the art style-but Ghost Trick manages to pair its art style meticulously with the diverse assortment of personalities within. The up-close expressions on their faces as well as their reactions also do a superb job at capturing thoughts and feelings to such an extent, that words feel auxiliary or otherwise superfluous; meaning speech bubbles aren’t always required to tell the story – that’s how exemplary Ghost Trick’s visual presentation is. It can be very well-read just by gazing upon it.     

Ghost Trick unfurls over the course of 18 chapters, each of which includes a fresh brain-scratcher to gnaw away at. Ghost Trick likes to show you the ropes, so you can capably and effective utilize all of the tricks it has jangling around in its phantom burlap bag. At first you get to know Sissel as a twinkling soul flame slinking between items in the environment, next you’ll find out how to activate their functions and how to soul-travel effectively to avoid getting stuck.

Soon thereafter, you’ll need to manipulate objects to prevent a damsel in distress from being blasted away by a noirish assassin all the while sand slowly tips to the bottom of an hourglass. You’ll switch back and forth between Trick Time and real time, traveling your soul flame to targets in the former, and perusing information and triggering objects with the latter.

Timing is a primary ingredient in many of Ghost Trick’s brainteasers. Much of your time may be spent triggering things to see what they do, while growing impatient and unsure of how you’re meant to proceed when there’s only one solution to the puzzle and you find yourself severely tempted to look up a guide to assist you with completing challenges.

Let’s not forget that Ghost Trick is a remaster of a 12 year-old portable game, so its linearity should be largely excused, but it’s still frustrating to funnel through the game’s rigid design aspects. Timing your ghost trick’s can be a draining exercise in trial and error, which can potentially put you off playing the game altogether, though it’s highly advised you don’t do that because of how outstanding everything else about the game is – just know some challenges will test your nerve.

Enough has been said about the stupendous art style Ghost Trick boasts, but the soundtrack is just as rousing. The tempo of the music during time-pressured segments will beckon reminders of Danganronpa’s stellar soundtrack. Actually, many of Ghost Trick’s tunes sit comfortably alongside Danganronpa’s-brilliantly evoking the tension, suspense and dynamism of every scenario.

Conclusion

Twelve-years is a very long time but Ghost Trick’s return to relevancy is a very welcome one indeed. The premise is as deliciously absurd as it is effective at drawing you into the game’s puzzle-heavy gameplay, the artstyle is immaculate and indubitably expressionistic, and although it’s rather short, it leaves a thunderous impact. Ghost Trick may no longer be ghosted by merely existing on a Nintendo handheld – now you can rejoice in playing it for yourselves and bask in the remastered experience of a well-loved and superbly-made classic.