Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective review - Supernatural sleuthing never looked so good

Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective has received a fresh lick of paint with a remaster, and it’s a blast to play through again.

Its puzzles walk the line between challenge and frustration with aplomb, and while some made me feel a little silly once I figured them out, I loved how they constantly deliver on the game’s goofy premise.

Tension and Time Limits

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Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective's greatest strength is in the way everything ties into the premise that you are, in fact, a ghost. Kicking off by having you save a woman’s life after she’s shot by an assailant, you’re guided through a tutorial by a lamp, and things only get more bizarre from there.

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While much of Ghost Trick’s puzzles allow you to help the living, many of them feed back into our protagonist, Sissel’s own death. Why were you killed? How were you killed? What was so important that it led to this conclusion?

This is all tied to a ticking timer, with Sissel having just 24 hours to recover his memories and solve his murder before he’ll cease to exist. No pressure, right?

Piece by Piece

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Slowly but surely, Sissel is introduced to unique characters who are responsible for your downfall. The character design is phenomenal, and each has its own personality with a unique art style and a jazzy soundtrack that befits any situation -  even the tensest moments of life-saving.

The joy of beginning with things with our leading man’s murder is it means Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective wastes no time diving headfirst into its story. Within minutes, Sissel has a lead, and things don’t really let up throughout.

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There’s still room for some comedy in amongst all that tension, though. Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective balances the emotions of the game and the player and plays with the moods through the use of music and animation. This leads to the best kind of emotional whiplash, moving from intrigue to slapstick in a heartbeat, without ever dropping either entirely.

As a new feature, Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective includes a challenge mode which allows you to take on fresh puzzles, taking cues from those found throughout the game. It’s a fun way to extend playtime, and adds even higher stakes.

In one puzzle, Sissel has to save a pomeranian and two other characters within seconds of each other, and it’s here that Ghost Trick is at its most treacherous - and heart-wrenching. Seeing time slip away as you work to save three lives is certainly an experience, and the game is full of these heart-stopping moments - although not all involve a small dog barking in your ear.

Soul Train

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Blurring the lines between justice and revenge, Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective tasks players with interacting with the world by moving from object to object.

Being able to travel through items that you can reach within a very short distance was something that I enjoyed, but also found it frustrating at times when I couldn’t figure out where I was supposed to go, or how I was supposed to extend my reach.

Other times, I found the controls added unnecessary friction. For the most part, though, I enjoyed seeing how I could affect the land of the living with my ethereal form.

Sometimes, the key to the puzzle is so frighteningly obvious, but it’s hard to see the forest for the trees. This happened countless times, but when you can barely reach any further across, you could cut the tension with a knife - there's nothing quite like Ghost Trick.

The Verdict

With a stunning art style, unique puzzles, and a one-of-a-kind concept, Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective is an easy recommendation for anyone looking for a puzzle game.

While not without its frustrations, it’s a journey to the afterlife worth taking - and one you’ll be coming back to.

4/5

Reviewed on PC. Code provided by the publisher.