Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective Review - Possess for Success

It’s a bad time to be Sissel. You see, he’s suddenly lost his memory, but more troublesome is the fact that he’s also just been murdered. Lucky for him, though, he’s got a chance to at least dig into this mess. Thanks to the powers of the dead, he’s now able to manipulate objects and even bring others back from the dead as long as they’ve not been gone for over four minutes. But before you ask; no, he can’t revive himself. The powers of the dead just don’t work that way.

And so begins Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective, a game that fans of the Ace Attorney series will feel somewhat at home with right from the outset. It’s because it’s born from the same creator, Shu Takumi, and while there’s no courtroom action, you’re still hunting for evidence across numerous scenes, and meet a range of larger-than-life characters. The game’s art style and sound effects are very familiar, too.

Ultimately, though, Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective is very much its own thing: a puzzle game all about manipulating items to achieve your goal, often against the clock. Being a spirit, Sissel can’t make his way around the traditional way any more. Now, he has to rely on notable objects, possessing their cores. The trouble is, if they’re too far away from each other, he can’t jump between them. Much of your time in Ghost Trick, then, is spent trying to find ways to get from one place to another, and sometimes that requires you to think outside of the box.

Early in the game, for example, you might need a way to gain height so you can reach a new area. The solution makes sense, but perhaps not straight away; by activating a blender then blowing the cable of a nearby flag attached to a pole into it, the cable will be wound up, raising the flag. You just need to make sure you’ve possessed the flag before it moves out of reach. Thankfully not every movement in Ghost Trick needs as much consideration, but you get the idea.

Where Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective really comes into its own is when a life is at stake. Come across the body of somebody recently deceased, and if you can possess it you can witness a flashback. This will show you how that person met their demise, and then you’ve got a short window to change their fate. In these situations you need to think and act fast, also considering the actions that other people are going to make to come up with a workable solution. It adds another dimension to the gameplay keeping you on your toes.

The time-based aspect does also present an issue that might aggravate some players, though. Miss an important opportunity, and you might have to start the four minutes again. During these instances, then, if you’re really stuck as to what to do, you might end up restarting numerous times, having to watch the same scenes play out again and again. Thankfully there’s a checkpoint in these situations at least, usually just after you’ve performed an important action, which take a little of the tedium away.

Originally made for the Nintendo DS, Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective has been wonderfully remastered for modern consoles and PC. It’s a shame that there’s no widescreen support, with borders present on either side of the screen instead, but it’s no biggie. You’ll be too busy ogling the bold and colourful character models and environments. There’s no voice acting, either, but again, it shouldn’t prove to be a deal breaker. This is a remaster of a pretty niche game, after all. We’re just glad it’s playable on more formats now.

For fans of puzzle games and visual novels, Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective is a bit of a treat. It’s a stylish and humorous affair that’s a pleasure to look at and has a fun soundtrack. Only the odd frustration is likely to sully your impression of it, as having to watch the same scenes play out multiple times until you strike it gold with the solution can get a bit tiresome. But overall, these moments are far outweighed by the many bouts of joy you feel as you overcome challenges and unfold the game’s engaging tale.