Ghosts are all over pop culture around the world from movies to anime to TV shows. They even make it into video games, mostly as villains like in the various adaptations ofGhostbusters. However, it begs the question, what about the games that let you play as a ghost or some sort of spirit?
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There are plenty of games where players take the role of a ghost. Whether it’s the classic design of a bedsheet with holes for eyes, or a fearsome ghostly apparition. Some of these ghost games might not be scary, but it’s a unique experience to have crossed to the other side.
8Avenging Spirit
Avenging Spiritis bothan arcade gameand a Game Boy game. While there are differences between the two versions, besides graphics, they ultimately play the same. Players are gunned down and turned into a ghost which sounds gruesome but it is a lighthearted game with a cartoon-like aesthetic.
Players can then possess enemies in levels like mobsters with guns. It’s kind of an obscure title at this time with no good way to play it officially, but thankfully curious players have emulation to fall back on.
7Crawl
Crawl, unlikeAvenging Spirit, is a game that can be accessed easily and on most modern consoles too. It isan indie roguelikedungeon crawler centered on a multiplayer experience. One player will be set up as the hero and three other players will be spirits. These spirits can possess traps to hurt the hero or control monsters as well.
It’s a unique idea for both a ghost game and a multiplayer game too. Since it is older, it might be hard to find a multiplayer session online randomly. So, it may be time to get three other gaming buddies together instead.
6Geist
Geistis one of themany GameCube exclusivesthat are still stuck on the console. Players are in control of John Raimi who gets his soul sucked out of him thanks to a terrorist organization. This does not kill him as the experiment instead gives John the ability to possess everything from guards to buckets with mops.
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It was a wild idea at the time for a shooter and the GameCube as well. It’s a shame so many of these experiences remain trapped on the hardware but remasters happen all the time. This one is worth waiting for even though it was never perfect.
5Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective
Ghost Trick: Phantom Detectiveis the game that inspired this list because of its re-release. It’s great that such agood adventure game, locked away previously on the DS, could come back for more people to try.
Ghost Trickstars a mysterious man named Sissel who dies. Like most ghosts on the list, Sissel can possess objects too. The biggest difference is thatGhost Trickis a puzzle game. Solving a particular puzzle will change history as Sissel can also time travel.
4Murdered: Soul Suspect
Murdered: Soul Suspectis aboutthe tattooed Detective Ronan O’Connerwho dies on the job one day. The great detective comes back as a ghost and has to solve his murder along with other mysterious deaths in the vicinity.
Murdered: Soul Suspectevolved the adventure game genre by giving players more interactivity with the world from looking at objects to passing through walls. It’s also bizarre as heck because there are Dementor-looking spirits straight out ofHarry Potterhunting Detective O’Conner down. It has an uneven pace and some troubling graphical issues, but there are few games like it.
3The Outbound Ghost
The Outbound Ghostis a newer indie RPG that was inspired byPaper Mario. Playerswake up in the afterlifeas a ghost without a voice. They soon meet other ghosts willing to help this newbie out on their journey.
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Players will split their time between solving puzzles in the overworld and fighting battles in a typical RPG fashion. It is turn-based with attacks adhering to stickers collected in the world and eventually, players can collect new party members.
2The 3rd Birthday
The 3rd Birthdayhas a similar setup to Geist except that this protagonist, Aya Brea, volunteers to get her soul sucked out of her. There is also a bit of time travel likeGhost Trick. A disaster has swept through New York and only Aya can figure out what happened via this soul device.
Her soul is sent back into the machine and she can possess other bodies as her normal form can’t take much damage. There is a complicated history to this game’s development, butThe 3rd Birthdayis part of theParasite Evefranchise.
1Rogue Spirit
Rogue Spiritis the newest game on the list, having just come out of early access in 2023. Players wake up in a garden as a dead samurai spirit. They can possess other warriors in a never-ending action roguelike game.
The possession mechanics are similar to others here, but the Japanese theming is something new. It’s one of those roguelikes that demands a lot of time be sunk into it to get better rewards. With practice, this may become a new obsessionfor roguelike fanatics.
