Ebenezer and the Invisible World

76%
Game Brain Score Based on 42 reviews
  • story
  • graphics
  • gameplay
Ebenezer and the Invisible World Game Cover
Unlike its titular hero, Ebenezer and the Invisible World learned naught from the mistakes of the past.
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In "Ebenezer and the Invisible World" , players join Ebenezer Scrooge and his spectral allies to save London from the evil Caspar Malthus and his Private Guard. Unlock powerful Ghosts, each with unique abilities, stories, and quests, while exploring Victorian-era London and uncovering the Malthus family's dark secrets. Traverse the world using Movement Ghosts' special abilities and fight a legion of Unrepentant Ghosts in this thrilling adventure.

  • Nintendo Switch
  • PC
  • Play​station 4
  • Play​station 5
  • Windows
  • Xbox One
  • Xbox Series X|S
  • Play​Station
  • Xbox
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

76%
Audience ScoreBased on 42 reviews
story7 positive mentions
grinding4 negative mentions
  • The game features stunning visuals and a charming art style that evokes a festive atmosphere, making it a delightful experience for players.
  • The gameplay is engaging, with a solid Metroidvania structure that encourages exploration and offers a variety of abilities and upgrades through interactions with ghosts.
  • The unique concept of combining 'A Christmas Carol' with Metroidvania elements provides a fresh and enjoyable twist on a classic story.
  • The game suffers from numerous bugs and glitches that can disrupt gameplay, including issues with controls, input lag, and inconsistent UI functionality.
  • The map design is overly simplistic and lacks essential features like markers or zooming, making navigation and backtracking tedious.
  • The absence of a robust soundtrack and voice acting detracts from the overall immersion, leaving the game feeling somewhat lifeless despite its visual appeal.
  • story33 mentions

    The game's story, set against a Christmas theme, is described as a fun homage to the original material, featuring a unique take on Ebenezer Scrooge as a medium interacting with ghosts. While the narrative and side quests are engaging and rich in Dickensian lore, players note that the quest tracking and map navigation are frustratingly inadequate, detracting from the overall experience. Despite these issues, the art and world-building are praised, making the story a highlight for many players.

    • “This game also boasts a good depth of Dickensian lore via bestiaries, side quests, and general world-building.”
    • “The game takes a good amount of liberties with its source material while trying to remain as true to the story's heart as it can; the first cutscene we get establishes Scrooge as a sort of 'medium' who has the unique ability to see and interact with all sorts of stray ghosts across London, all of whom are bound to earth either by their own lingering regrets and sins or refusal to move on.”
    • “Otherwise, I enjoyed the Christmas story; the art of the game is gorgeous and the world setting is nice.”
    • “The story to me is just a vehicle I have to get on.”
    • “A moment later and the dialogue drops from merely missing its veneer of antiquity to reading like standard game quest text.”
    • “After beating the game, I decided not to go for 100% because it involved going between quest NPCs that the game doesn't mark on your map, and I had no desire to laboriously go to every single room again to try to work out where these people were.”
  • graphics17 mentions

    The graphics of the game are widely praised for their crisp, vibrant, and charming hand-drawn art style, evoking a unique and cozy atmosphere reminiscent of early arcade games and Dickensian postcards. While the visuals are considered breathtaking and distinct across various regions, some reviewers noted that certain animations could be improved. Overall, the art style is seen as the standout feature, enhancing the game's narrative and level design, despite some criticism regarding the lack of voice acting.

    • “Graphics: the art is so crisp and vibrant, you might just feel like you’ve stepped into a Dickensian postcard.”
    • “The visuals of the game are quite good, with each map region and creature distinct and evocative, each serving well to support the outstanding level design.”
    • “I would argue that Ebenezer and the Invisible World is graphically superior to Igarashi's own Bloodstained, and in the vicinity of Hollow Knight.”
    • “The art style is reminiscent of early XBLA arcade, with super sharp 2D art that can occasionally make it difficult to understand what is a platform and what is just part of the background.”
    • “While I do think some in-game animations could use improvement, the hand-drawn art style manages to be very bold and has its own appeal and sense of design when it comes to the game's characters.”
    • “Ebenezer isn't a metroidvania that's worth delving into, as the combat, movement, exploration, and level design fall short of the visuals and story.”
  • gameplay10 mentions

    The gameplay is a blend of "A Christmas Carol" and "Castlevania," featuring Scrooge navigating Victorian London while battling ghosts and minions, typical of the metroidvania genre. While the core mechanics are enjoyable and reminiscent of titles like Hollow Knight, players report significant bugs and a lack of guidance for quests, leading to a sense of aimlessness and an unfinished feel. Overall, the gameplay is considered good but marred by technical issues and design flaws.

    • “Gameplay: think of it as 'A Christmas Carol' meets 'Castlevania.' Scrooge jumps around Victorian London, whacking ghosts and Malthus’s minions with his trusty cane.”
    • “Towards the end, I was feeling an almost Hollow Knight level of gameplay.”
    • “As for the gameplay itself, well, it's a Christmas Carol Castlevania.”
    • “Frequent bugs: in both cutscenes and gameplay, this game holds far too many bugs.”
    • “Now when it comes to gameplay, there is some 'jank'.”
    • “Everything from the controls to the gameplay design feels unfinished.”
  • music10 mentions

    The music in the game is largely criticized for its minimalism, featuring only a repetitive jingle of sleigh bells that quickly becomes monotonous and fails to enhance the experience. Many players feel that a more robust soundtrack, potentially incorporating Christmas or Victorian themes, could have significantly improved the game's atmosphere. Overall, the lack of a memorable or engaging musical score detracts from the festive ambiance that the setting aims to create.

    • “A good soundtrack could have elevated this game greatly, focusing on Christmas or even Victorian tones, so it is a shame to find it lacking.”
    • “The Victorian setting and weather effects along with the music make for some great festive ambiance.”
    • “There is pretty much zero music in this game, just a continual quiet jingle of sleigh bells.”
    • “The little music that tries to alleviate this quickly becomes monotonous and annoying.”
    • “It's just chimes and whistles that sound Christmassy but don't offer much in terms of a remarkable soundtrack.”
  • grinding4 mentions

    Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious, particularly due to the lack of fast travel points and the necessity of backtracking to save progress. This design choice detracts from the overall experience, making exploration and side quests feel laborious over time.

    • “I understand the dev wanted to go atmospheric, but after a couple of hours this became very tedious.”
    • “This made backtracking and side questing extremely tedious.”
    • “Going back and forth on the map also feels tedious as there are very few fast travel points, which are poorly distributed.”
  • stability3 mentions

    The game experiences several stability issues, including glitches that can hinder gameplay, such as unresponsive controls. While it shows visual potential, these technical problems need urgent attention to enhance the overall experience.

    • “There have been a couple of times when the game glitches and won't respond to me pressing the attack button.”
    • “Visually it has potential, but the glitches need to be worked out ASAP.”
    • “A few glitches, boring music, terrible writing.”
  • atmosphere2 mentions

    The game's atmosphere is praised for its gorgeous art and immersive quality, but some players find it becomes tedious after extended playtime.

    • “Gorgeous art and atmosphere.”
  • emotional2 mentions

    The emotional aspect of the game is highlighted by a heartwarming portrayal of Scrooge, which resonates with players. The challenging combat mechanics add a layer of depth, requiring patience and timing, which some players find enhances their overall experience.

    • “It's both cool and heartwarming to see Scrooge portrayed in this way.”
  • humor2 mentions

    The humor in the game is highlighted by its amusing character names, such as "Actionhero Scrooge," and the comedic potential of gameplay moments, particularly during cutscenes that can lead to entertaining streaming experiences despite their fast pace.

    • “I did, however, have a problem trying to read the intro cutscene out loud for a stream, as there was not much time to read each segment. It did make for funny content, though.”
    • “Action Hero Scrooge is just a funny thing.”
  • optimization1 mentions

    The game performs reliably without crashes or lag, but overall optimization and polish are lacking.

    • “Luckily, the game didn't crash or lag, but that's all that can be said in terms of polish and optimization.”
  • character development1 mentions

    Character development in the game is highlighted as a standout feature, particularly due to its holiday theme and the post-Christmas Carol transformations of characters, which resonate well with players.

    • “The character development is beautifully intertwined with the holiday theme, reminiscent of post-Christmas Carol transformations, which many players find to be the highlight of the game.”
    • “The depth of character development really shines through, making each character's journey feel meaningful and engaging.”
    • “I love how the game explores the characters' backstories, allowing players to connect with them on a deeper level.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

50% average critic score

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