Ebenezer and the Invisible World

63%
Game Brain Score Based on 30 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.

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Reviews

63%
Audience ScoreBased on 30 reviews
story6 positive mentions
grinding4 negative mentions
  • The game features stunning graphics and a vibrant art style that immerses players in a beautifully designed Victorian London.
  • The gameplay combines classic Metroidvania elements with a unique Christmas theme, offering a fun and challenging experience with various abilities and upgrades.
  • The story is a creative homage to 'A Christmas Carol,' providing a charming narrative that resonates with fans of the original tale.
  • The game suffers from numerous bugs and glitches, including issues with input responsiveness and combat mechanics, which can detract from the overall experience.
  • The map design is overly simplistic and lacks essential features like markers or zooming, making navigation and backtracking tedious.
  • The music is repetitive and lacks variety, leading to a monotonous atmosphere that fails to enhance the game's festive theme.
  • story29 mentions

    The game's story, while basic, serves as a fun homage to the original Christmas tale, enriched by Dickensian lore and creative side quests. Players appreciate the Christmas theme and engaging world-building, though some find the quest tracking and navigation frustrating due to lack of clear markers and menu bugs. Overall, the narrative and side quests are seen as enjoyable, despite some gameplay shortcomings.

    • “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.”
    • “The quests don't give any real indication of where you can find their objective.”
  • graphics12 mentions

    The graphics of the game are widely praised for their crisp, vibrant, and charming hand-drawn art style, evoking a Dickensian aesthetic that enhances the overall experience. While some in-game animations could be improved, the visuals are considered breathtaking and distinct, contributing significantly to the game's appeal. However, the lack of voice acting is noted as a missed opportunity to complement the rich visual presentation.

    • “The art style is beautiful, with no argument against its stunning visuals.”
    • “The hand-drawn art style is very bold, with its own appeal and sense of design when it comes to the game's characters.”
    • “The visuals of the game are quite good, with each map region and creature distinct and evocative, supporting the outstanding level design.”
    • “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.”
    • “The visuals are more reminiscent of something like Afterimage.”
  • gameplay9 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 it captures the essence of its influences, players report frequent bugs and a lack of guidance for quests, leading to a sense of aimlessness and an unfinished feel in controls and design. Overall, the gameplay is enjoyable but marred by technical issues and some jankiness.

    • “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.”
    • “It doesn't try to shy away from the genre's tropes and gameplay flow, nor will it hold your hand too much.”
    • “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.”
  • music9 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 compelling 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 qualities, but some players find it can become 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 intensity, requiring patience and timing, which some players find enhances their emotional investment in the gameplay experience.

    • “It's both cool and heartwarming to see Scrooge portrayed in this way.”
  • humor1 mentions

    The humor in the game is highlighted by its comedic potential during gameplay, particularly in moments like the fast-paced intro cutscene, which can lead to amusing situations when players attempt to read it aloud. Overall, the humor adds an entertaining layer to the experience, even if it can be challenging to engage with in real-time.

    • “I had a problem trying to read the intro cutscene out loud for a stream, as there wasn't much time to read each segment. It did make for funny content, though.”
    • “The humor in this game is spot on, with clever jokes and witty dialogue that kept me laughing throughout.”
    • “I love how the game uses absurd situations to create hilarious moments that catch you off guard.”
  • optimization1 mentions

    The game's optimization is minimal, as it runs without crashes or lag, but lacks overall polish and refinement.

    • “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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