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0 I am, admittedly, a bit of a sucker for remasters/remakes. Or, at least, the ones of games that didn’t come out a few years ago… Being able to experience something from my younger years on modern hardware is both nostalgic and comforting. So, when I saw that Ghost Master was returning from the dead, I knew I had to check it out! Released in 2003 for PC and a year later for PlayStation 2 and Xbox, Ghost Master is a sort of puzzle/strategy hybrid. A game my younger self would often describe as “The Sims but you have to haunt them instead of take care of them”. Not that I really took care of my sims…
Now, in 2026, Ghost Master: Resurrection is here! Developer Mechano Story Studio state that this is a “faithful remake of the beloved original” but with some much-needed bug fixes and upgrades. Is this new developer up to the task of resurrecting a cult classic?
Master of Ghosties, I’m Haunting Your Things!
The early 2000s was a time where developers seemingly weren’t afraid to make some truly unique IPs. Do you have any favourites from this era of weird and wonderful games? Whether it’s a PC or console title, I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below! The more outlandish, obscure game, the better! But, for now, let’s get mastering some ghosts!
Gameplay
The premise of Ghost Master: Resurrection remains the same: scare those bothersome humans into fleeing for their lives! This isn’t about chasing them around the environments and re-enacting your favourite horror flicks, though! Just like the original, this is a strategic puzzle game with an isometric view. Each level has a group of humans with their own routines. Study their movements and scare them until they break! It takes slow, careful planning on your way to victory and earning high scores. Much like any good paranormal movie, things start out small: flickering lights, bumps in the night, and so on. Building up the living’s terror, eventually leading to full-on panic, is not only fun but incredibly satisfying to watch play out.
Numerous ghosts of varying types are your tools, and you’ll need to place them around the map for maximum fear efficiency. You can’t just place them anywhere you’d like, though, as they’ll need to be bound to certain places or objects depending on their type. Known as fetters, these limit where you can place ghosts: inside, outside, electrical items, etc. From poltergeists and banshees to gremlins and headless horsemen, there are plenty of creepy characters to command, each with their own powers. More can be unlocked in each level, although these are often their own self-contained puzzles that will need to be solved in order to recruit the spirit. Using ghosts in tandem with one another is the way to go, and chaining scares from one ghost to the next is necessary to rack up a high score and beat a particular level.
Creepy Controls, Ghoulish Graphics, and Spooky Sounds
It’s all very familiar if you’ve played it before. There’s still a learning curve that can feel a little daunting, especially in later levels when the madness really ramps up. The tutorial is very lacking, so new players may need to mess around for a while to get to grips with every mechanic. The lack of a mouse and keyboard on consoles is also a bit of a hindrance, as navigating the in-game menus is fairly cumbersome. It’s far from terrible, but some controller refinements would have been very welcome. Having said that, the user interface is much cleaner and easier to read!
Ghost Master: Resurrection has seen a considerable upgrade in the visuals department compared to the original. That’s thanks to an all-new engine used for the game, rather than just upscaling the original and calling it a day. From the higher-quality textures to some genuinely great lighting improvements, it’s clear that a lot of effort has gone into sprucing up for modern audiences. The same can’t be said regarding the dated-looking animations. Reworked character movement would have been a huge plus point, so it’s a shame we don’t get any reworked animations. It certainly captures the mood of the 2003 version, though, intentional or not, so it’s hard to be too critical!
As for audio, it’s just as eerie, yet amusing, as it ever was! It really ties in to the presentation, and Gravenville has never looked or sounded better. It’s the classic, surprisingly catchy soundtrack, exactly as you remember it.
Longevity
Ghost Master: Resurrection is a game that rewards patience. It also takes a little while to fully get to grips with. That said, I’d finished each of the eleven locations in around 16 hours, so plenty of game here to get spooky with. Trophy hunters will be hugely disappointed to see that there’s no Platinum to unlock; a very strange decision indeed!
There’s also plenty of upcoming DLC (yikes at that season pass price, though!) so there’s plenty more scares yet to come if you just can’t get enough of the game!
Final Thoughts
Even if you’re a veteran spook master, I would still recommend Ghost Master: Resurrection. Controls can feel a little awkward on console, and the tutorials could do with improving. However, this was still an enjoyable, light-hearted journey down memory lane. If you’ve never given the original Ghost Master a try, Resurrection is definitely a game worth playing! I’m just glad it’s not an outright horror title, or I’d have been too scared to finish the review…
So, for those reasons, Ghost Master: Resurrection receives a frightful Thumb Culture Gold Award!
Disclaimer: A code was received in order to write this review.
In the mood for another nostalgia trip? Why not check out our review of Legacy of Kain: Defiance Remastered!
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