This is a game I should have liked more. It has charisma, but the gameplay is really mediocre. Aiming with the gun, which is the only way you can shoot, will slow the player down which makes it easier to hit for enemies. These are bullet sponges that require you to throw them a "grenade" for them to be shot at and eventually eliminated. Something kinda like Alan Wake. There's a barebones cover shooter system, but it is so simple that it ends up being not that useful, cause enemies move around and flank the player, and you can only aim and shoot over the cover. The boss battles are ok at best and shooting is just mashing the R1 with no challenge, recoil or needed precise aim. For some reason there are invisible sniper goblins which are usually hidden in places the player can't access, so you get to use the sniper rifle, but movement is restricted when aiming in first person, so it is as impractical as the cover system. The last level is basically an info dump that explains (almost) everything going on in the plot. The ending is probably the most anticlimactic it could have been, despite having a [not so] crazy twist I definitely didn't expect. I think this game talks about death or being forgotten or something along those lines, idk, but it goes nowhere (I mean, this was made for kids, so I guess it didn't need to say much, but it tries!).

It's easy to forget how Sony would produce anything back in the PlayStation 2 days, and I mean literally anything (they even produced an official licensed game about the TV Show 24, lol). Surprising that a game this forgotten has stuff like water and cloth physics, pretty good mocap and animations, and even international dubs.

What I extract about this game is the wacky situations Lazarus (the protag) is put through in a story that reminded me a bit to The Evil Within, the original setting, the cool art style and graphics, and the overall goofy tone. Besides this, there's not much to scratch, really. If I played it as a kid, it would've probably blown my head.

I think I want to like Ghosthunter a lot more than I actually do. On a visual level the game rocks thanks to a great 2000's-era gothic look. Gameplay-wise its also really fun, blasting through various spooky locations as 2000's-era Brad Pitt. Its a real joy thanks to some snappy controls and memorable characters.

Its clear the game had a big attack of the budget though about half-way in as the game suddenly yanks all of the exploration away, yanks a lot of the intresting story beats and completely removes the hub-area and practically SPRINTS to the finish line and its such a jarring and unwelcome change of pace that it does spoil a lot of the experience. Its a crying shame given how good the first part of the game was.