PN Review: Extreme Exorcism

8-bit video games are no longer a rarity in this day and age. And even though their existence is easier to spot-out than an Elvis impersonator in Las Vegas, Golden Ruby Games, manages to play the visual card well in their latest title, Extreme Exorcism for Wii U. Though praise is certainly awarded to the games visual appearance, the gameplay, however, is in need of a minor adjustment.

The setting takes place in a haunted mansion and pits up to four individuals against several waves of green ghosts. It’s a kill or be killed situation in this experience and the idea is to shoot, spray, or harpoon the ghost who bares the golden crown. Rack-up enough points and you may unlock more sections of the haunted house. Regardless of which area of the mansion you reside in, the premise is ultimately the same throughout the games entirety.

As mentioned before, Extreme Exorcism possesses an 8-bit aesthetic that visually calls back to an older generation of gaming. The array of sprites and pixels displayed on the screen portrays a retro-like visual that reminds me of the days I spent in arcades as a younger man. The visual appearance of the video game made me feel at home for a brief moment, even younger in some instances. But that is, however, until I took a deep-dive into Extreme Exorcism’s gameplay.

Ghost hunting in Extreme Exorcism is both simplistic and frustrating. For example, each individual can hold up to three items at once, which is a pleasant idea, but doesn’t necessarily execute well in some cases. If I held a sword, a rocket-launcher, and the speed boost ability, chances are my character would out-pace the rocket, and would likely crash into an enemy projectile. The option to swap items is present, but this act is done at random, and may cause you to lose a desired weapon or ability, unintentionally.

At its core, Extreme Exorcism is a better ghost hunting video game than the 1988 classic, Ghostbusters, for the Nintendo Entertainment System. Even though the bar is set pretty low in that regard, Extreme Exorcism hardly possesses any wrong doings – except for the case that it doesn’t allow individuals to choose which weapons to swap during gameplay. Though its visual fidelity is on par with the older generation of gaming, Extreme Exorcism is a decent experience that can stand on its own two feet, and separate itself from the other 8-bit impersonators found within the Nintendo eShop.