Ghost on the Shore review

• Reviews by Johnny Nys
• Published:

Scenic narrative island adventure is haunted by poignant personal tragedy rather than fearful horrors

What would you do if you were suddenly washed ashore on an abandoned island? You’d probably feel terribly alone and afraid, but then what if you suddenly heard a strange, disembodied voice as well? This is what happens in Belgian developer like Charlie’s first-person exploration game Ghost on the Shore, a very different kind of ghost story in which you play a young woman named Riley, who becomes stranded with only the voice of an unseen ghost for company. There isn’t much in the way of traditional adventure gameplay, but through conversation and gathering collectibles on a short and linear excursion over nature trails, pathways between rocks and through century-old buildings left in ruins, you will begin piecing together the history of a forgotten place and its previous inhabitants in a heartfelt story about love, betrayal, jealousy and hubris.

Riley has left her life behind her by boat, in search of new beginnings. Unfortunately, as she sails the waters a storm surprises her and it takes all her strength to dock at the closest island. Even before she sets foot on land, a strange voice resounds around her – or is it in her head. Soon she learns it’s the voice of Josh, a former living inhabitant of Rogue Island who seems to still be trapped there as a ghost. The only problem is, Josh can’t remember anything from his past. He can only inform Riley that there are actually three islands: the bigger main island, smaller Little Rogue, and Dark Rogue. Riley takes it upon herself to go explore all three islands on the off chance she might find some information about who Josh is and what happened to him.

Ghost on the Shore unravels as a semi-linear story. As you move from region to region, there’s only ever one route to follow but you do have some open-world ability to explore each area freely. Entering a new region is introduced in the form of chapter titles at the top of the screen, like “Wild Rose Cabin” or “Pinewater Bay.” The terrain is quite hilly and rocky, with great vistas from lookout points, passageways through rock formations, and lots of sandy beaches. Most of the landscape, however, is densely overgrown with greenery and ponds, and there’s even a huge swamp. The islands also have some man-made buildings; many are now merely ruins, but others remain in good enough shape to search. There’s an old schoolhouse, a church, a boathouse, a bar, a lodge, and many more.

While there is no wildlife on the islands, they’re animated with birds flying through the sky (you can also notice their shadows on the ground) and insects swarming near bodies of water. The 3D environmental graphics aren’t photorealistic but attractive and detailed enough to make me forget I was playing a game. There are some great lighting effects involving the sun, as well as the moon when the story abruptly progresses into nighttime. The flow of time is also obvious with the tides: areas that were unreachable in the beginning will suddenly become available after you have progressed far enough.

There is little music to be heard, save for some guitar strings here and there. There are no prominent themes or dynamic shifts; the score remains low-key and unobtrusive throughout. You’ll mainly hear environmental sounds like the wind and Riley’s footsteps, buzzing insects, cawing gulls and creaking wood.

You can guide Riley around the islands with the keyboard/mouse combo or with a controller. There is a run button, but I didn’t notice much extra speed so I never really bothered with it. Items of interest in the environment are indicated by blue firefly-like bubbles. You can examine these items in close-up and rotate them in all directions to discover any writings or information they might contain. You will find plenty of notebooks, ledgers, newspapers, letters, photographs, drawings, but also toys and keys.

Keeping a journal of her experiences, Riley jots down notes about anything important she uncovers. She’ll also use the journal as a scrapbook to glue in news clippings. There are many collectibles you can find, and you’ll have to search thoroughly since you can finish the game without having unlocked them all. There are letters by the religious shepherd, Father Thomas, scattered across the islands and hidden in tin cans, as well as cassette tapes left by a mysterious previous visitor in glass jars. The islands have a smuggling history, so there are also liquor bottles to discover all over the place.

Riley is quite the artist too, and she can draw gorgeously detailed sketches of how she envisions the area appeared in the past, even including the people once living there. Designated places where she can perform a sketch are indicated by flowing blue lines hovering like fog just above the ground.

Ghost on the Shore

Genre:	Drama, Mystery
Presentation:	Realtime 3D
Theme:	Paranormal, Psychological, Team-up, Amnesia, Memories
Perspective:	First-Person
Gameplay:	Walking simulator, Choices matter, Exploration
Control:	Direct Control
Game Length:	Short (1-5 hours)
Difficulty:	Low
Graphic Style:	Simulated realism

I didn’t find all of the collectibles during my playthrough, but I did unlock all visions Riley has of the island dwellers, mainly of the wealthy Crown family suffering from internal feuds about – what else? – relationships. Unlike her sketches, these are actual scenes from the past, where blue ghosts interact with each other and tell part of their story, while Riley can only observe them from all angles. These visions occur whenever Riley sees glowing footsteps and then follows them to a corner of the island until she stumbles upon the scene in question.

There is one other ghost besides Josh you can interact with. Beatrice floats around the islands and can sometimes be engaged in conversation. She was the former schoolteacher, and comes across very stern, often dismissive, as well as standoffish when it comes to Josh. It was very clear to me that Beatrice harbored secrets of her own, and that it would be my task to make her spill the beans.

All these little clues to the islands’ history work to jog Josh’s memories. He starts filling in some blanks, connects some dots, and will slowly guide you along, thinking of new places to visit, new people to look into. But I found myself figuring things out even before the penny dropped for Josh and Riley. Some revelations were predictable, but thankfully there were still some surprises left at the end.

Ghost on the Shore is fully voiced, with Riley and Josh the leading characters. Josh’s voice has this ethereal echo to it, to reinforce that he’s speaking from the beyond. Their conversations can get very emotional, and their tones of voice always fit the dialogue choices you make: they can joke together, but they can also get angry and sad. Fear of the unknown is never far off, either, nor Riley’s anxiety of possibly having Josh stuck in her head forever. They often have to comfort each other depending on the discoveries they do or perhaps do not make.

Other voices belong to the female members of the Crown family: grandmother Cordelia, mother Nora and daughter Pixie, their actors effectively bringing out the tension between them. Father Thomas always sounds forlorn, and the woman leaving the tapes becomes more and more agitated as her journey across the Rogues starts to become very similar to Riley’s own.

Conversations with Josh are automatically initiated by the game itself as you progress in your hiking trip. Dialogue options appear around a circle in the middle of the screen with at least two and a maximum of four choices available. You can only ever pick one, so you’ll want to choose wisely since your behavior will influence the ending. There’s also a time limit to make your choice; letting it run out automatically leads to the top default option being selected.

While Riley often refers to herself and her own past, her part of the story remains a mystery throughout. In that regard, she is generally nothing more than a vessel, someone you use to uncover the story of the islands. Of course, it’s easy to understand her reluctance to suddenly pour out her life story to a complete stranger, and a ghost at that, but it would have been nice to discover some of her deeper motivations as well while Josh’s life story is slowly being unraveled. Perhaps I overlooked some optional details of her life, but I missed a more personal connection to our protagonist.

Ghost on the Shore features four different endings dependent on two factors: how you act during the finale, and how you behave throughout the game when talking to Josh. If you are a completionist and you missed any of the collectibles, this is even more incentive to start another playthrough. Since the game only has a checkpoint-based autosave, a replay is the only way to try for another ending as well. I reached my ending after four hours of gameplay, and the outcome saddened me. I didn’t consider it a very good ending, but apparently I failed to act accordingly during the game’s finale. The repercussions did fit the story, however, so I made peace with it, much as Riley did herself with her predicament. 

Final Verdict

Sadly, this will be the developer’s final game, as like Charlie has recently announced its closure and cancellation of future projects. But at least the studio left behind a pleasant adventure for those who occasionally just feel like going for a stroll in nature instead of solving difficult puzzles. Ghost on the Shore not only scratches that itch, but also lets you experience an engaging, supernatural story along the way. The first-person exploration is somewhat on the linear side, but with plenty of collectibles that encourage exploration, each one telling a little bit more of the islands’ troubled history. The banter between the two main characters is amusing, endearing, sometimes heartbreaking, with the constant tension of being stuck with each other but unable to fully help one another. It’s their relationship and the promise of uncovering more of the rich story of the past that keeps you going. This particular ghost on the shore was very much human once, with all the happiness and tragedies that comes with it, and it’s the emotional resonance of this tale that is sure to haunt you more deeply than any poltergeist. 

Johnny played his own copy of Ghost on the Shore on PC.