Lorian V is a place of myth and legend that many have attempted to explore and from which few have returned. There are numerous theories about what this moon actually is, but the most important thing to know about it is that when people end up there the result always seems to be the same. Death. The moon is haunted by the souls of its victims; ghosts who linger on while their twisted bodies roam, no more than empty vessels of chaos and aggression.
Ghost Song is a Metroidvania exploration horror game developed by Old Moon and published by Humble Games. The player takes the role of a member of the crew of The Gambler, a space vessel which has crash landed on Lorian V, a hostile moon haunted by the ghosts of those who had been trapped there. Armed with only the Deadsuit, the player must solve the mysteries of Lorian V and rescue the other members of the Gambler's crew.
There's just the matter of all the dead people trying to kill you.
The game was funded
on Kickstarter in September 2013 and released in November 2022.
Not to be confused with an actual ghost singing.
Ghost Song contains examples of the following tropes:
- A.I. Is a Crapshoot:
- Rook was once the protector of the Captain's daughter, but he was damaged in the crash.
- In the first gameplay trailer, a robot named Adam has been standing guard for his master's party... for the past seventy years. He quickly becomes hostile to the protagonist when she tries to go in without a gift.
- Affectionate Nickname: Roper refers to the Deadsuit as 'Blue'. Saymund picks up on it during their first conversation, referring to her as 'Little Blue' on occasion.
- Ambidextrous Sprite: Averted. The protagonist's gun stays on her left arm at all times.
- Ambiguously Human: The protagonist in the Dead Suit is assumed to be human by the human crew of the Gambler, yet she never takes them up on their "hot shower and meal" offer. When she finds an android on the ship, the android offers to check to see if the protagonist is a robot, which she declines. The way she barely seems to be aware of basic concepts leaves a lot up in the air as to whether it's a suit with a person in it or just a suit walking around on its own. Notably both starship A.I.s that interact with the protagonist see her as a fellow ship rather than a passenger. The secret ending implies that the protagonist is the ghost of Charley, piloting the suit.
- Arm Cannon: The protagonist has one as her left hand. It seems fairly standard for human (or formerly human) enemies
- Badass Cape / Scarf of Asskicking: The Protagonist wears something that's a little in between, a red poncho.
- Big Creepy-Crawlies: They inhabit the Bug Tunnels. The average ones are heavily armored, and we see a boss one the size of a truck in the Kickstarter pitch video.
- Bittersweet Ending: The Deadsuit is able to convince Construct to switch off the static field, even for a short while, allowing her friends to escape Lorain V. However, she takes massive damage in the process and succumbs to her wounds after saying her goodbyes to Roper or Pasha, depending on whether the player has been to a certain area or not.
- Blood Knight: Crusher Dolly revels in battle, gaining much pleasure out of trying to smash the Deadsuit to paste. Even after she's defeated and strung up on a tree, she replays memories of the fight to amuse herself.
- Body Horror:
- The zombies are... melty looking. It's not pleasant. And that really is the least of it.
- People who die on Lorain V rapidly have trees grow out of them when they die. Crusher Dolly is unfortunate enough to still be aware of her situation, even post-defeat.
- Broke Your Arm Punching Out Cthulhu: Taking to Saymund enough times will reveal part of the truth as to why Lorain V is so messed up. A great worm known as Muss-Gornah lives inside the star, devouring the ghosts of those who die. A man named Jezicoe attempted to slay it by splitting himself into three beings; Saymund, Construct and his ghost. The ghost, unable to be devoured completely, has paused the worm's hunger by wounding it severely. However, it still lived, and in retaliation for this 'crime', the Beings of Wilful Ascension set the Roslock, the Stalkers and Bounty Hunters upon Lorian V in order to either bring it to heel or rob the moon of life. Construct and Saymund saw off these threats, but are at a loss as to how to finish Muss-Gornah off, and without their ghost, unable to do anything but perform the same tasks over and over again. The worst part? It's not even the only worm living inside a star.
- Closed Circle: The Gambler's crash-landing makes any attempt to escape impossible, especially since the static field will knock out any ship trying to leave atmosphere as well as enter.
- The Corruption: The Roslocks infect the very air around them, transmitting a virus that settles into anyone unfortune enough to breathe it in. While they live, it slows the mind and chips away at the personality, making the victim's thoughts 'sticky'. Upon their death and the departure of their ghost, the virus takes control of the body as a new weapon.
- Cyber Cyclops: The protagonist's suit gives her the appearance of one of these.
- Dash Attack: It can be used for navigation, or in conjunction with an ability in order to make armored enemies vulnerable.
- Evil Counterpart: The Dead Suit wearing bounty hunters, who may not be evil, but definitely in it for themselves. Defeating them gives the player a choice to kill or spare them, as well as their weapons.
- Expy:
- The Deadsuit for Metroid's Power Suit.
- On that note, Rook is one for SA-X.
- The author says Saymund of Ayon 9 is one for Siegmeyer of Caterina.
- The Rostock have a certain similarity to The Flood, being a parasitic fungal race that reanimate the corpses of those they kill.
- Face–Heel Turn: Rook starts the game as the player's friend and protector. It doesn't last.
- The Hero Dies: The Deadsuit is powerless in the face of Construct, who shuts her down without a care. However, she is able to convince him to turn off the static field, so that the Gambler might escape.
- Implacable Man: As a combat android, Rook is a lot stronger than the powered armored protagonist. This means the best option is generally to run.
- Losing Your Head: Mabec, a vendor in Norberg Laboratory has been reduced to just her head after an unknown incident. She's selling useful modules to earn enough money to hire a hunter to relocate her body.
- Mercy Kill: Really, any kill is a mercy, but special mention goes to Matilda. You can hear them crying as they fight, and the fight ends with them being impaled by a tree growing out of their body
- Metroidvania: With a heavy leaning toward the Metroid side of the equation.
- Our Ghosts Are Different: They stick around until their physical remains are destroyed, and are most definitely not friendly.
- Our Zombies Are Different: They walk around because they are searching for their ghosts, and look like they've been around for a while.
- Precursors: They built ancient ruins under the surface of the moon. Whether they were abusive or benevolent remains to be seen, but judging by what's going on on the moon it's leaning towards the former.
- Recurring Boss:
- Henriette, fought both in the Junkpit and Roslock Drift Gamma.
- Rook, in the style of SA-X.
- Old Singer leaps in and out of the Six-Finger Woods, repeatedly challenging the Deadsuit.
- Robot Buddy: Dizzy, who follows the player around and acts as Saymund's mouthpiece for giving out lore and other information.
- Scenery Porn: Despite, or because of, the ruin inflicted upon it, Lorain V has an incredibly beautiful yet haunting air about it, so long as you're not in a Roslock Drift.
- Stringy-Haired Ghost Girl: More like stringy haired ogre girl. Old Singer, a boss encountered in the Six-Finger Woods, has a mass of slack black hair that obscures her face.
- Was Once a Man: Lorian V is a graveyard of wrecked ships. Their former occupants never left.
