From humbug to hero.
Ebenezer and the Invisible World is a Metroidvania game developed by Play On Worlds and Orbit Studios. It is based off the beloved classic A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. The game released on PC and consoles November 3, 2023. A demo is currently available on Steam.
When London is beset by the industrialist Caspar Malthus and his militant army, the only hope for the city is, of all people, a reformed Ebenezer Scrooge. Aided and empowered by a gang of friendly spirits, Scrooge must not only fight off Malthus' forces, but an army of unrepentant ghosts as well. Along the way, Scrooge endeavors to learn why Caspar is the way he is in the hopes he can reach him where the Ghosts of Christmas could not.
Previews: Announcement trailer
, Launch trailer.
“Expect the first trope when the bell tolls one!”
- Adaptational Attractiveness: This version of Ebenezer Scrooge is a handsome and gracefully aged Silver Fox, in sharp contrast to most traditional depictions of him being a homely and decrepit-looking curmudgeon.
- Adaptational Badass: This game's Scrooge is a superb athlete and combatant blessed with supernatural powers, a far cry from the original Dickens novel's feeble and powerless old man.
- Air-Dashing: One ability bestowed by the ghosts upon Scrooge is an air-dash.
- All for Nothing: One version of Casper's future had him waste away his whole life trying to invent the device that would wipe out the working class, and he eventually completed it too. But moments after it came to fruition, Future-Casper croaked right on the spot, causing the device to fall out of his hands and shatter. This trope would've convinced Caspar to give up on his goal, had it not been for the mysterious fourth spirit.
- Big Bad: Gaius Malthus, the spirit of Caspar's father, causes the plot by interfering with the Ghosts' visions and coercing his son to build the machine of 'progress'.
- Cane Fu: Scrooge uses his cane to combat enemies.
- Chained by Fashion: The unrepentant ghosts are each shown with the chains they forged in life somewhere on their person.
- Cool Old Guy: Players control the older but still-capable Ebenezer Scrooge, still capable of fighting off enemies as a younger man would be.
- Coup de Grâce Cutscene: After the final boss, everyone else works together to finish Gaius off, especially Caspar and Lilian.
- Exposition Break: Whenever Scrooge comes across a new character they will launch into an extremely long speech detailing their tragic backstory. Lilian Malthus takes the cake, though: when we meet her she is (cough) a frail old lady who (wheeze) can barely talk and (gasp) seems on the verge of death until (choke) she begins recounting her tale, whereupon her illness is forgotten and she goes into a thesaurus-taxing tirade that spans several text boxes with nary a pause for breath.
- Holiday Motif: Naturally for a game based on one of the seminal Christmas stories. The UI for menus and maps being decorated with snow and holly for a very old-time Christmas feel.
- Introdump: Eric explains the Malthus family history, his own backstory, and his failed redemption attempt with Caspar at the start of the game in a speech that takes about 8 minutes to tell in full.
- Irony: The game depicts Scrooge as a gracefully aging silver fox, while Caspar's future self looks more like an approximation of a book-accurate Scrooge.
- Manipulative Bastard: Gaius Malthus manipulates Caspar into doing his dirty work by telling him what he saw was only a potential future, then exploiting their family relationship. Fittingly, his boss fight has him handling puppet strings.
- Meaningful Name: Caspar Malthus is named after Thomas Malthus. A man who solidified a lot of Britain's Kill the Poor policies, particularly towards the Irish.
- Personal Space Invader: The Jester Jack enemies will cling to Ebenezer and do damage over time unless he knocks them off.
- A Winner Is You: Defeating the final boss cuts right to the credits after the cutscene, followed by a congratulatory message.
- Yet Another Christmas Carol: Defied in the backstory. Caspar Malthus was visited by the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come just as Scrooge had been. However, just after seeing his future self, a fourth ghost showed up and assured Malthus that his tragic fate—where he created a device capable of purging London's workers and died immediately afterwards—was only a potential future. Then gave Malthus the means of creating the MacGuffin without having to waste his whole life doing so. This in turn leads Malthus to discard what he learned from the other ghosts and set the game's plot into motion.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Victor Malthus always tried to please his father Gaius, but after his death his memory was cast aside and forgotten as Gaius turned his attentions to Caspar.
