Developer Friday Sundae’s There Are No Ghosts at the Grand is a first-person narrative-driven game that blends cozy, spooky, and musical elements together with an equal variety of genres to boot.
Game Rant recently saw a preview of There Are No Ghosts at the Grand in action. The game sees protagonist Chris David inherit a dilapidated English hotel from his father, who is currently missing. He is tasked with restoring it by day while battling ghosts by night, all in service of uncovering a deeper, supernatural plot.
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There Are No Ghosts at the Grand is a Unique Blend of Genres
There Are No Ghosts at the Grand has plenty of tricks up its sleeve to keep the player engaged throughout. Refurbishing the hotel takes the player from room to room, using seven unique power tools that can clean, move, or repurpose furniture. The tools are accompanied by a talkative AI companion who guides the player through the process of using them.
Players will need to choose which rooms from the huge hotel they want to focus on, and they only have 30 days and 30 nights to get the job done before it’s too late. Rather than this simply being a time-limit-type mechanic, however, it also serves as a plot device. Once this time is up, players will experience one of several different endings.
The game won’t just be confined to The Grand Hotel. The player will also be able to explore the small fictional village of Kingswood-on-Sea in which the hotel is located, meeting and interacting with a variety of NPCs on its streets as they unlock more secrets. There are activities like a mini-golf course to engage with, and players can even visit the beach and take a small boat out to coves dotted around the shore or pull up treasure from the ocean’s depths with the boat’s winch.
There Are No Ghosts at the Grand Offers a Fresh Take on the Protagonist Dynamic
There Are No Ghosts at the Grand puts a different spin on the typical video game protagonist, making things much more interesting. While players will play Chris David, he can’t be trusted and has his own agenda. Often the camera will pan back to him after cut scenes to find him hiding something or quickly throwing a piece of paper away, with his motives being unclear to the player.
This dynamic complicates things, leaving players in a situation where they don’t know who to trust, as David himself turns out to be a rather unreliable narrator. The hotel’s colorful cast of characters, including a talking cat and a grizzled war veteran, further flesh out the story with a new character unlocking each time the player finishes renovating a room. As the story progresses, players can piece together clues on an interactive crime board that will help them unravel the mystery of what is really going on at The Grand.
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There Are No Ghosts at the Grand Features Numerous Original Songs Performed by Characters
Each character the player unlocks will perform their own introductory song, which is where the game’s musical elements come to the fore. Several of these songs will be interactive, and each has been impressively recorded by the studio’s in-house team of musicians. At its core, the game is about people and their purpose, and the catchy songs will reflect that.
Night Time Turns There Are No Ghosts At the Grand Into Something Different
At night, the game completely changes. It seems The Grand is being haunted by something, and there will be plenty of supernatural forces for the player to contend with once the sun goes down. Thankfully, though, the very same power tools that the player uses during daytime refurbishment can be utilized to take down ghosts and ghouls too. Whether it’s a vacuum used to suck up ghosts or paint used to expose them, each tool is a vital weapon in the player’s arsenal.
It should be noted that combat is definitely not the game’s focal point. Enemy damage cannot kill the player, and there are plenty of ways to avoid confrontation with The Grand’s unwanted guests. As players explore, they can find nooks and crannies to escape these and lead them to new interactions. The Grand is filled with secret passageways and hidden doors to uncover, some of which can involve some light environmental puzzles. Players are able to move between night and day at the press of a button, with the narrative driving the action forward at pace.
There Are No Ghosts at the Grand is coming to PC and Xbox Series X/S in 2026, with additional platforms to be announced later. The game will be available on Xbox Game Pass on day one when it releases next year.