Image via Friday Sundae
Since it was first announced, I’ve been curious about There Are No Ghosts at the Grand. The game comes from indie studio Friday Sundae, and it’s blending the joy of renovation/decorating games with a bit of a ghost story. Oh, and did I mention it’s also a musical? This “decorate by day, ghost hunter by night” game is just weird enough to be a hit. And I recently got to spend some hands-on time with the game thanks to the new, extended Steam Next Fest demo.
There Are No Ghosts at the Grand is a first-person simulation game. As such, I was a little hesitant to try it. I’m prone to motion sickness with these kinds of games. Thankfully, that doesn’t seem to be too much of an issue here, perhaps because the art style isn’t going for too hyper-realistic. So, I was able to enjoy my time playing through the sample chapters in the demo. There’s a lot to like here, but far and away, I could not get enough of one MacBrushy, the “helpful” assistant embedded in your multi-tool.
What You’ll Get Out of the No Ghosts at the Grand Demo
Before I wax poetic about Microsoft Word and the delightful character of MacBrushy, let’s cover the basics. The demo for There Are No Ghosts at the Grand now includes 3 sample missions from the first chapter of the game. These give you a pretty good feel for the overall gameplay loop, which combines restoration tasks with various in-game quests. You’ll use your multi-tool to restore The Grand, but it also comes in handy as you explore the game world and interact with its characters.
Because the demo comprises chapters from within the game, there’s a bit of backstory and context missing. Even so, I found myself sinking right into restoring The Grand and tidying up various spaces. The demo even gives you a taste of the game’s unique status as a musical. For me, the musical number felt a bit random as it currently opens up, but I’m guessing these will be more naturally integrated in the full game. If you’ve been curious about There Are No Ghosts at the Grand, I’m pretty confident the demo will give you a good idea of whether this one is for you or not. After playing it, I’m left eager to see more from the game. But most especially, from the character I’ve decided is the star of the show: MacBrushy.
There Are No Ghosts at the Grand Throws It Back to Microsoft Word’s Early Days With Spot-On Humor
It may be a ghost-hunting game and renovation simulator, but at its core, There Are No Ghosts at the Grand strives to capture the magic of musical theater. And as part of that magic, Friday Sundae has recruited an impressive cast of voice talent to bring its characters to life. Along with big names in video games like Ben Starr, that cast includes one Billy Boyd, who you may know as Pippin from The Lord of the Rings. I was already excited to see that he had a role in the game, but after experiencing his character firsthand, I am all in.
As a cringe millennial who has dreamed of being a writer basically since she held a pencil, I spent a lot of time in Microsoft Word. So I am very familiar with Clippy, the “helpful” little paperclip with eyeballs that would pop up and offer assistance with various tasks. Its catchphrase was basically, “It looks like you’re [insert word processing task here]. Would you like some help with that?” And it is this forgotten, more benign AI assistant that Boyd channels for his character, MacBrushy. Aka my new hero.
Having a multi-tool embedded with a Clippy-style assistant is precisely my brand of humor. Though I got plenty of enjoyment out of the story and gameplay, nothing made me laugh as hard as MacBrushy. Lines like “Well hello there! It looks like you’re about to be attacked by horrific beats of unknown origins. Would you like some help with that?” had me in absolute stitches. It’s a clever way to infuse some humor into the game’s tutorial elements, while also creating a nice stream of dialogue even when our main character is by himself. The humor is spot-on, and it charmed me as much as the game’s creative combination of gameplay elements and musical numbers.
I’ll admit I went into the demo unsure if I was going to like this game. It’s got the tinge of horror, which can go too far for me, and the first-person perspective, which can send me straight to migraine land. But now, I’m fully invested in seeing where this story goes. If for no other reason than because I need more MacBrushy in my life.
The demo for There Are No Ghosts at the Grand is available for free right now as part of Steam Next Fest. The game will launch in Early Access via Steam this December, with the full first chapter available for players. Chapters 2 and 3 are set to release in 2027 to continue the story.
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