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There Are No Ghosts at the Grand is One of the Most Unique Games of 2026 (Preview)

There Are No Ghosts at the Grand is looking to come out sometime later this year and make a mark with its zany, surreal musical numbers and spooky ghost story.

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Perhaps one of the year’s most eccentric-looking games is There are No Ghosts at the Grand, the musical renovation ghost story from independent UK developer Friday Sundae. It’s the team’s very first game, and I got to go hands-on with No Ghosts to get a taste of what’s really going on in its small English town filled with singing, dancing locals. I also spoke with the game’s writer and creative director, Anil Glendinning, who provided some insight into the game’s wacky antics.

Story takes precedent in there are no ghosts at the grand

My short time in There Are No Ghosts at the Grand began within the Grand Hotel itself where I was tasked with renovating a small room on the first floor. Light poured through the windows, and the game’s talking paintbrush mascot, McBrushy, who inhabited a small screen on the renovation tool I had in my hands, talked me through how to use each tool. Sandblasting wallpaper, spraying paint, and moving couches in the room filled up progress meters in the top left corner of the screen.

Suddenly, in the middle of renovating, I received a phone call from one of the town’s locals, Maddie, who asked me to meet her outside the front of the Grand. My renovations weren’t yet complete, but I decided to drop what I was doing to see what she wanted. It became clear to me in that moment that this game’s story is given a slightly higher degree of importance than its renovation tasks, which can be interrupted by story moments or characters who might pull you away from completing them. Glendinning confirmed that if I wanted to, I would’ve been able to stick around and wrap up the renovation before moving on and meeting up with Maddie.

“Not everyone wants to spend a lot of time renovating and decorating a room and creating an environment… But some players really love........

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