There Are No Ghosts at the Grand | Hands-on Preview

During Gamescom in August, I was lucky enough to play the demo of There Are No Ghosts at the Grand. I was given the build on Steam to play through again, and first-time developer Friday Sundae has something special here. You are an American who has been left an old hotel, The Grand, in England. It’s part house flipper, Spray Paint simulator, PowerWash Simulator, and mystery game, and I love what I have played so far.

My first time through this demo took roughly half an hour, as I skipped ahead in line at Gamescom and felt terrible about it. I was given the demo by Anil Glendinning, the game’s Director. Friday Sundae is a new studio, full of recent University graduates. The game had only been worked on for roughly a year and a half before being debuted at Xbox’s June Showcase.

There are No Ghosts at the Grand is coming to Game Pass Day One in the latter half of 2026. Securing that deal was a whirlwind of submitting it to ID@Xbox, obtaining approval and funding, and then being awarded both a slot in the June Showcase and spots at Xbox’s Gamescom booth.

The game itself is a multi-genre renovation mystery game. Your trusty sentient Scottish all-in-one tool can paint walls, put up wallpaper, clean areas, spit things back out exactly where they need to go, break furniture, create furniture from nothing, and more. The game has a wicked sense of humor and a penchant for breaking out into song.

Every odd thing that happens is a real part of the game world.  People around here just bust out into song with singing voices that I don’t think match their regular VO. The demo allowed us to play through a roughly thirty-minute portion of the game, which seemed to be a short way in from the beginning.

Our character is renovating The Grand Hotel after having it left to him. The locals aren’t happy, feeling the renovation is ‘killing The Grand’. I used my all-in-one tool to do a bit of fixing up before riding a moped to a boat, which I then took to an island.  I was in full control of the driving, and everything felt solid.

I’ve recorded my entire time on my PC & this build ran a lot worse than the one at Gamescom. I love TANGATG’s art style. It’s colorful, cartoony, and fits the classic British humor on offer.

It remains to be seen how this genre-mashing affair will turn out. For now, though, please enjoy the video embedded above as it will give you an unedited 20+ minute look at the game in action.