Phasmophobia Review [Early Access - Oct 2020]

 

*Contains Spoilers*

An Exciting and Terrifying Paranormal Experience I recently sat down with friends to try Phasmophobia for the first time. As a long-time lover of the paranormal, a game that offers players the ability to take on the role of ghost hunters in locations across the United States was too good to pass up. Now, more than 18 hours of gameplay and tons of scares later, I can say with certainty this is a must-play for anyone looking for a good group horror game. While players can certainly tackle the game by themselves, I have found that the more friends you have at your side (up to 4 players currently), the more fun will be had. Getting started as a paranormal investigator is made easy with the tutorial, which teaches players about the basic ghost hunting equipment at their disposal. Once players have a grasp on what is expected, it’s time to jump into an investigation. There are a handful of locations available to amateur players and each one, even replayed, offers new experiences and scares. Players start out by reviewing each hunt’s objectives, which vary from capturing a photo or temperature change to stopping an entity from hunting team members. Amateur players will start out with basic equipment, but as they solve cases and gather evidence, they will be able to afford additional units and a variety of other items to aid in paranormal investigation. Some of the equipment players use include EMF detectors, motion sensors, infrared thermometers, and video cameras. When the players enter the location, they will have a brief window of time to try to locate the room(s) in which the activity is occurring. Any evidence gathered can help investigators narrow down the type of entity they may be dealing with, ranging from a regular spirit to a demon or jinn. Every entity is dangerous, but some are significantly more dangerous than others. When the setup window has concluded, the entity will now be able to manifest itself and attack the player and their team, and the more players taunt and interact with it, the more aggressive it will become. Violent entities may eventually hunt players, who will be forced to hide or be killed. The use of voice in the game is one of the most charming things about it. Players using in-game communications can talk to each other and the entity using a walkie talkie, and if the entity is hunting a player, it can hear and be drawn to sounds generated from the walkie which could spell out a player’s demise. The teams I have been a part of have opted to use a combination of Discord and in-game comms so we can hear each other at all times, no matter where we are, without the need for push-to-talk and it has led to some incredibly tense and spooky moments. Once players have gathered enough information, they should be able to determine what kind of entity they are dealing with and cash in their findings for a paycheck. The more evidence gathered, the bigger the paycheck. The information in the investigator’s journal will help players narrow down the possibilities. Higher difficulties offer larger paychecks but less safeguards such as setup time or insurance in the case of the player’s untimely demise. Even though the game is currently in Early Access on Steam, it has been a delight to play and I have encountered very few issues, all of which have been minor. There are a few aspects of the game which I feel could be adjusted, such as the player’s movement speed which, currently, is pretty slow, but overall, the Phasmophobia is a successfully thrilling game that will delight horror fans and the occasional scare-seeker alike. A few features and suggestions for the developer I have gathered from my community on Twitch (some of which may already be in development) include:

• Faster movement speed so players can explore larger locations and set up equipment with a bit more ease.
• More inventory slots so players can carry more pieces of gear at one time.
• The flashlight not occupying an inventory slot, but being a piece of equipment players carry by default.
• More locations to investigate over a range of countries.
• A little more articulation of characters’ movements.
• Adjusting the hitboxes of characters and entities so they are unable to kill the player through a nearby wall.
• The ability to use evidence captured on video cameras and head cams towards the investigation payout.
• Player “possession” consisting of involuntary movements for a brief time.
• An eventual console release.

We look forward to following Phasmophobia as it evolves! [Lady played Phasmophobia on PC with a mouse and keyboard]