Gaming: PHASMOPHOBIA

Words by Gabriel Pe

Halloween may be over, but ghouls and ghosts don’t stay dead forever. At least they don’t in Phasmophobia, the horror survival game from Kinectic Games.

Phasmophobia was all the rage when it was released on Steam last September 2020. This new take on the horror survival genre has earned it the best debut game from the Game Awards back in December, and a nomination as VR Game of the Year in the 2020 Steam Awards. The game has also garnered an overwhelmingly positive review on Steam.

Ghost-busting extraordinaire

You play as paranormal investigators, exploring different maps for paranormal entities. You use different equipment to help you determine what type of ghost is haunting the location. You earn ingame cash for every evidence you get or objectives you finish. The cash you get can be used to buy new equipment or upgrade existing ones.

The main goal is to find out what type of phantom is haunting the map. Currently there 12 types of ghosts in the game. Each ghost has three distinct pieces of evidence which you find using the equipment given to you. You need to be vigilant as well, as the ghosts share two types of evidence that make the game much more exciting and challenging.

Night of living dead

What makes Phasmophobia great is that it keeps players on their toes. Maps range from a small townhouse to a massive insane asylum. Adding to that are the different attitudes of the different ghosts. Depending on their type, the ghost can be aggressive— showing themselves immediately to kill players, or they could be passive— haunting only late in the game.

Players also need to be wary of their sanity. Each time they are in the dark, alone, or see a haunting, their sanity is depleted. Players whose sanity reaches 0% will most likely be the next person to be haunted to death by the ghost in-game.

The game recognizes your microphone input and uses that as part of its mechanics. Equipment such as the Spirit Box, the Ouija board, and the notebook allow players to interact with the ghost by calling out to them in-game. The ghost can also hear the players through their mics even when they are running away or hiding from it, so try your best not to scream when the ghost is chasing you.

Sound is also the key when playing Phasmophobia. The developers have done a great job utilizing sounds to give an immersive environment. There is a creepy silence when players first step foot in a map, and subtle knocks and bumps of the ghost make it even more terrifying especially when played in the dark.

Never go to the dark alone

Phasmophobia is still in its early release, and the developers are still constantly pushing out new updates in the form of new maps and ghost models. Currently, the game has no single-player campaign, but you can still tackle it alone. However, the game is more fun and exciting when played with friends.

Playing with friends lets you do more in a game, such as assigning roles to make investigations faster. Players also carry over their own in-game cash and equipment when joining another player’s lobby, so they can share resources for the investigation.

Lastly, the game is just hilarious when you hear the deafening squeals and shrieks of your friends when the ghost suddenly appears.

Phasmophobia is a great new game to try out for your next virtual get-together. It is sure to give you the creeps and definitely the laughs when you and your friends live out your ghost-busting dreams.