[Review] “Phasmophobia” On PC
Phasmophobia was made by Kinetic Games and is absolutely terrifying. This horror game puts you and up to three other players in a creepy abandoned location where you have complete numerous objectives to finish the investigation. That sounds pretty easy, and it would be if you didn’t have a ghost trying to kill you the whole time. This game also supports VR, which makes it even more scary.
There isn’t a distinct plot to this game; it’s more of completing the objectives so you can correctly identify the ghost. There are numerous types of ghosts in the game and they include:
- Spirit
- Wraith
- Phantom
- Poltergeist
- Banshee
- Jinn
- Mare
- Revenant
- Shade
- Demon
- Yurei
- Oni
Each ghost has three specific things you will have to find in order to determine what ever ghost you’re dealing with. You will earn XP and cash based on the objectives you completed during the level. You can use the cash to purchase equipment that will help you look for the paranormal. The XP allows you to level up and when you level, you will unlock more equipment to use in you investigations. The investigations have different difficulties.
For a game still in it’s early alpha stages of development, the visuals are pretty nice. They aren’t perfect by any means, but the developers are doing great so far. There are some moments when the frame will drop, but I think it depends entirely on your specs since this is PC game; I played this game using a Radeon 5600 XT graphics card with a Ryzen 5 processor. Like I’ve said before, this game is still early in it’s alpha stage, so it’s too early to really criticize it’s visuals.
The controls for the game aren’t very complicated and work with the game. A,W,S, and D are you keys to walk with and you can press the left shift key to move slightly faster. Having a flashlight is highly recommended and the cool thing is that you can have it equipped while using other tools by simply pressing T. Obviously you will use your mouse to look around on PC and you can even adjust the sensitivity to whatever you feel comfortable with. You right click on the mouse to whatever tool you have equipped. Moving around in this game can pretty slow, but it makes for some pretty scary ghost chases.
The music is pretty good, it keeps the game intense and full of suspense. Everything is nice and peaceful while you’re in the van going the objectives and getting your tools, but as soon as you step foot into the building, the tone completely changes. The game’s other sounds are also very nice and help give the game it’s terrifying feel. It’s really creepy when you’re walking down a hallway and then a random phone starts ringing in the distance or when a door randomly slams shut behind you. There is a lot scary stuff in this game, but it’s music and other sound effects are what make it so scary. Also, when you’re a room and you suddenly start hearing this groaning sound behind you, do not turn around.
There is a ton replay value in Phasmophobia. Even though most of the missions have the same map, each ghost you’re looking presents a different challenge. Plus, it’s always fun seeing your friends get really scared and run away from the ghost.
Overall, Phasmophobia is a great game to play, especially if you have other friends to play it with. It’s a really scary game that will have you paranoid through the entire investigation. The sounds and music are really impressive and help create a fantastic horror feel to it. If you have a PC, I definitely recommend trying this game out.
