Phasmophobia review: paranormal port of a prosperous PC game

It’s October, which means people around the world are getting ready for Halloween, one of my favourite nights of the year.

In spite of this there are very few horror games that genuinely take my interest. There needs to be a strong hook, like the night-vision horror of Outlast and the overly-intelligent xenomorph in Alien: Isolation. The hook for Phasmophobia was the premise of becoming a paranormal investigator, and partnering up with friends for a few nights of spooks and scares.

Check out the trailer for Phasmophobia below

I’ve been a bit enamoured with Phasmophobia since it first launched on PC, watching several playthroughs on YouTube. I love a game with options, and the assortment of gadgets, the number of spirits you can encounter, and the different settings all appealed to me even though I couldn’t play it myself.

Fortunately the game finally has an Xbox and PlayStation port, and for the most part it delivers the same experience as the PC version does.

Visually I don’t think Phasmophobia is much to look at. Textures are quite bland and the colours often feel muted, and sometimes random objects or surfaces would start stuttering even though they weren’t supposed to be moving. This wasn’t a ghost’s doing it was the game’s and while it didn’t affect my gameplay the visuals are off putting.

That said I can look past that as the game itself is very fun. My first few paranormal investigations were by myself, and personally I’d say this is the least ideal way to play Phasmophobia. The game requires the player to use an assortment of investigation equipment to search buildings, find the ghost that’s haunting it and narrow down what kind of spirit it is. There are multiple difficulties and loads of gadgets and gizmos to purchase with the money earned from investigations. There are also plenty of ghosts with their own behaviours and temperaments, so no two investigations are the same.

Playing by yourself gives you, in my opinion, the scariest overall experience but also the most tedious.

Phasmophobia- Credit Kinetic Games

Creeping my way through a dark estate having light bulbs explode and things thrown at me was spooky. Spending too long in the dark decreases your sanity, making it more likely a ghost will materialise and try to kill you, but you can escape the encounter by finding a hiding place. If you’re booting up Phasmophobia for the sole purpose of being frightened, solo play will definitely appeal to you, but there is a catch.

The aim of the game is to narrow down what kind of ghost you’re dealing with, and to do that you need to use all sorts of equipment like thermometers, video cameras, EMF readers etc. You can only carry three pieces of equipment at a time, so when investigating alone you’re doing a lot of backtracking to the truck to get your other gear.

Now it’s a different experience when playing with your friends. More players means more hands to hold stuff, and more bodies to experiment in the rooms and narrow down the search. While it’s not so much easier, it does make a difference. What you’re losing with multiplayer is the spooks though, as while it still has that eerie vibe and occasional jumpscare the company definitely lightens the mood. Watching your friend get their neck snapped by an angry spirit only to scribble “must be a Jinn” into your notebook is pure comedy to me, as is watching them panic from the safety of the truck outside.

Obviously this will probably differ from group to group, as if you’ve got a full team of scaredy-cats it’ll likely be a peak horror experience, but for the more goofy players out there this game will give you some good laughs. That’s not a criticism at all either, games are all about making your own fun and Phasmophobia is no exception.

Kinetic Games

As far as I can tell there’s nothing really different about the console version of Phasmophobia. Personally I would have liked to see some new content added, whether it be a new location or a new type of ghost. The game also differs from the PC version with voice recognition. In the PC version players could speak into the microphone and ask the spirit questions, inciting a reaction and more evidence to jot down. The game could actually understand what was being said or asked, but in the console version it just identifies your words as a sound you're making, not the actual phrase you’re saying.

I don’t think this is a dealbreaker, as I’m just happy I’ve finally been able to play this game after so many months of waiting. The game will also feature crossplay with the PC version which is fantastic news and in my opinion essential for multiplayer games nowadays.

The console port of Phasmophobia could have been a little bit more, but in many ways it’s exactly what it needed to be. How you play it will come down to personal preference and how many friends you have who also own a copy of the game, but if you’re a fan of spooks, scares and a little bit of silliness I’d say this is a game for you.

Pros: Can be genuinely scary at times, can be equally hilarious at times, plenty of progression, investigative gameplay is engaging

Cons: Visuals needed a touch-up, no new content added, some removed features

For fans of: Dead By Daylight, Outlast Trials, Lethal Company

7/10: Very Good

Phasmophobia launches on 29 October for PlayStation 5 (version tested), PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. Review code was provided by the publisher. Read a guide to our review scores here.