2020 saw the release of many popular, well-loved games, including Phasmophobia, a psychological horror ghost-hunting evidence-collecting game. Released in early access on September 19th on Steam, and later ported to consoles.
Phasmophobia is considered one of the most influential games in this genre, with many similar games following its release. Kinetic Games, the developer and publisher, is an independent studio based in the United Kingdom. Initially, they built the game using Unity assets, but they have since replaced them with their own. The 2026 Roadmap for Phasmophobia outlines upcoming updates, including the full release of the game, which many have been eagerly awaiting.
Hunt or be Hunted
Phasmophobia starts with choosing your item loadout in the lobby. Once that is done, you load into a map, and the hunt begins. Upon entering the location, you find the ghost, gather evidence with equipment, complete optional objectives, and use the cursed object if you want – some cheeky people enjoy doing this to start an early hunt on their teammates.
While doing this, the ghost will perform events, such as apparitions and sounds, interact with items, and hunt, trying to kill you. To combat this, there are hiding and looping places, and incense to repel the ghost briefly. Once you have gathered the evidence and know the ghost type, you head back to the van to leave and find out if you are correct.
Phasmophobia currently has twenty-seven ghost types, many named after folklore from different countries or other words for “ghost.” Each of these ghosts has three specific pieces of evidence from EMF 5, D.O.T.S. projector, ultraviolet light, ghost orbs, ghost writing, freezing temperatures, and spirit box. However, The Mimic is an exception with ghost orbs as a fourth piece of fake evidence.
There are currently fourteen maps to explore and hunt ghosts on – seven small, five medium, and two large maps. These include family homes, farmhouses, campsites, a diner, high school, lighthouse, prison, and a psychiatric hospital (formerly the Asylum, later replaced by Sunny Meadows).
The different difficulty levels and settings also add some variety to Phasmophobia; whether it’s less sanity, items, evidence, or friendly ghosts, there is something suitable for all players. Many content creators and communities have created challenges around these settings, which adds further fun and chaotic intensity.
Creative and Chaotic Events
Kinetic Games also creates events for Phasmophobia, often tied to celebrations such as Easter, April Fools ‘ Day, Halloween, and Christmas. Past events have included finding chocolate eggs and bunnies, lighting jack-o’-lanterns, following cauldron recipes, and shooting snowmen with snowball guns.
The developers also added the apocalypse challenge, a difficult RNG solo run on Sunny Meadows with no sanity, no evidence, and limited equipment. While the game has a consistent player base, events like these also bring people back, especially trophy hunters, since there are in-game trophies for them.
Artistic Vision
Visually, Phasmophobia has a semi-realistic vibe, with houses and other locations featuring clutter and varied visual interactions. The maps are dimly lit, adding to the game’s eeriness. The smaller details add to the vibes, whether it’s seeing your breath near the ghost, candles flickering, fog, blood spatter, household projectiles, and, of course, ghost apparitions.
As mentioned earlier, Phamophobia was initially made up of Unity bought assets, which is why you may recognise these from other games. There’s nothing wrong with using these assets, but as Phasmophobia and Kinetic Games have grown, the team has been working towards their vision for the game. Many of the old maps hold a nostalgic appeal for me, but the updated maps are visually stunning and enhance the game. The level of detail the art team has gone to really makes each map feel its own and sets the game apart from other ghost-hunting games. Kinetic Games is expanding on lore with these new maps, and I am excited to see the upcoming Willow rework.
While writing this article, the Phasmophobia character and cosmetic update was released. The characters now have names and backstories, are higher quality than the previously bought assets, plus there are more options. Cosmetics include clothes, hats, glasses, and jewellery, with further additions to come. Most of the cosmetics have to be unlocked with in-game currency, but there are some starter options and colours to choose from. As someone who loves to customise characters, I definitely want to play more with this update.
Auditorily Unsettling
Phasmophobia has varying levels of sound throughout the game, which creates unsettling and jump-scare moments. The silent stillness around you, aside from your footsteps, is suddenly broken by a ghostly scream. Hearing your heartbeat and heavy breathing as the ghost is chasing you with your limited stamina, or hiding in a closet, hoping the ghost won’t open it. I’m not a fan of the heavy-breathing sound (heck, misophonia, lmao), but I do acknowledge that it adds to the game’s intensity. Knowing that you are out of breath, moving more slowly, and that anything could happen is intense. I’ve certainly felt my heart go faster while playing.
The spirit box also gets a special mention, as the ghost responses are actually content creators’ voices – this is one of many ways the developers have included Kinetic Games Partners in the game.
Controls and Performance
There are a reasonable amount of controls, and they can be modified in settings. I haven’t had any issues with the controls when playing with a mouse and keyboard, but some people have reported that playing with a controller is awkward, especially on console.
One issue with Phasmophobia is that it is not well optimised, so even with a good graphics card, many people have experienced performance issues. This is probably my main issue with the game, as while I do not have performance issues with most games, I find Phasmophobia can lag and run quite slowly – especially when loading in. I hope that Phasmophobia will be better optimised in the future.
Virtual Reality
Phasmophobia is one of the few ghost-hunting games that have VR. I haven’t tried Phasmophobia in VR, but many people have praised its immersion, saying it’s much scarier to play. VR has also been noted to pose challenges with door mechanics and hiding from the ghost, increasing the risk of getting caught. Personally, the VR jump scares would likely be too much for me, but they would certainly make for a good laugh.
Accessibility Features
TYG is always interested in accessibility features that make games more inclusive. Phasmophobia has a text-based UI for the spirit box and Ouija board, an addition that I have found helpful, as I generally do not talk. The game strongly relies on verbal communication with your teammates, though using items and movements in-game to communicate can work too. Perhaps including in-game text chat or text-to-speech (which would also alert the ghost to your location during hunts, etc.) would be a nice addition.
Phasmophobia also offers stereo and mono audio options to accommodate various hearing needs. Regarding future accessibility options, Kinetic Games has been working on a colour-blind mode, which is currently in internal testing, according to their Trello. Features like these are great to see in games, especially when done well.
Final Thoughts
Playing Phasmophobia with TYG members always makes for a good time; many laughs, screams, chaos, intense hunting moments, and some lighthearted trolling. Personally, I enjoy this game occasionally with friends. I used to sink hours into the game most weeks, but the repetitiveness makes it difficult for me to stay interested after a couple of rounds. However, the ongoing updates with new ghosts, house remodelling, and different events with trophies or badges draw me in every so often.
It is clear that Kinetic Games cares about Phasmophobia, given all the time and effort put into the game. I certainly got my money’s worth with the few hundred hours I sunk into the game, and I know I’ll play Phasmophobia again to check out future events and updates.
Platforms: Steam, Playstation 5, Xbox
Publisher: Kinetic Games
Developer: Kinetic Games
Played On: Steam
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