Phasmophobia is a four-player cooperative online psychological horror game created and published by Kinetic Games in which players act as paranormal investigators undertaking contract work in haunted locations. Each location is home to one ghost and players must gather as much evidence as they can. The more you uncover, the greater the monetary reward. The catch, of course, is that these ghosts are aggressive and will attempt to kill the players if they can. The game was released in early access on Steam in 2020.
This game has been really important to me over the past few years, not only because it's insanely fun, but it's also become a regular way for me to connect with family that I'm unable to see as much. Yeah, no really! Even my Mum plays. She's actually pretty good.
Of course it is a brilliant game too! I've never been one for horror games in the past as I usually find them too scary, and while Phasmophobia certainly is frightening, there's also something about it that keeps me coming back. Part of it is definitely the adreneline rush I get from doing the really dangerous stuff and there's nothing like the feeling of successfully escaping the ghost during a hunt. That and the fact that the developers are adding and changing things all the time. It's been beautiful to watch the game come together and improve in the way that it has, as much as it's also been hilarious discovering all the weird bugs whenever a new update happens.
There's also just so many new things to do each time we play, from completing daily or weekly challenges to slowly upping the difficulty level. We now play on one of the hardest difficulties with very little trouble. For me part of the fun of this game is playing with others. It makes the whole experience a lot less intense, less challenging, and all the more funny when things inevitably do go wrong.
Gallery
These images were all captured by me in game. Sorry for the poor quality. My laptop can't handle anything better.
RIP.
What are you two talking about?
A shrine to Willow, the cat.
You only get those smashed up screens on Nightmare difficulty.
He floats.
Apparently you can pull the doors off their hinges, which isn't in the least bit annoying.
Stop!!!
Oh look, it's me!
Why does it look like I fell down the stairs?
Reasons to never hide behind doors.
The pet photos in the houses are a highlight.
Pretty.
Looking on our corpses in shame.
Love finding the weirdest death poses.
Hiiii!!!
Posing for his pic.
Latest major update was cool.
A selection of equipment.
Me doing sports.
Oh, he's dead I guess.
A summoning circle.
"It moved this!" *Picture of the ceiling*
Love the seasonal updates!
He's got a pumpkin on his head! I lost it!
Hey there lil guy!
Just vibing.
Bro, do you mind?
Quotes
Phasmophobia is actually hilarious when we play it. I've ended up making a list of some of my favourite things that have been said in game. I doubt they're as funny out of context, but they make me laugh.
- "I'm gonna use the [cursed] mirror to lower sanity." "Just don't break it." *Mirror breaks, triggering a hunt*
- "I'm being murdered." *While being strangled live on camera*
- "I found the boner." "I really wish you wouldn't call it that."
- "I love that all our van conversations have nothing to do with the game."
- *Screams at a portrait on the wall*
- "Hello?" *At the ghost, seconds before being murdered*
- "Don't use that hiding place. It's shit." *One hunt and three consecutive deaths later* "What did I say about the hiding place!?"
- "If I’d known we needed a photo [of the ghost], I wouldn’t have taken so many of your booty."
- "I showed you my polti-pile. Please respond."
- *Laughing at a dead body* "It’s not that funny."
- "We're investigating the ghost. They're trying to sell the house."
- "Remember to not say 'hide and seek' near [the ouija board]." *Board starts counting down for a hunt* "Sorry!"