Phasmophobia

Kinetic Games' Phasmophobia is a surprisingly scary experience, solo and with friends, though several features - like the lobby browser - need more work.

Phasmophobia is a highly replayable co-op experience that expertly manages to blend friendly fun with deathly scares. There’s a complexity to its ghost hunting as you gather evidence and test your nerves, and it’s made all the better as you bicker, debate, and scream with your friends. A slow levelling system stalls that sense of progression, and finicky controls mean the PSVR2 version of the game is a bit of a letdown. However, if you’re looking for a unique kind of co-op experience for you and your friends, Phasmophobia is one of a kind.

Phasmophobia undoubtedly creates the kind of scary, hysterical enjoyment that games like this one so often do, encouraging you to want to return over and over. No two games are exactly alike, even on the same map with the same type of ghost, making this more than worth its fair price point. Kinetic Games’ decision to open Phasmophobia up to the console community is something that has been a long time coming and is undoubtedly going to more than satisfy those who have been waiting for it.

Visual issues aside, Phasmophobia is a fun, heart-pounding fear-fest that is hitting consoles at just the right time of year. With some deep mechanics and a plethora of modes and content to terrify yourself and your online ghost hunting pals.... the only question is... Are you brave enough?

This game isn’t entirely for me. I don’t have the patience to grind out tools, nor do I have a static group of homies to become virtual Syfy (or whatever it is now) Channel ghost-hunting superstars with. But Phasmophobia’s intricacy and malleability that offers both kinds of experiences is super impressive. I love that I can have an intense, singleplayer horror survival game, then invite some friends and have that same game morph into something else within its framework. And then, theoretically, have it turn into another different kind of game once the training wheels are off. It’s fascinating in its ambition and complexity, and even if every aspect of it isn’t perfectly fine-tuned, it’s still compelling to engage with. Since Phasmophobia's in early access despite coming to consoles, I can see that fine-tuning continue to take place over time, as the developers keep hammering their clever systems into shape. With a little more clarity and maintenance, I can see Phasmophobia being the horror game to return to year after year.

None of the glitches are game breaking, but they do detract from the experience. How much they do will be up to individual tolerance levels. Kinetic Games have promised to address current issues with future patches. One thing is that working is cross-platform play. PS5 and PC players can do coop play. It is a testament to the game experience that players will get past the PSVR 2 issues and still go ghost hunting with Phasmophobia. If you love ghost busting and can tamper your expectations with the game’s polish, you are in for a great time.

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.