Phasmophobia – Early Access [PlayStation 5] | REVIEW

We don’t typically cover early access titles, but with the spooky season upon us, we couldn’t resist going hands-on with Phasmophobia in its recent console release. It makes for a very enjoyable (and equally eerie) experience too, albeit with a few imperfections that can hopefully be ironed out as the game builds to a full release.

Check out some screenshots down below:

If you’re unfamiliar with the game, Phasmophobia is a paranormal investigative experience where up to four players work together to gather evidence on hauntings at a series of creepy locales. There’s no ghost-busting involved here, with players instead focusing on identifying the type of ghost that’s causing the disturbance, but we warned: you’re dealing with sinister spirits, and if you aren’t too careful, you’ll find yourself the victim of their evil ways.

Fortunately, you’re equipped with all of the necessary equipment to identify the type of ghost you’re dealing with, with players using the likes of a Night Vision Camera to identify orbs, a UV Light to reveal handprints and footprints left by the ghost, a Spirit Box to directly communicate with the ghost, or an EMF Reader to pick up signs of the ghost’s presence, just to list a few. You’re then tasked with cross-referencing the evidence you gather with your journal, with three pieces of unique evidence enough to identify the type of ghost you’re dealing with.

It’s a simple enough process, though Phasmophobia has a few mechanics in place to ensure you’re constantly kept on your toes. For one, each area you explore is large in size and spans multiple rooms and floors, meaning you’ll have to explore them carefully in order to detect a presence. Each ghost type will also only respond to specific equipment, meaning you’ll have to plan accordingly and vary up your approach to ensure you’re testing all methods – something which is made more complicated given that you can only carry three items at a time. Fortunately, you can set up some equipment and monitor it from the safety of your van outside, whilst playing with three other players means you can assign each other equipment to use to ensure you’re being thorough and efficient in your approach. There are often some telltale signs that the ghost is nearby too, with the most obvious being seeing objects thrown around the room.

Of course, whilst gathering evidence is paramount to your success, it also puts you in danger. Each player has a sanity meter, which drops when ghostly events occur, too much time is spent in darkness, or when you see a ghost attack one of your allies. The lower your sanity meter, the more vulnerable you are to attack, meaning you’ve got to balance out your actions carefully to ensure you’re safe from the ghost’s wrath. And when it does attack? You can try to run and hide, but with the front door locking and the ghost efficient at tracking you, it doesn’t always end well.

“Phasmophobia has some imperfections, but it still manages to offer a wonderful co-op experience that’s as engrossing as it is eerie.”

So, is Phasmophobia fun to play? 100% yes. I’m a BIG fan of horror movies and those with a paranormal twist are some of my favourite, so getting to perform the tasks I’ve seen in the movies or deal with similar ghostly threats was absolutely wonderful. There’s something incredibly satisfying about placing your equipment and slowly uncovering evidence to figure out what sort of ghost you’re dealing with, whilst the moments of tension when you hear a ghastly cackle, notice an ominous figure across the hallway, or find the dead body of one of your allies ALWAYS brought a smile to my face… you know… in a dark and disturbing kind of way.

Speaking about your allies, it’s bloody brilliant in multiplayer. I’ve been fortunate enough to play with three of my friends, and whilst there was a bit of an initial learning curve as we figured things out, it has been really satisfying to work as a team and slowly piece together the most efficient ways to handle each ghost. Teamwork really does make the dream work in Phasmophobia, so balancing out our actions amongst ourselves, ensuring we all utilise the equipment carefully, and also mindfully supervising our surroundings whilst working together always felt rewarding. And when you suddenly stop hearing from a player on the radio? You know that something has gone VERY wrong for them, giving you an ominous sense of fear as you worry that you might be next. It’s tantalising stuff, especially when you’re the last surviving player…

Oh, and there’s plenty of room for pranking other players too, whether that’s by sneaking up on them, flicking lights on and off, or simply making weird noises when they’re nearby. I know, I know, it’s a bit childish and counter-productive, but Phasmophobia is such an eerie experience that it’s perfect to play to your allies’ paranoia that SOMETHING is always lurking nearby.

It is worth noting that whilst we had a good time playing, there were some issues with the game that can hopefully be rectified during the early access period. For one, there were times where ghosts didn’t seem to react to specific equipment DESPITE that being one of the pieces of evidence associated with them in the results page. There were plenty of occasions where a ghost wouldn’t respond to the Ghost Writing Book or the Spirit Box after multiple uses, only for it to turn out to be the missing piece of evidence we required to identify them. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure there were definitely occasions where we were doing something wrong, but there were plenty of times where it felt like it was a game issue as opposed to a player one. Some small glitches like having the items we place seemingly fall through an object and become inaccessible didn’t help either, though I suspect these issues will be ironed out in time.

Check out some screenshots down below:

It could be frustrating, especially since a successful ghost identification offers the most experience points. You also have optional objectives to complete, whilst there’ll occasionally be cursed objects to find that offer bonus experience points. Levelling up is imperative to your progress through the game, with new equipment available to purchase and new locations to access as you increase in level. However, whilst there is a steady sense of progress (particularly with the new locations which unlock through the early levels) and plenty of new and improved equipment to unlock, the pacing does feel a little off. It feels like it’s going to take a LONG time to unlock some of the more elaborate equipment to use, and whilst it’s nice to be able to sink time into the game and know there’s plenty to look forward to, I can’t help but to wish that some of it would come sooner. The added variety would certainly spice up the experience, and with Phasmophobia having a straight-forward gameplay loop, it would ensure players stay invested in the experience.

It has its imperfections then, but it didn’t stop me from loving my time with Phasmophobia. It has that ‘one more go’ quality to it that kept my friends and I playing for hours on end (it was never just ‘one’ more go), whilst the unpredictability of the ghost encounters ensure that you’ll constantly be kept on your toes. There are specific challenges in place for players to complete too, with each not only justifying coming back to the game on a daily basis but also granting players an experience boost that’ll go a long way in unlocking extra goodies. Add to that the variety of locations you visit (the dark farmhouse ALWAYS put me on edge), the ominous Blood Moon that adds an even more unsettling twist to levels, and the fact that you can play through the whole thing in PlayStation VR 2, and it’ll be clear that Phasmophobia really does have a lot of really cool things going on to ensure that its early access release on console is a big success.

Developer: Kinetic Games
Publisher: Kinetic Games
Platform(s): PlayStation 5 (Reviewed), Xbox Series X|S, PC
Website: https://www.kineticgames.co.uk/