Phasmophobia

Phasmophobia is a horror investigation survival game played from a first-person perspective. The player works solo or in a group with up to three other players to complete a contract in which they must identify the type of ghost haunting the specified site. Players can communicate through voice chat, both locally within a short distance and globally via walkie-talkies. Phasmophobia features speech recognition allowing certain pieces of equipment, Cursed Possessions, and the ghost to understand key words and phrases spoken by players.

Gathering evidence to determine the correct ghost type and surviving will net the majority of the cash and XP, but completing objectives and taking photos, videos, and audio will augment or even double the rewards. Investigators are encouraged to complete as much as possible to level up and earn money to unlock maps, levels, and item upgrades.

The game's Steam page was launched in March 2020. An announcement trailer was released three months later, announcing additional VR support and a release date for the early access build. On September 18, 2020, the game was released in early access for $14. After the release, the game received two major updates regarding bug fixes in the following week and several major content updates over the next 3 years.

On June 13, 2023, Kinetic Games announced that console versions of the game would be released in August; however, due to a fire that occurred at the Kinetic Games office, they were pushed back to October. On October 17, 2023, Kinetic Games announced that console versions of the game were delayed again due to "Unforeseen challenges" caused by the fire and were pushed back with no confirmed date. Following these delays, Kinetic Games released the console versions of the game on October 29, 2024.

Phasmophobia was well-received by critics. GameRant named it the best horror game available on Steam, saying that "Even with no official Metacritic score, players on Steam have been incredibly impressed with Phasmophobia, and with the game coming to consoles soon, even more players will get to experience the horror in no time." Since August 2023, IGN considered it one of the "12 Best Horror Games on PC", stating that "Nothing beats that moment when you suddenly see your friend twist and contort from getting got by one of Phasmophobia’s many evil spirits as you all scramble to the exit for a hasty escape."

Rich Stanton of PC Gamer called it "the best ghost game ever made", as well as declaring that it was "unlike anything else I've played", and that it "comes up with shit that'll turn you white". Cass Marshall, writing in Polygon, also gave a positive review, describing it as "a nice, cozy kind of horror and once it gets rolling, it is brilliant", while also finding that the game had numerous bugs which have since been fixed. com described the game as being quite original and imaginative, on top of being creepy. They felt that the maps in the game were well thought out and that the level of progression was well-paced.