When I was growing up (although now I’m a little ashamed to admit it) I was fully invested in the paranormal investigation craze sweeping reality TV. The most well known of these shows, Most Haunted, would dispatch a team of experts armed with various gadgets to spooky locations in an effort to find evidence of other worldly activity. The show got so popular that before long they were broadcasting live, accompanied by celebrity guests which gave us some all time moments to remember. To get an idea of what I mean, look up the late Paul O’Grady’s adventures on Most Haunted, the renowned “Mary loves Dick” moment or the baffling “Michael Jackson: The Live Seance”.
Anyway, I digress. The point being that PC breakout hit Phasmophobia has landed on Xbox, albeit in Game Preview. I’ve been getting stuck into some ghost hunting action, and it’s quite unlike anything I’ve played before. I must admit too, that at first I really didn’t see what all the fuss was about.
What is Phasmophobia?
The premise is simple. Much like Most Haunted you and your team need to investigate reports of paranormal activity and find evidence, ideally identifying the culprit doing the haunting. You can play Phasmophobia alone, or with others online and I found plenty of games in the lobbies, helped along by cross-play.
How to Play Phasmophobia
Your main objective is to identify the exact apparition which is present. To do this, you will need to gather evidence with your specialised tools. For example, an EMF reader will detect paranormal activity, usually when things are being chucked about. If this energy registers anything higher than a five, that means the ghost can only be a certain number of the candidates on your list. Then, if you open your journal, you can start to rule out unsuitable candidates.
On the flip side, if you are pretty certain there is activity but your equipment isn’t registering it, you can also whittle down your list in this way. For example, the temperature may drop in a room, but if it doesn’t break the freezing barrier, it won’t be considered evidence for certain types of ghosts.
It sounds logical enough, but your starter equipment isn’t that accurate meaning it’s easy to misidentify the ghost. In fact, it’s downright difficult to get the right one. Happily, as you gain XP, level up and earn cash by completing objectives you’ll be able to upgrade your equipment, and purchase new items.
Phasmophobia on Xbox: Controls and UI
It’s here where the PC roots show through in Phasmophobia. The UI is not very user friendly in its current state at all. Menus are crowded, difficult to navigate and downright confusing at first. I also kept chucking my items away by accident until I got used to the control set-up.
Phasmophobia: A Genuinely Scary Experience
What is undoubtedly fantastic is the atmosphere. Phasmophobia is bloody terrifying. As soon as you leave the safety of your truck, and enter the property, an unsettling background rumble accompanies you, similar to the moments before something scary happens in the Paranormal Activity films.
This sense of foreboding and tension is intense. You can choose to cut and run and try to salvage some XP, or risk it to gather more evidence to identify the exact flavour of the ghost doing the haunting. If you die, you’ll pay a penalty.
I personally crapped myself on a couple of occasions, once thanks to a jump scare and on another occasion where the ghost decided to set the car alarm off which I was standing right next to. This is aside from routinely getting chased, hunted and killed in some pretty horrific ways.
This was all, of course, much to the amusement of other players and this is a key facet of what makes Phasmophobia so enjoyable. You’re all in it together, bound by trepidation and fear.
Why Phasmophobia is Different
To loop back around to where we started, this is what makes Phasmophobia feel different to me. It’s a genuine horror experience, enjoyed with others, but with oodles of replayability thanks to random elements, as well as daily and weekly challenges.
The possibilities are endless, and once I got my head around how it all works, I enjoyed my time with Phasmophobia and look forward to playing more. I might need to purchase some new underwear first though.
Stay tuned for a full review as Phasmophobia sheds that Game Preview skin and releases in full. For now, thanks go out to Kinetic Games for the access.
Grab a download of Phasmophobia on Xbox Series X|S for yourself from the Xbox Store.
