Phasmophobia

About Phasmophobia

Phasmophobia is a paranormal investigation game made by Kinetic Games, an independent studio in the UK, built in Unity and released into Steam early access in September 2020. It has sold around 22 million copies. It uses voice recognition: the ghost can hear what you say through your microphone, and you can ask it questions through a Spirit Box or a Ouija Board.

Each contract starts in the lobby, where you buy and upgrade equipment at a computer and vote on the next job on a corkboard. The team then arrives in a van parked outside the haunted location. Starter gear includes an EMF reader, a mercury thermometer, an old camcorder, an old radio, a laser pen, a notepad and two flashlights, and more tools such as crucifixes and a sound recorder can be added. Each tool reveals a different clue, and the journal lets you narrow a long list of ghost types down to one. You can work inside the building, or stay in the van and support the others with CCTV and motion sensors.

The maps run from small suburban houses such as 6 Tanglewood Drive, Nell's Diner, Camp Woodwind and Grafton Farmhouse to Bleasdale Farmhouse, Maple Lodge Campsite, Point Hope and the Prison, and the large Brownstone High School and Sunny Meadows. The ghosts include the Demon and the Banshee alongside types taken from folklore and religions from many cultures. Cursed possessions, such as the Music Box, Tarot Cards, Haunted Mirror and Monkey Paw, give information or power in exchange for your sanity.

The fear comes from being in the dark while something is aware of you. Your sanity drains over a contract, and when it is low enough the ghost begins to hunt. The exit doors lock, you cannot fight back, and you have to hide until the hunt ends. On the highest difficulty, Nightmare, the ghost shows fewer pieces of evidence. There are five default difficulties, daily and weekly challenges, and a custom difficulty whose rewards scale with the settings; one custom setting, Friendly Ghost, turns hunts off entirely.

Phasmophobia is played by one to four people with cross-play between PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. It supports VR on PC and PlayStation VR2 on PS5, where the Sense controllers are required. It is still in early access, with version 1.0 now targeted for 2027. It suits players who like tension and teamwork more than action, and who enjoy piecing together evidence while trying not to draw attention to themselves.

How to play Phasmophobia

1. In the lobby, buy and pick your equipment, such as an EMF reader, a thermometer, a spirit box and a video camera, vote on the contract at the corkboard, and let the host set the difficulty.
2. Enter the building, find the ghost's room, and place sensors and cameras to watch it; a player can stay in the van to follow the cameras and motion sensors.
3. Use your tools to collect the pieces of evidence, and match them against the journal to name the ghost type.
4. When a hunt starts, the exits lock: hide or run, stay silent, and wait for it to pass. When you are done, go back to the van and close its doors to leave.

Tips

• Keep an eye on the team's sanity; the lower it gets, the more often the ghost hunts.
• Learn each ghost's tell, so three pieces of evidence point you to one type quickly.
• During a hunt, drop your sprint early and break the ghost's line of sight rather than running in a straight line.
• Set a camera and the sound sensor in the ghost room before it gets angry, so you can watch from the safety of the van.

Questions