Phasmophobia, a new co-op ghost hunting game, becomes an October hit

The new 4-player co-op horror experience, Phasmophobia, has recently become a new horror hit. With it’s simple-yet-thrilling gameplay, the game capitalizes on our month long fascination with the terrifying to give us a scary experience not unlike being stuck in a dark room.

Me and the boys playing Phasmophobia pic.twitter.com/UT5ZSylkU1

— “Not” YouTube Kids (@YouTubeForKids1) October 9, 2020

Why you should check out Phasmophobia

If you haven’t seen or heard of the game yet for some reason then you should definitely take some time to check it out. The game is best played by a group of four who take on the roles of ghost hunters, using a variety of paranormal tools to investigate a haunted location. As ghost hunters, Phasmophobia tasks you with identifying the exact nature of the haunting, and gathering evidence.

You take on jobs and get paid for correctly identifying the specific kind of ghost haunting a location, and for the amount of evidence you’re able to bring back. Of course, ghost hunting isn’t a very high paying job, and you’ll be expected to buy your own equipment, so the more evidence you can gather the better.

The job isn’t without its risks, however. Willfully walking into a haunted location isn’t the kind of behaviour typically associated with longevity, and you’ll have to be very cautious if you expect to make it out of each encounter alive. You’ll want to keep your eyes open, your ears tuned, and watch your instruments just to keep yourself from becoming the ghost’s newest victim.

What Phasmophobia does differently

Part of what makes Phasmophobia such a fun experience is that it manages to make multiplayer horror scary. Usually, no matter how grisly or unsettling a game is, playing it with your friends removes any element of fear that might have been present.

Phasmophobia turns your friends into another resource to consider, however, and the game uses them to play with your senses. If you’re using the in-game voice chat (and you should be), you’ll notice the ghosts like to mess with your radio communication. Some ghosts can even adopt the appearance of your friends to lure you into a dangerous location.

Additionally, some ghosts like to lay dormant until your group inevitably splits up, while others will be more dangerous if you don’t go in alone. The variance, combined with uncertainty, allows Phasmophobia to keep you on edge even when playing with friends.

So this happened tonight... #Phasmophobia pic.twitter.com/FKINCNFUMB

— Tom 🍕 (@Shnoogz) October 8, 2020

Streamers, Videos, and where to play it yourself

Of course, if you’re not convinced yet then you should absolutely check out your favorite streamers as the game has been getting picked up more and more lately. Additionally, more than a few content creators have put out their own videos showcasing the game among their playgroup.

While it can be fun to watch a charismatic group of friends play the game together, nothing quite beats the experience of playing it yourself. If you want to pick it up, Phasmophobia is currently on Steam for the PC, as well as all common VR sets. It currently has an Overwhelmingly Positive review score (97% positive) with 29,383 reviews.