Phasmophobia Solo Review

Can Phasmophobia, a game initially built for co-op be fun on your own and is the transition to console smooth. We can confidently say that Phasmophobia is a great and terrifying single player experience. Unsurprisingly, it also works great on console.

The setting of traditional co-op is typically filled with chatter. While this is a fun way to spend time with friends, it does add levity to heavy situations or remove all of the tension altogether. Playing in solo strips Phasmophobia to the core and leaves nothing but you and the ghost. What remains are the sounds that are designed to get under your skin. The creaking of the stairs as you head to the dank basement, the electromagnetic clicking intensifying or worse the laughter of children in an empty house. In single player, there is no one else to help you, no one to crack a joke or tell you about your day. You are left with no choice, but to be immersed in the game.

The premise is extremely simple, but surprisingly deep. You are a hired ghost hunter and you need to go to haunting sites and identify what kind of ghost is lingering. Phasmophobia gives you a tutorial which teaches you most of what you need to know to get going. However, what you learn are just the basics and in a safe setting. Phasmobia doesn’t hold your hand, which means you will need to learn most things through the experince of success and failure.

Obviously, once you get the ropes, you will understand how to quickly scout each location, where and how to search for clues in the most efficient manner, but as you learn, the game evolves.

Once you get your feet wet, there is plenty to do from simple ghost hunts to make money and gain experience to purchase new equipment and unlock new locations and there are also daily and weekly challenges. With ten different locations, twenty four ghost types currently and a randomness factor for locations of many of the crucial elements on each map including breaker box and haunting location, there is plenty of variety to make the game feel unique. Obviously the most immersive experience is lights off and with headphones.

Conceptually, Phasmophobia is fantastic, but the audio and visual fidelity leave a little to be desired. Phasmophobia was created in Unity, by a handful of people, but if you were able to create Phasmophobia with a few more people and use something like Unreal Engine, Phasmophobia would be nearly unplayable for sheer terror. However, once the haunting start happening, you care less about the unrefined visuals as a door slams behind you and you hear a voice coming through the walkie-talkie. The controls on controller feels slightly awkward and unintuitive.

Verdict

The difficulty curve is fairly steep, but for those willing to do the learning, Phasmophobia is quite rewarding. If you’ve ever thought you could do better than Zak and the rest of the Ghost Adventures team, Phasmophobia is your chance. Playing Phasmophobia solo is a unique supernatural experience that is also filled with incessant fear likely to please those brave enough.