Phasmophobia Review (PS5) – A Terrifyingly Fun Addition to the Halloween Season

More than four years after Phasmophobia took the internet by storm for putting an excellent innovative twist on the paranormal horror genre in gaming, developer and publisher Kinetic Games has finally brought its viral hit to current-gen consoles.

Fortunately, most of the elements that made the title so iconic in the first place remain intact, as regardless of whether one is playing solo or with a group of friends, there is a lot of varied enjoyment to be had during the ghost hunting experience.

Unfortunately, the console version of the game does come with a few issues that hinder Phasmophobia’s overall triumph on the PlayStation 5, but they are not enough to stop the 2020 title from being something that every fan of all things spooky should most definitely check out this Halloween.

Phasmophobia Looks Better Than Ever on Current-Gen Consoles

Right from the very beginning, as players set foot into the hub area where they can assign contracts to themselves, buy equipment, or just chill with other group members, it is clear that Kinetic Games has ensured that Phasmophobia looks absolutely amazing on current-gen consoles.

There are various differences that are included in the new release that did not look too visually appealing in the initial version of the game, ranging from the contract board to the general vibe of the safe house.

One of the most glaring problems regarding the visuals of Phasmophobia involved how other players and the ghosts looked a little too goofy, with the potential of breaking the scary immersion that the developer was aiming for, but thankfully, at least to some extent, those complaints have been resolved to make the paranormal entities even more terrifying.

The environments and maps in Phasmophobia have played a major role in building up the frightening aura ever since it was initially launched in 2020, which is why visual upgrades to these aspects help them become more alluring than ever, regardless of whether it is a small map like a suburban house or a bigger one, such as a high school.

Additionally, the sound design is as spectacularly horrifying as always due to the sheer amount of fear that starts building up the moment a ghost makes their presence known by making spine-chilling noise even before the player gets direct visual evidence of the entity.

Kinetic Games’ Horror Title Is Petrifying Solo and a Spooky Blast With Friends

The greatest strength that Phamophobia has at its disposal is that the solo and multiplayer modes come with their own distinct qualities that can only be found and experienced during the kind of playthrough that players opt for.

For the uninitiated, Kinetic Games’ horror title lets players choose paranormal contracts based on their current level and divided across 13 maps, and the goal is to find enough evidence to identify which type of ghost is haunting the area through various means.

Faced with more than 20 types of ghosts, the player has a wide variety of tools in their inventory, ranging from an EMF reader and flashlight to a thermometer and camera.

Playing Phasmophobia solo makes the experience a lot more petrifying than going ghost hunting with a group of friends, as it adds to the imminent dread that is constantly looming around the player, but the only trade-off is that completing all of the optional objectives that come with each mission can be quite the hassle.

That is because one can only carry three items that are needed to find substantial evidence of the paranormal entity, so there is a lot of going back and forth from the truck to the map to equip the necessary tools to fully meet all the requirements of the contract.

On the other hand, heading into Phasmophobia’s spine-chilling world with a multiplayer party may take away some of the daunting factor, but it makes for an incredibly enjoyable time as the group genuinely feels like unqualified ghost hunters who get more experienced with each completed contract.

Elements That Hold Phasmophobia Back on the PlayStation 5

Considering that Phasmophobia was initially released only on PC and was optimized to be played with a keyboard and mouse, it is not really surprising that playing the game with a controller is not even nearly as effective as it used to be on the former.

Despite Kinetic Games trying its best to implement controller functionality, the one thing that the developer is unable to escape is the title’s gameplay loop, which involves switching between various menus, adding entries into a journal, and picking up items with the utmost precision, which can be extremely jarring without the help of a mouse.

This becomes even more glaring during solo runs, as on top of trying to complete the optional objectives, it can take a while to get used to playing with a controller and trying to use the allocated time for each hunt efficiently in the process.

Another important aspect that used to shape the Phasmophobia experience on PC was the voice recognition feature, as there was a certain charm in just saying the ghost’s name repeatedly or trying to annoy it in other ways, but unfortunately, the element is not currently present in the current-gen console release of the game.

There is still noise detection present, which means that the paranormal entities still hear the player’s voice to amplify their hauntings, but they are not able to understand what is being said, taking away a massive chunk of what made the horror title so fresh four years ago.

Instead, one has to open a new menu to select from pre-set dialogue this time around, which feels like an instant downgrade on powerful platforms like the PlayStation 5, resulting in console players not being able to experience Phasmophobia like it was actually meant to be played and turning it a little dull while doing so.

Parnormal Horror Is Still at Its Best in Phasmophobia

It is important to note that the console release of Phasmophobia is accompanied with a couple of game-breaking bugs, one that showed up quite early on while trying to swap a hammer for a shovel, but despite its issues, Kinetic Games’ title seems to genuinely understand the intricacies of paranormal horror.

There is something quite authentic about the approach that the developer has taken for its ghost hunting experience, as it goes much deeper than it had to by including entities from different folklores, and although the limited number of maps may not seem enough, each mission comes with a unique twist thanks to the numerous behavioral changes that come with each entity.

Still, there is a lot to do in the current-gen launch of the game, ranging from community events to just having a casual blast of a gaming session with friends, as Phasmophobia is a terrifyingly fun addition to the Halloween season that perfectly fits the theme of the spookiest time of the year.