When listing the biggest indie games of the 2020s so far,Phasmophobiasimply has to be acknowledged. The co-op indie horror title from Kinetic Games exploded onto the scene in September 2020 through Steam early access, providing a thrilling game for horror fans everywhere to play together during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic.Phasmophobiaremains packed with atmospheric horror and tense ghost encounters, especially as Kinetic Games continues to add new ghost types, further maps to explore, and other features that makePhasmophobiamore layered. However,Phasmophobia’s impact on the horror genre is as remarkable as the game itself.
Any smash hit game is likely to spawn a variety of imitators. For instance, ever since Nintendo releasedThe Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wildin 2017, fans and critics alike have frequently compared other open-world games with lush, colorful maps toBotW.Phasmophobiahas impacted indie horror similarly. Since it became a hit, a variety of other developers have released their own horror projects that clearly borrow fromPhasmophobia’s team-based ghost-hunting simulation in one way or another. At this rate, it only seems like a matter of time before a few AAA games try their hand at some ofPhasmophobia’s ideas.
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Recent Phasmophobia-Like Games
Plenty of games have aimed to deliver very similar experiences toPhasmophobia.One of the most famous examples isGhost Exorcism INC.,a mid-2021 game from StudioGoupil.Ghost Exorcism INC.borrows lots of ghost-hunting tips from Kinetic Games' work, from the slow process of identifying a ghost to the emphasis on voice-recognition mechanics that encourage players to actually talk to ghosts. The game mostly distinguishes itself fromPhasmophobiathrough a different list of equipment and the additional step of exorcising ghosts, but beyond these ideas,Ghost Exorcism INC.is a game thatanyPhasmophobiafancan quickly pick up and play.
However, a few games have diverged fromPhasmophobiamore sharply and produced some interesting ideas. For instance,Forewarnedcasts players as a team of archaeologistsdelving into Ancient Egyptian ruins to gather artifacts while identifying and avoiding ancient undead warriors entombed within. The Egyptian flair and treasure elements makesForewarnedunique, even if its co-op, equipment system, and identification process are reminiscent ofPhasmophobia.Conrad Stevenson’s Paranormal P.I.is another great example. Released in early 2022,Paranormal P.I.has a voiced protagonist and more heavily scripted ghost-hunting scenarios. The single-player experience and light narrative elements makeParanormal P.I.very different fromPhasmophobia,but its take on ghost hunting still owes a lot to Kinetic Games for kicking off the trend.
Phasmophobia Already Has a Legacy
Even thoughPhasmophobiahasn’t left early access yet, it has clearly become a defining force in the indie horror industry and community. Aside from a wide variety of new ghost-hunting games,Phasmophobiamay be partially responsible for a general uptick in multiplayer horror’s popularity, with games like 2019’sPacifyearning some renewed attention in the last few years. Regardless of whatchanges Kinetic Games makes toPhasmophobiamoving forward, its work has already had a ripple effect on indie horror, which is something to be proud of for such a small studio.
One wonders if the future holds even larger-scalePhasmophobiaimitators. It would certainly be great to see renowned AAA horror developers likeResident Evil’s Capcom try their hand at a new multiplayer ghost-hunting game, possibly developing a robust story mode alongside the multiplayer. Koei Tecmo’sFatal Framecould be a great IP to spin into a multiplayer form as well. For the moment, it remains to be seen howPhasmophobiawill affect AAA developers, if at all. In the meantime, though, new indie releases like the brand-newGhost Watcherscontinue to prove thatPhasmophobiais a historic release in the horror genre.
Phasmophobiais available now in Steam early access on PC.
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