When listing the biggest indie games of the 2020s so far, Phasmophobia simply 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. Phasmophobia remains 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 make Phasmophobia more 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 released The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild in 2017, fans and critics alike have frequently compared other open-world games with lush, colorful maps to BotW. Phasmophobia has impacted indie horror similarly. Since it became a hit, a variety of other developers have released their own horror projects that clearly borrow from Phasmophobia'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 of Phasmophobia's ideas.
Recent Phasmophobia-Like Games
Plenty of games have aimed to deliver very similar experiences to Phasmophobia. One of the most famous examples is Ghost 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 from Phasmophobia through a different list of equipment and the additional step of exorcising ghosts, but beyond these ideas, Ghost Exorcism INC. is a game that any Phasmophobia fan can quickly pick up and play.
However, a few games have diverged from Phasmophobia more sharply and produced some interesting ideas. For instance, Forewarned casts players as a team of archaeologists delving into Ancient Egyptian ruins to gather artifacts while identifying and avoiding ancient undead warriors entombed within. The Egyptian flair and treasure elements makes Forewarned unique, even if its co-op, equipment system, and identification process are reminiscent of Phasmophobia. 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 make Paranormal P.I. very different from Phasmophobia, but its take on ghost hunting still owes a lot to Kinetic Games for kicking off the trend.
Phasmophobia Already Has a Legacy
Even though Phasmophobia hasn'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, Phasmophobia may be partially responsible for a general uptick in multiplayer horror's popularity, with games like 2019's Pacify earning some renewed attention in the last few years. Regardless of what changes Kinetic Games makes to Phasmophobia moving 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-scale Phasmophobia imitators. It would certainly be great to see renowned AAA horror developers like Resident Evil's Capcom try their hand at a new multiplayer ghost-hunting game, possibly developing a robust story mode alongside the multiplayer. Koei Tecmo's Fatal Frame could be a great IP to spin into a multiplayer form as well. For the moment, it remains to be seen how Phasmophobia will affect AAA developers, if at all. In the meantime, though, new indie releases like the brand-new Ghost Watchers continue to prove that Phasmophobia is a historic release in the horror genre.
Phasmophobia is available now in Steam early access on PC.