Okay, let's talk.
I am normally a person not to talk too negatively about a game, but man, this game had such a great foundation and it really just slowly chipped away its best parts update by update and I feel the need to speak about it.

For context, let me start with where this game started: A simple ghost-hunting game with around 10 ghost types maybe 10-15 items (only 6-7 of which were required to be used) and a shitty style that was both endearing but an absolute joy to play with friends during an evening where everyone is bored, not that it was ever really THAT scary of a game.

Flash forward to 2023, they just dropped a new revitalized update that changed a bunch of "names" of things, okay cool. Over the past years of updates (which I had played intermittently) they also added 10-15 new ghost types, doubled the number of items, added 4-5 new maps, made items a requirement in many level, introduced 2-3 whole new game mechanics to learn, upped the difficulty extremely, and made the game and overall more technical-precision experience. These, honestly and truly, are fine things, but for me, this really breaks the whole enjoyment of the game from where it started. What was a game that originally was a semi-mindless ghost-hunting meme-fest is now a game that i have to read a 25 page guide just to understand what I'm doing.

I think this aspect is most reflective with the most recent update as it reset everyone to level 0, not something I am super annoyed by in all fairness, but something that really shows how the game has changed. Back in 2020 and 2021 when I played this game the most, I was able to do "item-less" runs on the hardest difficulty for fun, which was both exhilarating, but still a fun meme-fest and challenge. When I played today from level 0, these "starting items" seem literally like bloat, I would feel just as confident running in with just a flashlight sometimes because 1/2 of the ghosts can't even be detected by the starting equipment. This is the casual-to-tactical shift I mentioned before.

Now I have less than 100 hours by this point so I'm no "phas-pro" or anything, but the developer has really lost sight of what made casual players enjoy the game. My friend who has over 150 hours in the game sounds like a literal robot saying "oh so the mirror shows the room which we can drop the book and dots in while looking around with a camera for orbs, meanwhile you can use the ev to look for fingerprints and-" full stop, this is the problem. It goes on and on and on and becomes too much of playing the "intended way" to be fun or goofy anymore.

This is to say if you enjoy technical games that really make you think and micro-manage with friends, this may be for you, especially as the game continues to shift in the direction of being more perfectionist with its mechanics, but for me, I bought this game for spooky dumb ghost game, not a stressful management sim.

My first review was a 3.5/5.0 and I still stand by THAT game and THAT review. This is not the same game as is on steam today, so I dropped it a half point because I can still see some enjoyment for others, but I've been bored of the game for the last 2 years and it's time that my score reflects that.

Game is pretty fun, if not for the constant changes. I've played this game in both it's PC counterpart and in VR using the Quest 2. I think the game has a lot going for it that is underpinned by a game with a good foundation, but bad technical support, in VR I still run into texture bugs as I do in the base game and I think it just requires a VR overhaul. Will that stop me from screwing around with friends whenever they want to play? Of course not. I just look forward to when the game does eventually come out as a full release, and I will keep it "played" until I can make my final verdict on a final release.