I think I've played enough of this both in flatscreen and VR to give a fair review. Phasmaphobia is decent fun but features a very repetitive loop.
The atmosphere is top notch, as are the scares (at first anyways) it is very well done and captures that ghost hunting energy perfectly. Whether playing with friends or alone everything clicks pretty immediately. Phasmaphobia is seriously captivating.
These feelings unfortunately go away after enough playtime. After a couple runs, you'll probably never get that same high you got at first. Ghosts will never scare you the same, levels will never give you that anxiety again, and it's kinda a bummer!
The gameplay loop is simply just too repetitive. There is a certain method to play this game and there is no way to create new playstyles, so every run will just be going into the map, testing for things while also running into hiding spots every now and then until you've figured out the ghost, then you leave. Rinse and repeat. Ghosts have different traits sure, but they really lack in uniqueness and none of them stand out, thus again drilling in that repetition.
I've put in about 8 hours, 3 in vr, and I'm just kinda over it? I honestly find it a bit boring now. It's just like inspecting a house and filling out a checklist, which isn't any fun. Bigger maps just kinda drag on and don't solve the repetition problem either, so I don't really know what would fix this game's loop. Maybe a campaign mode? I'm unsure, but for now I just have to write Phasmaphobia off as an incredible first 2-4 hours, and the following hours are as dull as it gets.
The atmosphere is top notch, as are the scares (at first anyways) it is very well done and captures that ghost hunting energy perfectly. Whether playing with friends or alone everything clicks pretty immediately. Phasmaphobia is seriously captivating.
These feelings unfortunately go away after enough playtime. After a couple runs, you'll probably never get that same high you got at first. Ghosts will never scare you the same, levels will never give you that anxiety again, and it's kinda a bummer!
The gameplay loop is simply just too repetitive. There is a certain method to play this game and there is no way to create new playstyles, so every run will just be going into the map, testing for things while also running into hiding spots every now and then until you've figured out the ghost, then you leave. Rinse and repeat. Ghosts have different traits sure, but they really lack in uniqueness and none of them stand out, thus again drilling in that repetition.
I've put in about 8 hours, 3 in vr, and I'm just kinda over it? I honestly find it a bit boring now. It's just like inspecting a house and filling out a checklist, which isn't any fun. Bigger maps just kinda drag on and don't solve the repetition problem either, so I don't really know what would fix this game's loop. Maybe a campaign mode? I'm unsure, but for now I just have to write Phasmaphobia off as an incredible first 2-4 hours, and the following hours are as dull as it gets.
Scamsley
6 months ago