At the end of 2020, the horror co-op game Phasmophobia captivated a lot of players. However, player numbers began to decline – until the weekend of August 28.
What kind of game is this? Phasmophobia appeared in September 2020 and flickered across numerous PC screens and VR glasses in the following months. With up to four ghost hunters, players can search various buildings for supernatural entities to find out what kind of haunting is taking place.
The goal is to determine the exact type of ghost that is haunting a location. Various items are available to assist you in this endeavor. For example, you can use items like a microphone to make contact with the ghosts and speak directly to them. You can find out how the items in Phasmophobia work here.
Depending on how you handle the situation, you can either calm the ghost or provoke it. If the ghosts get angry, they will attack you. If you are too unfriendly, the ghosts will take revenge – and if you insult them, they will kill you.
How successful was Phasmophobia? Thanks to the streaming platform Twitch, where many streamers were scared by Phasmophobia, the game became a hit at the end of 2020.
According to SteamCharts, the game’s absolute peak number was in October 2020, with 112,241 players. Moreover, Phasmophobia received very good reviews.
Even in November, there were still over 99,000 players at peak, before the peaks in December and then January 2021 dropped to around 44,000. In the following months, the numbers generally continued to decline, with peaks ranging from around 20,000 to 26,000.
Here’s how the numbers have changed now: On August 26, 2021, the numbers suddenly started to climb again. In the last four days, Phasmophobia has gathered several days in a row with numbers above 50,000. At peak, a total of 61,917 players went ghost hunting. Phasmophobia had not reached such a high number all year.
(via SteamCharts)
The reason for this is likely the new update “Exposition,” which provides Phasmophobia with fresh content.
Update brings new ghosts to Phasmophobia
What’s in the new update? First of all, there are two new ghost types to mention – Goryo and Myling. While the Goryo comes from Japanese culture, Myling can be found in Scandinavian folklore.
A new item has also been introduced: The D.O.T.S. projector, which allows you to detect some ghosts in the house if they move through the signals of the device.
Additionally, according to the patch notes, there are further changes:
- The sprint has been adjusted: You can now perform a 3-second sprint every 5 seconds. At the same time, the walking speed has been adjusted to match the old sprint speed.
- In VR mode, this is implemented through a new teleport range.
- Ghosts now accelerate faster when they see you. Additionally, they now hunt you after three seconds instead of five.
- There are new visual and audio effects for nearly all equipment items.
- Electronic equipment reveals your location when a ghost is hunting you.
There are also numerous other changes and adjustments aimed at improving the game. You can find a complete list on Steam (via Steam).
Even today, Phasmophobia continues to be rated as “extremely positive” on Steam. According to Steam, 13,258 reviews have been received in the last 30 days, of which 96% are positive.
So if you haven’t had the game on your radar yet or have given the ghosts a longer break, now might be a good time to jump back in.
Looking for horror alternatives? Then you can find the 5 best horror multiplayer games for PC, PS4, and Xbox One here.
