7 Best Ghost Hunting Games
These ghost-busting games provide plenty of scares and fun to be had.
Horror games have become a ubiquitous part of the gaming industry, pitting players against the stuff nightmares are made of such as zombies, eldritch beings, mutated monsters, and ghosts. While the former have been stealing the spotlight lately in Capcom's steady Resident Evil releases, there are plenty of games involving the latter that are deserving of love.
Ghost hunting gameshave haunted the gaming scene since the early 2000s with releases such as Luigi's Mansion and Fatal Frame, demonstrating the versatility developers could bring with their own take on spirits and how to oust them.
Phasmophobia
For those that are afraid of stepping into the boots of paranormal investigators, fear not. Phasmophobia allows players to bring up to three friends with them to the various haunted locations available, and aid them in their investigation, so they don't have to brave it alone.
With a rich variety of terrifying ghosts to encounter, multiple maps with varying themes and sizes, and an entire arsenal of ghost-hunting equipment, Phasmophobia is a fantastic multiplayer game and an excellent ghost-hunting game that provides genuine scares. Players must make use of their equipment to figure out which type of entity is haunting the location while managing their dwindling sanity and trying to survive deadly ghost encounters.
Ghostwire: Tokyo
Set in the neon jungle of modern-day Tokyo, Ghostwire: Tokyo is an inventive and original game that brings hauntings and possession to public open spaces, rather than hidden away in remote locations. The player is given control of physic and paranormal abilities in order to exorcise the spirits that are haunting the streets, and possessing the bodies of others.
Unlike the majority of ghost hunting games, the protagonist is also supernatural in nature thanks to the abilities they need that level the playing-field, and although some spirits look terrifying in appearance, Ghostwire: Tokyo places more emphasis on action and adventure rather than horror.
Midnight Ghost Hunt
Another foray into ghost hunting multiplayer is the more recent Midnight Ghost Hunt, an online game that invites players to suit up and boot up with friends. It sets itself apart from Phasmophobia with its more unique graphics style, the way players interact with ghosts, and the fact it's a symmetrical multiplayer hame pitting 4 hunters against 4 ghosts.
The objectives of both sides are simple. The hunters must confront and defeat the ghosts, and the ghosts must defeat the powers. Hunters are given a head-start as the ghosts can only hide and weaponize the environment, but at the stroke of midnight, the ghosts gain powers that can even the playing field, or even tip the odds completely in their favor.
F.E.A.R.
A monolith among mid-2000s horror games, F.E.A.R. brought one of the most terrifying entities from horror games in the form of Alma, a spirit that assumes the form of a young girl with pale skin and long black hair, akin to Sadako from Ringu or Kayako from Ju-On, all of whom are relentlessly terrifying.
FE.A.R. straddles the line between horror and action, pitting the players against the members of a private military that have been tapping into paranormal powers, and unleashing a new, devastating power they could not contain. Though most of the game will see Point-Man killing members of the group responsible, Alma will surface on occasion to terrify the player with her frightening appearance and oppressive powers.
Ghost Hunters Corp
For gamers who want a similar experience to Phasmophobia, Ghost Hunters Corp should satisfy that itch, as it has players conducting investigations of areas rumored to be hotbeds of paranormal activity, infiltrate these areas, gather evidence and then successfully perform an exorcism.
Players can choose to brave the maps solo, granting them additional lives to make up for them playing alone, or play with up to three friends to storm them as an organized group. They must find up to four clues to uncover which of the 8 variants of entities it is, and then dispatch of the entity. With several different modes such as exorcism only or rescue, Ghost Hunters Corp is a fun and engaging experience that is sure to keep players coming back for more.
Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly
Fatal Frame, or Project Zero as its known in Europe and Australia, is without a doubt one of the most popular and well-known ghost hunting games that has immortalized itself in the halls of horror games with its impressive catalogue of entries.
In each game, the player controls a different protagonist for each entry as they find themselves in a haunted location, usually summoned by the ghosts within. They find an object called the camera obscura, a camera that is said to have the ability to exorcise harmful ghosts, capture lingering spirits or even receive some hints from more friendly ghosts. Without the camera, the players are unable to see the spirits or defend themselves, a novel idea that has been replicated in other games to varying degrees of success.
Luigi's Mansion
This surprise hit title took the beloved Mario franchise and turned it on its head, breaking away from the platforming series and various sports spin-off games for a completely unique experience, starring Luigi as the playable character following the kidnapping of his brother Mario, who he agreed to meet up with at the mansion he supposedly won in a competition.
Luigi enters into the mansion, only to see it is infested with hostile spirits. He is saved by Professor E. Gadd who sucks up the spirits with a hoover, who then entrusts the device to Luigi so that he can safely explore the mansion and save his brother. It is definitely one of Nintendo's more unique entries, and while it may not be typically scary like other games involving ghosts, its full of charm, fun gameplay and inventive bosses.
ARTICLE FROM: https://gamerant.com/best-ghost-hunting-games/