Phasmophobia Shows Off Its Newest Location
Phasmophobia, the four-player co-op horror game from Kinetic Games that came out as an early access project in September — just in time to scare the pants off everyone during the Halloween season — started teasing a new prison level over Twitter last week. Now, it's showing off screenshots of the upcoming addition.
The survival psychological horror title is basically the brainchild of an individual who goes by Dknighter, who said earlier this month that he was considering prolonging the early access period as a result of the runaway success of the game to date. There have already been some small game updates. Most recently, along with the usual game bug fixes, the developer added an objective to try and get a ghost to walk through salt. It also added the ability for dead players to throw non-equipment objects.
In a post from November 17, the @KineticGame Twitter account posted a dark, atmospheric image with the words, "Bonus? The cell block(s) are being worked on as we speak." This was followed by a "little preview" of two similarly dark pictures showing other parts of the prison. The account also posted an explanatory note saying that "The Prison" would be considered a medium-size area, in comparison with a currently existing map called "Asylum" which was deemed "large." Honestly, "The Prison" looks terrifying already, without any ghosts.
The game actually has a public Trello development board, where interested players can find out what's coming, look at what's going on, and make comments and suggestions. "Make a prison level" is listed in the "In Progress" column. Additional levels that may get added include an apartment building and a mansion. And other development goals for the game include the addition of night goggles, an SLS camera, a new leveling system, sound effects, and accessibility options. Phasmophobia is a virtual reality title as well, so some of the to-dos and other issues relate to turning it into a better VR experience.
Plus, people can contribute not only through the Trello board but through Steam discussion boards and the game's Discord. Kinetic Games is offering private betas for development builds to gamers who offer regular feedback and "can directly influence the future of the game," its Steam page says. Perhaps the game allows a bit too much player input, though, as hacking has been an issue.
Currently, Phasmophobia, which is about midway through development, offers seven maps and 22 pieces of equipment, along with daily challenges. The developer has said that the current plan is to have a 2021 release, at which time the price of $13.99 will go up. However, plans may change "depending on features added and how the game will progress through early access." The game was just nominated for Best Debut Game by an independent studio at The Game Awards: There's no word how that might affect Phasmophobia's development, either.