<s>
Phasmophobia	B-Application
is	O
a	O
paranormal	O
horror	B-Application
game	I-Application
developed	O
and	O
published	O
by	O
British	O
indie	O
game	O
studio	O
Kinetic	B-Application
Games	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
became	O
available	O
in	O
early	O
access	O
through	O
Steam	B-Application
for	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
with	O
virtual	B-Application
reality	I-Application
support	O
in	O
September	O
2020	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
received	O
a	O
large	O
influx	O
of	O
popularity	O
the	O
following	O
month	O
due	O
to	O
many	O
well-known	O
Twitch	O
streamers	O
and	O
YouTubers	O
playing	O
it	O
,	O
mainly	O
for	O
the	O
Halloween	B-Application
season	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
the	O
best	O
selling	O
game	O
on	O
Steam	B-Application
globally	O
for	O
several	O
weeks	O
in	O
October	O
to	O
November	O
2020	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Phasmophobia	B-Application
is	O
a	O
horror	B-Application
investigation	O
survival	O
game	O
played	O
from	O
a	O
first-person	O
perspective	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Players	O
can	O
communicate	O
through	O
voice	B-Protocol
chat	I-Protocol
,	O
both	O
locally	O
within	O
a	O
short	O
distance	O
and	O
globally	O
via	O
walkie-talkies	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Phasmophobia	B-Application
features	O
speech	B-Application
recognition	I-Application
allowing	O
certain	O
pieces	O
of	O
equipment	O
and	O
even	O
the	O
ghost	O
to	O
hear	O
players	O
speaking	O
and	O
understand	O
key	O
words	O
and	O
phrases	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Phasmophobia	B-Application
gives	O
players	O
the	O
option	O
to	O
customize	O
their	O
appearance	O
by	O
picking	O
between	O
eight	O
different	O
paranormal	O
investigators	O
to	O
distinguish	O
between	O
group	O
members	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
small	O
maps	O
include	O
four	O
suburban-style	O
houses	O
,	O
two	O
farmhouses	O
,	O
a	O
small	O
campsite	B-Protocol
,	O
and	O
a	O
restricted	O
variant	O
of	O
the	O
larger	O
asylum	O
map	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
medium	O
maps	O
are	O
a	O
campsite	B-Protocol
,	O
prison	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
high	O
school	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
large	O
map	O
is	O
an	O
asylum	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Phasmophobia	B-Application
features	O
twenty-four	O
different	O
ghosts	O
,	O
each	O
of	O
which	O
behaves	O
differently	O
and	O
provides	O
unique	O
clues	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
players	O
attempt	O
to	O
complete	O
the	O
contract	O
,	O
sanity	B-Application
will	O
drain	O
with	O
certain	O
events	O
and	O
circumstances	O
affecting	O
the	O
rate	O
at	O
which	O
it	O
does	O
so	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
sanity	B-Application
is	O
low	O
enough	O
,	O
a	O
ghost	O
will	O
begin	O
to	O
hunt	O
and	O
attempt	O
to	O
kill	O
the	O
players	O
(	O
assuming	O
the	O
"	O
Friendly	O
Ghost	O
"	O
custom	O
difficulty	O
setting	O
,	O
which	O
disables	O
hunts	O
,	O
is	O
not	O
enabled	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Depending	O
on	O
the	O
ghost	O
type	O
's	O
strengths	O
and	O
weaknesses	O
,	O
it	O
may	O
be	O
able	O
to	O
hunt	O
when	O
sanity	B-Application
is	O
higher	O
or	O
lower	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
also	O
houses	O
the	O
Surveillance	O
Computer	O
,	O
Sanity	B-Application
Monitor	O
,	O
map	O
of	O
the	O
current	O
site	O
,	O
Sound	O
Sensor	O
Screen	O
,	O
and	O
Site	O
Activity	O
Monitor	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
set	O
of	O
equipment	O
is	O
permanently	O
located	O
inside	O
the	O
Van	O
and	O
is	O
used	O
to	O
track	O
the	O
status	O
of	O
the	O
players	O
and	O
ghost	O
’s	O
activity	O
,	O
although	O
on	O
Nightmare	O
difficulty	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
with	O
two	O
specific	O
Custom	O
Difficulty	O
settings	O
,	O
the	O
Sanity	B-Application
Monitor	O
and	O
Site	O
Activity	O
monitor	O
may	O
be	O
disabled	O
and	O
appear	O
as	O
smashed	O
screens	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
projector	O
,	O
EMF	O
reader	O
,	O
video	O
camera	O
,	O
UV	B-Application
flashlight	I-Application
,	O
and	O
conventional	O
flashlight	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
-	O
a	O
haunted	O
mirror	O
,	O
summoning	O
circle	O
,	O
voodoo	O
doll	O
,	O
music	B-Application
box	I-Application
,	O
ouija	O
board	O
,	O
monkey	O
paw	O
or	O
deck	O
of	O
tarot	O
cards	O
-	O
will	O
spawn	O
per	O
map	O
and	O
allow	O
the	O
player	O
to	O
interact	O
with	O
the	O
ghost	O
directly	O
,	O
though	O
at	O
the	O
risk	O
of	O
provoking	O
it	O
into	O
a	O
hunt	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Phasmophobia	B-Application
has	O
24	O
different	O
ghost	O
types	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Most	O
of	O
these	O
ghost	O
types	O
are	O
based	O
on	O
creatures	O
and	O
entities	O
from	O
various	O
cultures	O
and	O
religions	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
Banshee	B-Application
from	O
Irish	O
folklore	O
,	O
the	O
Yokai	O
,	O
and	O
Yurei	O
from	O
Japanese	O
folklore	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
Jinn	O
from	O
Islamic	O
folklore	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
's	O
Steam	B-Application
page	O
was	O
launched	O
on	O
March	O
6	O
,	O
2020	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
announcement	O
trailer	O
was	O
released	O
three	O
months	O
later	O
,	O
announcing	O
additional	O
VR	B-Application
support	O
and	O
a	O
release	O
date	O
for	O
the	O
early	O
access	O
build	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Dknighter	B-Application
,	O
the	O
founder	O
and	O
sole	O
member	O
of	O
Kinetic	B-Application
Games	I-Application
at	O
the	O
time	O
,	O
stated	O
he	O
hoped	O
to	O
release	O
the	O
full	O
game	O
somewhere	O
in	O
2021	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Kinetic	B-Application
Games	I-Application
plans	O
to	O
release	O
console	O
versions	O
once	O
the	O
game	O
has	O
more	O
content	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
first	O
releasing	O
around	O
mid-September	O
,	O
the	O
game	O
began	O
to	O
pick	O
up	O
steam	B-Application
around	O
the	O
beginning	O
of	O
October	O
for	O
Halloween	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
was	O
likely	O
due	O
to	O
the	O
game	O
becoming	O
early	O
access	O
around	O
the	O
beginning	O
of	O
the	O
Halloween	B-Application
season	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
being	O
similar	O
in	O
popularity	O
to	O
its	O
inspiration	O
P.T.	B-Application
</s>
<s>
On	O
Twitch	O
,	O
the	O
game	O
grew	O
exponentially	O
and	O
even	O
reached	O
the	O
top	O
5	O
most	O
viewed	O
game	O
in	O
mid	O
October	O
,	O
overtaking	O
games	O
such	O
Among	B-Application
Us	I-Application
,	O
Fortnite	B-Application
Battle	I-Application
Royale	I-Application
,	O
FIFA	B-Application
21	I-Application
,	O
and	O
Genshin	B-Application
Impact	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
became	O
a	O
Steam	B-Application
top-seller	O
,	O
and	O
by	O
the	O
end	O
of	O
October	O
18	O
,	O
2020	O
,	O
was	O
the	O
best	O
selling	O
game	O
of	O
that	O
week	O
,	O
even	O
beating	O
out	O
Fall	B-Application
Guys	I-Application
and	O
pre-orders	O
for	O
Cyberpunk	B-Application
2077	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
the	O
highest	O
selling	O
game	O
on	O
Steam	B-Application
for	O
three	O
weeks	O
in	O
a	O
row	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Phasmophobia	B-Application
was	O
well-received	O
by	O
critics	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Cass	O
Marshall	O
,	O
writing	O
in	O
Polygon	O
,	O
also	O
gave	O
a	O
positive	O
review	O
,	O
describing	O
it	O
as	O
"	O
a	O
nice	O
,	O
cozy	O
kind	O
of	O
horror	B-Application
and	O
once	O
it	O
gets	O
rolling	O
,	O
it	O
is	O
brilliant	O
"	O
,	O
while	O
also	O
finding	O
that	O
the	O
game	O
had	O
numerous	O
bugs	O
which	O
have	O
since	O
been	O
fixed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
John	O
Wolfe	O
,	O
an	O
American	O
Horror	B-Application
Game	I-Application
reviewer	O
also	O
liked	O
the	O
game	O
and	O
appreciated	O
many	O
aspects	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
review	O
by	O
CBR	O
described	O
the	O
game	O
as	O
"	O
the	O
perfect	O
game	O
for	O
the	O
Halloween	B-Application
season	O
"	O
,	O
praising	O
it	O
for	O
its	O
unique	O
jumpscares	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
for	O
its	O
sound	O
design	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
has	O
been	O
compared	O
to	O
many	O
other	O
horror	B-Application
games	I-Application
of	O
a	O
similar	O
nature	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
Friday	B-Application
the	I-Application
13th	I-Application
:	I-Application
The	I-Application
Game	I-Application
and	O
Dead	B-Application
by	I-Application
Daylight	I-Application
.	O
</s>
