Ghost Hunting Games Like Phasmophobia: 12 Steam Picks

The best games like Phasmophobia capture that slow climb from “is anything even here?” to everyone sprinting for the van. You love it for the detective work: reading an EMF spike, asking a spirit box a question with your real voice, ticking evidence off in the journal while a friend’s footsteps fade upstairs. The picks below keep that feeling in different ways, from close ghost-identification games to co-op horror where the job changes but the panic stays.

What makes Phasmophobia what it is

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Phasmophobia, from Kinetic Games, is a four-player online co-op psychological horror game. Steam lists it as released on Sep 18, 2020, and it is still in Early Access, which means the developer sells it while it is still being built and updated. It supports single-player, full controller support and VR, runs on Windows, and holds a Very Positive rating from over 841,000 Steam reviews.

The loop is simple to describe and hard to master. Your team drives to a haunted location, sets up equipment such as EMF readers, spirit boxes, thermometers and night vision cameras, and gathers evidence until you can name which of the more than 20 ghost types is haunting the place. Each ghost has its own traits, so you learn to read behaviour, not just readings.

Three things make it stick, and they are what to look for in games like Phasmophobia:

• Evidence-based deduction. You win by working out what you are facing, not by fighting it.
• Your voice matters. The game uses voice recognition, so you can speak to ghosts through Ouija boards and spirit box sessions.
• Quiet, grounded atmosphere. Realistic sound and a minimal interface keep you guessing, and cursed possessions trade your sanity for information.

No single pick below does all three exactly the same way. The first group stays closest to the deduction; the others keep the co-op dread and the voice-chat comedy.

Ghost hunting games like Phasmophobia

These are the closest matches: you go into a haunted place, use tools to identify what is there, and then deal with it. If the journal was your favourite part, start here.

Demonologist

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Demonologist is the pick most players reach for first among games like Phasmophobia, and its store text explains why. Your goal is to identify the type of evil spirit in a cursed place with your equipment, then exorcise it, alone or with a team. It is built in Unreal Engine 5 and leans hard on visuals.

The voice side goes further than a spirit box: cursed places react to what you say, and the store notes that a single spoken word can open a secret door. Between hunts you invite friends to your safe house, pick paranormal locations, and spend earnings on improving the house, buying a new one or even getting a pet. Daily and weekly tasks plus special-date events give regulars something to chase.

Who it suits: groups who want the Phasmophobia formula with an exorcism finish and a home base to build up. Modes: 1-4 players, single-player and online co-op. Clock Wizard Games, Very Positive on Steam.

Ghost Watchers

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If you loved learning ghost types, Ghost Watchers gives you a lot to learn. It lists 20 ghost types, including human souls, strange creatures and several kinds of demons, each with its own attack and animations. You work out not only the type but also the ghost’s age and mood, then try to catch it.

Over 60 tools cover both evidence gathering and fighting back, across seven locations with clues and Easter eggs. Game modifiers let you change up runs once a house starts to feel familiar, and the store page says more ghosts and locations are coming.

Who it suits: evidence nerds who want more variables to track than Phasmophobia gives them. Modes: single-player and online co-op. Renderise, Very Positive on Steam.

Ghost Exorcism INC.

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Ghost Exorcism INC. splits the job into two halves. First, the familiar part: an EMF K2 detector, a frequency analyzer, a threat detector and surveillance cameras help you track and identify the entity, whose type (Shadow, Poltergeist, Demon and others), evidence and behaviour are randomised. Then comes an exorcism protocol using items like holy water, incense and a Neutron-Gun.

The twist is escalation. Entities adapt to what you do, and the closer you get to banishing them, the more dangerous they become, so the final ritual is a defend-the-team moment rather than a quiet guess in the van. Castles, manors and abandoned houses are on the list of places to cleanse.

Who it suits: bigger friend groups, since it takes up to six. Modes: 1-6 players, single-player and online co-op, Early Access. StudioGoupil, Mostly Positive on Steam.

FOREWARNED

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FOREWARNED swaps suburban houses for haunted ancient Egyptian tombs. Your team of archaeologists uses its tools to identify the name of the mummy, one of the cursed Mejai, haunting the ruins, which lets you enter the inner chamber and take the sacred relic. Treasure and lore along the way reward careful exploring.

Unlike a Phasmophobia ghost, the Mejai physically manifest to stop you leaving, and each has strengths to avoid and weaknesses to exploit. Tombs are procedurally generated (built differently each run), across twelve maps, so routes never settle into routine.

Who it suits: players who want the identification puzzle with a dungeon-crawl feel, and VR owners. Modes: 1-4 players, single-player, online co-op and public lobbies, VR supported. Dreambyte Games, Very Positive on Steam.

Pacify

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Pacify, from Shawn Hitchcock, casts you as a new hire at PAH Inc., a paranormal contractor that promises you will never be in real danger. Each mission is its own story with a unique environment, monsters and multiple endings: you pacify, weaken and capture supernatural creatures rather than simply naming them.

It is more structured and a bit sillier than Phasmophobia, and its proximity voice chat (your voice carries only to players near you in the game world) adds voice-changing effects in certain situations, which tends to turn scares into laughs.

Who it suits: groups who like a written mission over an open-ended investigation, and Mac players. Modes: single-player or online co-op with up to 6 friends, plus PvP, cross-platform, Windows and macOS. Very Positive on Steam.

Co-op horror where the job is the loot

These drop the ghost identification but keep what made Phasmophobia sessions memorable: a team splitting up in the dark, relying on each other’s callouts, and someone not coming back. They are also some of the most-reviewed co-op horror games on Steam.

Lethal Company

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In Lethal Company you are a contracted worker collecting scrap from abandoned, industrial moons to meet the Company’s profit quota. Cash buys trips to riskier moons or cosmetics for your ship, and you scan creatures to fill a bestiary.

The Phasmophobia link is the van role. One player can stay on the ship, watch the radar, call out traps and open locked doors from the terminal, while everyone else goes inside with flashlights and walkie talkies. Nights get dangerous, and the store is blunt that the monsters prey on the lonesome.

Who it suits: groups who enjoyed the comms and the roles more than the deduction. Modes: single-player and online co-op, Early Access. Zeekerss, Overwhelmingly Positive on Steam.

R.E.P.O.

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R.E.P.O. takes up to six players into haunted ruins to find valuable objects and extract them for a mysterious computer intelligence. Everything is physics-based: you carry pianos and fragile ceramics with a grabbing tool, and the monsters obey gravity too.

Proximity voice chat is central, and so is knowing when to shut up. Hard-earned cash buys upgrades and weapons. It is more slapstick than Phasmophobia, but the “stay quiet, it’s close” moments hit just as hard.

Who it suits: larger groups who want laughs between scares. Modes: up to 6 players, single-player and online co-op, Early Access. semiwork, Overwhelmingly Positive on Steam.

Content Warning

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If your favourite Phasmophobia moments were the photos and recordings, Content Warning makes that the whole game. You ride a diving bell down to the Old World and film physics-animated monsters, cursed relics and artefacts before oxygen, camera battery or friends run out. Back on the surface you upload to SpöökTube, hold a watch party and hope for views.

Each run lasts three in-game days, and ad revenue pays for better gear. You also design your face with an ASCII customiser, which sets the tone.

Who it suits: friend groups who want comedy-horror with a replay at the end. Modes: online co-op and cross-platform multiplayer; Steam does not list single-player. Very Positive on Steam.

Survive-together horror with a grounded feel

These are about getting out alive rather than identifying anything, but they share Phasmophobia’s tension and, in one case, its look.

Escape the Backrooms

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Escape the Backrooms is built on the same approach Phasmophobia takes to atmosphere: realistic graphics, a minimal interface and dreary ambience. Up to four players explore over 30 levels drawn from the backrooms creepypasta (an internet horror legend of endless, empty liminal spaces), each with its own way out.

Entities have their own rules you have to learn, and they can hear your proximity chat. Everyone has to reach the exit alive to escape, and teammates can no-clip into other parts of the map, so separation is a real threat.

Who it suits: players who loved the silence and the wandering more than the tools. Modes: 1-4 players, single-player and online co-op. Fancy Games and Blackbird Interactive, Very Positive on Steam.

DEVOUR

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DEVOUR has up to four cult members racing to stop possessed cultists before they drag you to hell. Each themed map brings a new form of the goat demon Azazel, new places to explore and new rituals. You find key ritual items, some of which run away, and complete the banishment against the clock.

It is louder and more frantic than Phasmophobia (run, scream, hide), with sessions lasting up to an hour. The single-player mode is pitched as hardcore only.

Who it suits: teams that want pure chase pressure, plus VR and Mac players. Modes: 1-4 players, online co-op, VR supported, Windows and macOS. Straight Back Games, Very Positive on Steam.

The Outlast Trials

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Red Barrels’ co-op take on Outlast sets you as a Cold War test subject in a Murkoff Corporation facility, put through brainwashing “therapy.” You complete Trials and MK-Challenges to earn release, alone or in a team of 2, 3 or 4.

Co-op is never required for mandatory objectives, but helping each other pays off. This is the most intense and cruel pick here, with a far more authored setting than Phasmophobia’s open contracts.

Who it suits: horror fans who want a stronger scare and a story-heavy world. Modes: solo or teams of 2-4, online co-op, full controller support. Very Positive on Steam.

Play the ghost instead

Midnight Ghost Hunt

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Midnight Ghost Hunt is the answer to “what if the ghost was a friend?” It is a 4v4 prop hunt, a hide-and-seek format where one side disguises itself as objects. Ghosts possess furniture and throw the room at Hunters, while Hunters use ghost-busting tech to banish them. When the clock strikes midnight, Ghosts power up and Hunters have to survive.

Who it suits: competitive groups of eight. Modes: online PvP only, cross-platform. Vaulted Sky Games, published by Coffee Stain Publishing, Mostly Positive on Steam.

How to choose between these games like Phasmophobia

Start by naming the part you liked most, then match it:

1. Deduction and ghost types: Ghost Watchers, Demonologist, Ghost Exorcism INC., FOREWARNED.
2. Team roles and radio callouts: Lethal Company.
3. Proximity-chat chaos: R.E.P.O., Content Warning, Pacify.
4. Silent, realistic dread: Escape the Backrooms.
5. Raw survival pressure: DEVOUR, The Outlast Trials.

A worked example. Say you have five friends and one of them only likes laughing, not studying ghost charts. Phasmophobia caps at four, so pure ghost hunts mostly rule out the whole group. Ghost Exorcism INC. takes six and keeps the detectors; R.E.P.O. takes six and keeps the jokes. Play R.E.P.O. on the first night, and if the group wants more structure, move on to Ghost Exorcism INC.

Mistakes to avoid:

• Assuming every pick works solo. Content Warning does not list single-player, and Midnight Ghost Hunt is PvP only.
• Ignoring player caps. Escape the Backrooms, DEVOUR, Demonologist and FOREWARNED top out at four; Ghost Exorcism INC. and R.E.P.O. go to six.
• Expecting VR everywhere. Only DEVOUR and FOREWARNED list VR support here.
• Forgetting Early Access. Ghost Exorcism INC., Lethal Company and R.E.P.O. are still in development, like Phasmophobia, so expect changes.

For more scares beyond these games like Phasmophobia, browse our best horror games on Steam. If your group mostly wants co-op of any kind, try games like It Takes Two or the chaos of games like Overcooked. To see what is coming, check upcoming co-op games, or browse every list under games like the ones you love.

Questions and answers

Is Phasmophobia terrifying?

For most groups, yes. Phasmophobia calls itself a psychological horror game, and it builds fear slowly: realistic sound, very little on-screen interface, and ghosts that listen to your actual voice. The worst moments come when a ghost starts hunting and the team has to run or hide. Playing alone with headphones is much scarier than a noisy group session, so you can choose how intense you want it to be.

Which type of game is Phasmophobia?

Phasmophobia is an online co-op psychological horror game for up to four players, built around investigation. Your team enters a haunted location, uses equipment such as EMF readers, spirit boxes and thermometers to gather evidence, and works out which of more than 20 ghost types is haunting the place. It supports single-player and VR, and Steam still lists it as Early Access.

Is Demonologist a ripoff of Phasmophobia?

Demonologist plainly shares Phasmophobia's core idea: a team of up to four identifies an evil spirit with equipment in a cursed place. It adds its own systems, though. You also exorcise the spirit, upgrade or buy a safe house, keep a pet, and take on daily and weekly tasks. It is built in Unreal Engine 5 and holds a Very Positive Steam rating, so many players clearly treat it as an alternative rather than a copy.

What is the closest game to Phasmophobia on Steam?

Ghost Watchers and Demonologist are the closest matches. Both have you gather evidence with ghost-hunting tools to work out what kind of entity you are facing. Ghost Watchers also tracks the ghost's age and mood and offers over 60 tools. Demonologist adds an exorcism finish and a safe house you improve over time. Ghost Exorcism INC. is another close fit and takes up to six players.

Can you play games like Phasmophobia solo?

Most of them, yes. Demonologist, Ghost Watchers, Ghost Exorcism INC., FOREWARNED, Pacify, Lethal Company, R.E.P.O., DEVOUR, Escape the Backrooms and The Outlast Trials all list single-player on Steam. Content Warning does not list single-player, and Midnight Ghost Hunt is a 4v4 online PvP game, so both need other people.

Are there VR games like Phasmophobia?

Yes. From this list, DEVOUR and FOREWARNED both list VR support on Steam, just like Phasmophobia. DEVOUR has you race to banish a demon with up to four players, and FOREWARNED sends a team of up to four into haunted Egyptian tombs to identify the mummy haunting them. Both also support single-player.