This is a Ghost

About

"This Is a Ghost" is a paranormal investigation game where you play as a ghost hunter. Your goal is to identify and banish entities from 10 unique maps, using professional equipment like EMF radar, night vision, and motion sensors. Entities have different abilities, such as possessing players or draining life energy, and you can protect yourself with shields, incense, or weapons like pistols and shotguns. Completing a contract involves both banishing the entity and investigating the location. The game can be played alone or in co-op mode with up to 4 players.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

89%

Audience ScoreBased on 650 reviews

gameplay40 positive mentions

story3 negative mentions

The game offers a unique twist on the ghost hunting genre by allowing players to fight back against ghosts with weapons, making it more engaging and action-packed.
The gameplay is challenging yet rewarding, with a solid progression system that keeps players motivated to unlock new items and ghosts.
The developer is responsive to community feedback, regularly updating the game to improve mechanics and fix bugs, which enhances the overall experience.

The game has a steep learning curve, making it difficult for new players to grasp the mechanics without a comprehensive tutorial.
There are issues with the user interface and keybindings, which can be confusing and detract from the gameplay experience.
The group health system can be punishing, as losing one player can result in the entire team failing, which may frustrate players who prefer a more forgiving multiplayer experience.

gameplay
108 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
37%
60%
3%
The gameplay is characterized by a solid and engaging loop that balances accessibility with depth, featuring innovative ghost-hunting mechanics and a variety of entities that keep the experience fresh. While the game has a steep learning curve and some confusing UI elements, players find the mechanics rewarding once mastered, especially in multiplayer settings. However, many reviewers note that the core gameplay loop requires refinement to enhance overall satisfaction and progression.
- “The gameplay strikes a perfect balance between accessibility and depth.”
- “The game offers a range of different entities to identify and banish, each with unique behaviors and characteristics, keeping the gameplay fresh and exciting.”
- “The process of identifying the ghost and figuring out how to banish it is both challenging and rewarding.”
- “Instead, it has a bunch of voice lines pre-programmed that you just scroll through and pick to invoke an intended response, making it feel very mechanical and not organic the way Phasmophobia does it.”
- “And yet it's not satisfying to do so as it's just like doing a checklist of things to take pictures of, unlike how Fatal Frame forces you to take pictures of the ghost as its core mechanic, which makes it feel very atmospheric and scary.”
- “There's nothing to explain the mechanics or how to properly hunt a ghost in this game.”
graphics
32 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
44%
47%
9%
The graphics of the game receive generally positive feedback, with many users praising the detailed environments and character models, describing them as top-notch for the genre. However, there are criticisms regarding inconsistencies, particularly with the ghost's writing, which detracts from the overall aesthetic. While some players experienced technical issues that affected performance, the sound design complements the visuals well, enhancing the immersive horror experience.
- “The graphics and sound effects are top-notch, making you feel like you're truly hunting ghosts.”
- “Great graphics and gorgeous locations with lots of great detail.”
- “Graphics and detail are amazing; ghost sprites are creepy, in-game audio for ghosts is creepy, and jump scares are a hit.”
- “Also, when the ghost writes stuff on the wall or in its book, the scribbles are ugly and this weird contrast with how good the environment looks completely ruins the aesthetic of the game and makes it an eyesore.”
- “When I try, it tells me to update my drivers, which I did, but I keep getting a 'fatal error.' The person I want to play with gets the same message but the game still allows her to play; she just has to lower the graphics settings for optimal playability.”
- “Graphic = mid”
story
32 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
6%
84%
9%
The game's story aspect is minimal, with players noting a lack of narrative depth and a focus on mission-based gameplay. While there are stakes tied to mission failures, such as reputation loss with factions, the overall experience is more about the adrenaline of gameplay rather than a compelling story. Players often find themselves humorously failing missions due to friendly fire and miscommunication, which adds a chaotic element to the experience.
- “Failing a mission is punished harshly, so there is a sense of stakes tied to each run you do.”
- “In fact, I've steadily lost reputation with the factions that you take missions with every single time I've died.”
- “☑ no story”
- “In fact, I've steadily lost reputation with the 'factions' that you take missions with every single time I've died.”
- “Also, the reputation loss when you lose a mission is brutal.”
grinding
30 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
3%
3%
93%
The grinding aspect of the game is widely criticized for being excessively tedious, with players noting a steep experience requirement for leveling up and significant penalties for dying, which can hinder progression. While some players find the grind rewarding and appreciate the skill development involved, many agree that the slow accumulation of reputation, money, and upgrades can make the experience feel overly laborious, especially when unlocking new content. Overall, the consensus is that the game demands a considerable time investment to progress, which may deter some players.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “And all of this on top of a progression system that is extremely grindy - 10,000 XP per level in any of the three groups, but with a death tax of at least 50% of what you would earn for winning a match, which isn't much - maybe 300-400.”
- “However, the game is ridiculously grindy for content.”
- “When your advancement through the game depends on standing with a guild/community and it is hard to move up, let alone get the money for upgrades, it makes it tedious.”
atmosphere
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
44%
39%
17%
The game's atmosphere is described as chilling and immersive, with detailed environments and effective sound design that create a tense experience. However, some players feel that the focus on photography detracts from the ghost hunting ambiance, leading to a less satisfying experience compared to other horror titles. While it may lack the fear factor of similar games, it still offers an enjoyable and engaging atmosphere for fans of paranormal themes.
- “The attention to detail in the environments, combined with the chilling sound design, creates an atmosphere that keeps you on the edge of your seat from start to finish.”
- “Immersive atmosphere: the game does an exceptional job of creating a spooky and tense environment.”
- “Really enjoyable game with a good, spooky atmosphere.”
- “The game quickly devolves into a photo shoot event and it really takes me out of the ghost hunting atmosphere as I'm just scrambling around trying to take perfect pictures.”
- “Although the game isn't scary at all and the atmosphere is a bit lacking, I still recommend it for the fun gameplay.”
- “Missing the fear factor atmosphere of some other ghost games.”
music
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
50%
30%
The music in the game is a point of contention among players, with some expressing confusion over its mechanics, such as the significance of entities that "like music" and the impact of the music slider. Additionally, the automatic triggering of music upon entering certain areas can detract from the gameplay experience, as it may reduce the incentive for further exploration and evidence collection. Overall, while music plays a role in the atmosphere, its implementation raises questions and can disrupt the intended gameplay flow.
- “Vengeful ghosts will come out swinging; put on some rocky music and swing back.”
- “Walking into a house and automatically hearing siren song kind of takes the fun out of the run, as you can stop bothering with any other evidence collection.”
- “I still don't know what 'likes music' means, for instance.”
- “Can I get a link to the songs on the radio?”
- “The music slider goes down to 0?”
humor
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game effectively blends humor and horror, providing players with plenty of laugh-out-loud moments, especially during unexpected mishaps in co-op play. Many users noted that the comedic elements often arise from chaotic team interactions, sometimes resulting in players inadvertently causing each other's demise more than the game's ghostly threats. Overall, the mix of humor and scares creates a memorable and entertaining experience, particularly when enjoyed with friends.
- “The game offers plenty of hilarious moments, especially when things don’t go as planned, making it perfect for playing with friends.”
- “Hilariously, our team killed each other more than the ghost took us out.”
- “It's funny, and I've had my fair share of scares in it, but it's definitely scary at some points, especially when a hunt starts.”
replayability
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
25%
25%
The game is praised for its high replayability, with well-designed maps and numerous unlockable features that encourage continued play. However, players note that the addition of more locations could further enhance this aspect. Overall, it stands out in its genre for its engaging mechanics and replay value.
- “It's an engaging, terrifying, and highly replayable game that stands out in the genre.”
- “Very well made and has incredible replayability.”
- “While the existing maps are well-designed, adding more locations would enhance replayability.”
- “It might seem like the most unnecessarily convoluted and goofy-looking ghost hunting game, but once you adjust to all of its mechanics, it is undoubtedly in the top 3 in terms of replayability and giving you lots of things to unlock and reasons to keep playing.”
stability
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability is inconsistent, with some players noting a rough, early access feel and a mix of experiences regarding bugs and glitches. While some users report not encountering significant issues, others highlight persistent bugs that detract from gameplay, leading to a frustrating experience. Overall, the game appears to need further refinement to improve its stability.
- “Game is buggy; still needs to fix what ingredients to use on the ghost. It's a 50/50 if it works.”
- “Maybe I missed something here, but this was just straight terrible... it was buggy (multiple equipment out at one time), glitchy with monsters, and not scary nor fun.”
- “The game is very rough around the edges in many places, to the point where it reminds me of an early access game.”
optimization
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
Overall, the game's optimization is generally well-received, with minimal bugs and performance issues reported. However, some players experience occasional frame rate drops, with performance dipping to around 50 fps on decent hardware, which can detract from the experience. The photo system and map designs are praised, contributing positively to the overall performance perception.
- “The photo system is satisfying (60+ different photos, and a photo deletion option!), the map designs are excellent, and I had no encounters with bugs or performance issues on my end.”
- “Minimal bugs and performance issues.”
- “The photo system is satisfying (60+ different photos, and a photo deletion option!), the map designs are excellent, and I had no encounters with bugs or performance issues on my end.”
- “It gets quite boring sitting for 10 minutes waiting for it to touch a light switch to get fingerprints, but another issue would probably be the general performance; sometimes it drops to as low as 50 fps, and I've got a decent PC—not the best, but it should be able to run it smoothly.”
- “The performance issues are noticeable, as the game can drop to as low as 50 fps even on decent hardware.”
- “While there are minimal bugs, the overall performance could use significant improvement.”
emotional
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect of the game has been criticized, with users expressing strong dissatisfaction and a desire for refunds, indicating that the experience did not resonate positively with them.