This is a Ghost
- April 17, 2024
- Nuci
- 5h median play time
"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.
Reviews
- The game offers a unique and engaging ghost-hunting experience with innovative mechanics, including the ability to banish ghosts using various tools and weapons.
- The atmosphere is immersive, with high-quality graphics and sound design that enhance the horror experience.
- The game has a rewarding progression system, allowing players to unlock new ghosts and upgrades, which keeps the gameplay fresh and exciting.
- There is a steep learning curve, making it challenging for new players to grasp the mechanics and objectives quickly.
- The game can be punishing, with harsh penalties for failure, including loss of reputation and resources, which may deter casual players.
- Some players have reported issues with bugs and performance, as well as a confusing user interface that complicates gameplay.
- gameplay82 mentions
- 41 % positive mentions
- 55 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The gameplay features innovative ghost-hunting mechanics that effectively utilize various equipment to track and gather evidence, providing depth and strategic engagement. Players appreciate the variety of entities with unique behaviors, which keeps the experience fresh, although some find the learning curve steep and the UI somewhat confusing. Overall, while the core mechanics are enjoyable and offer high replayability, there are calls for refinement in the gameplay loop and clearer instructions for new players.
“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.”
“Once you understand the game mechanics, it makes it fun and intriguing.”
“It's trying to do some interesting things, but unfortunately it just feels like it needs some revisions to the core gameplay loop.”
“There's nothing to explain the mechanics or how to properly hunt a ghost in this game.”
“I find going to tab and using the wheel to get to the journal or other items to be a bit of a janky mechanic and frustrating when you have your book open doing research on the types of ghosts and then the ghost mauls you with your book open.”
- story30 mentions
- 7 % positive mentions
- 83 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The game's story aspect is minimal, with players noting a lack of narrative depth and focusing instead on the mechanics of mission completion. The harsh penalties for failing missions create a sense of stakes, as players lose reputation with factions, which adds pressure to succeed. Overall, the experience is more about the challenges of gameplay rather than a compelling storyline.
“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.”
- grinding22 mentions
- 5 % positive mentions
- 5 % neutral mentions
- 91 % negative mentions
The grinding aspect of the game is frequently criticized for being excessively tedious, particularly in terms of leveling up and earning in-game currency, with players facing steep experience requirements and penalties for dying. While some players find the grind manageable and even enjoyable due to engaging gameplay elements, many agree that the progression system could benefit from adjustments to reduce the overall grind, especially when unlocking new maps and upgrades. Balancing risk and reward adds complexity, but the grind can feel overwhelming, leading to frustration for 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.”
“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.”
“Just don't you dare suggest that 15 hours of grinding is too much just to unlock a couple of maps!”
- graphics20 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 35 % neutral mentions
- 15 % negative mentions
The graphics in the game are generally praised as top-notch, with many users highlighting the impressive visuals and sound design that enhance the horror experience. While some players report issues with performance and driver updates, the overall consensus is that the graphics are visually appealing, contributing significantly to the game's atmosphere. However, a few users noted that the graphics can be considered "mid" in certain contexts, indicating some inconsistency in player experiences.
“The graphics and sound effects are top-notch, making you feel like you're truly hunting ghosts.”
“Graphics are amazing, sounds are nice.”
“9/10 horror game - great graphics, great sound overall, good horror/jumpscare moments.”
“Graphic= mid”
“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.”
“Graphics look decent and character models look great.”
- atmosphere10 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is praised for its attention to detail and chilling sound design, creating an immersive and tense environment that keeps players engaged. However, some reviewers note that it lacks a strong fear factor compared to other titles in the genre, which may detract from the overall experience for those seeking a more frightening atmosphere. Despite this, many still find the atmosphere enjoyable and recommend the game for its fun gameplay.
“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.”
“The game does an exceptional job of creating a spooky and tense environment.”
“Really enjoyable game with a good, spooky atmosphere.”
“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.”
- replayability8 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The game is praised for its high replayability, with well-designed mechanics and numerous unlockable features that encourage continued play. However, the limited number of maps is noted as a drawback, suggesting that additional locations could further enhance the experience. Overall, it stands out in its genre for its engaging and terrifying gameplay.
“It's an engaging, terrifying, and highly replayable game that stands out in the genre.”
“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.”
“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.”
- music8 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 38 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
The music in the game is a point of contention among players, with some expressing confusion over its mechanics, such as the meaning of entities that "like music." Additionally, the automatic triggering of music upon entering certain areas can detract from the gameplay experience, as it simplifies the challenge of evidence collection. Overall, while music plays a role in interactions with entities, its implementation may need refinement to enhance player engagement.
“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.”
“The music slider goes down to 0?”
“The tutorial/help isn't specific on behavior for lost/vengeful/residual entities... some of it is common sense, but I still don't know what 'likes music' means, for instance.”
“[*] The music slider goes down to 0?”
“Vengeful ghosts will come out swinging; put on some rocky music and swing back.”
- optimization6 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
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 that should be able to run it smoothly.”
“The performance issues are noticeable, as it can drop to as low as 50 fps even on a decent setup.”
“The optimization leaves much to be desired, with frequent performance dips that disrupt the gameplay experience.”
- emotional2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
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.
- humor2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game effectively blends humor with horror, providing players with comedic moments that contrast with genuinely scary experiences, particularly during intense hunt sequences.
“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.”
- stability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -50 % neutral mentions
- 150 % negative mentions
The game's stability has been widely criticized, with users reporting numerous bugs, including issues with multiple pieces of equipment appearing simultaneously and glitches involving monsters, which detracted from the overall experience. Many players found these stability problems made the game neither enjoyable nor frightening.
“This game was just straight terrible; it was buggy with multiple pieces of equipment out at one time, glitchy with monsters, and not scary nor fun.”
“The stability issues made the gameplay frustrating, with frequent crashes and glitches that ruined the experience.”
“I encountered numerous bugs that affected my progress, making it hard to enjoy the game.”