Paranormal HK

About

Paranormal HK is a single player action adventure game with horror, drama and thriller themes. It was developed by Ghostpie Studio and was released on January 6, 2020. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

Paranormal HK is a first person horror game about Urban legends of Hong Kong, China. The story is about a crew of online supernatural channel“Beyond the Invisible” went to Kowloon Walled City to film a short movie for their latest episode and encountered something out of their expectations.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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78%

Audience ScoreBased on 364 reviews

story33 positive mentions

gameplay12 negative mentions

The game features a captivating atmosphere and detailed graphics that effectively depict the Kowloon Walled City, enhancing the horror experience.
The storyline is intriguing, drawing on Hong Kong urban myths and providing a unique cultural perspective that many players find appealing.
The game includes some genuinely effective jump scares and puzzles that, while not overly complex, add to the overall enjoyment.

The gameplay suffers from clunky controls and frustrating stealth mechanics, making certain sections tedious and repetitive.
The English translation is poorly executed, leading to confusion about the story and objectives, especially for players unfamiliar with Chinese culture.
Many players report bugs and performance issues, including graphical glitches and inconsistent AI behavior, detracting from the overall experience.

story
87 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
57%
5%
The story aspect of the game receives mixed reviews, with some players praising its intriguing premise based on Hong Kong urban myths and its atmospheric setting, while others criticize the pacing, coherence, and translation quality, which often leaves the narrative feeling disjointed and confusing. Many players find the gameplay dull and the story lacking depth, with some suggesting that the translation issues significantly hinder the overall experience. Overall, while there are moments of interest, the execution of the story leaves much to be desired for a significant portion of the audience.
- “Amazing storyline, 100% worth it.”
- “The story is amazing; it's about an urban legend of Hong Kong and China and a crew of an online supernatural channel that went to Kowloon Walled City to film a short movie for their latest episode but encountered supernatural occurrences.”
- “A really good horror game, with good graphics and an overall good story behind it.”
- “This story just drags on and on and on, and it doesn't seem like the conclusion makes any sense. Gameplay is pretty boring most of the time, especially during chases. The subtitles blend with some of the background lights, making it hard to read, and the controls are clunky as well.”
- “Sadly, the story is difficult to understand in English as the translation is truly woeful.”
- “Although you could usually self-correct the many typos and translation errors, the story was still a disconnected patchwork of different sections awkwardly stitched together with no sensible backstory.”
atmosphere
60 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
63%
32%
5%
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its detailed and immersive depiction of settings, particularly the Kowloon Walled City, which evokes a sense of eeriness and intrigue. While some players noted that the sound design and jump scares could detract from the overall experience, many found the environment and aesthetic to be the game's strongest qualities, contributing to a captivating and sometimes unsettling atmosphere. Overall, the game successfully creates a rich atmosphere that enhances the horror elements, despite some criticisms regarding polish and gameplay mechanics.
- “The game's use of Unreal Engine 4 is showcased well in its use of atmospheric light to subtly illuminate your surroundings, add this to well-dressed environments with an acute sense of detail, and the game world is a treat to explore.”
- “Its strongest quality is certainly the atmosphere; it captures Hong Kong's atmosphere with great attention to detail.”
- “The atmosphere they create in this game is amazing; they worked hard on the audio for the game too.”
- “What little atmosphere it creates is quickly erased by the total lack of polish.”
- “The whole ambience was boring and flat; for example, when the place was dark, it would play scary music, and because your character is also slow, the music repeats itself, butchering the whole atmosphere.”
- “It's very slow and repetitive, and there's literally no attempt to build dread or any kind of scary atmosphere.”
gameplay
52 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
15%
62%
23%
The gameplay has received largely negative feedback, with many players finding it boring, clunky, and frustrating due to slow movement, awkward mechanics, and repetitive chase sequences. While some appreciated the atmosphere and visuals, they felt the overall experience was marred by outdated horror tropes and poorly designed gameplay loops. Despite a few redeeming qualities, such as interesting puzzles and a decent length, the consensus is that the gameplay lacks engagement and polish.
- “Gameplay-wise, this is an 'Outlast' style game, but with its own unique charm.”
- “The controls are very responsive and it feels good to control; however, the button pressing mechanic is kind of warped.”
- “For their first game, which gives you about 6 hours of gameplay, it's a really nice indie horror game.”
- “This story just drags on and on and on and it doesn't seem like the conclusion makes any sense. Gameplay is pretty boring most of the time, especially during chases. The subtitles blend with some of the background lights, making it hard to read, and the controls are clunky as well.”
- “The gameplay consists of walking very slowly and solving dead easy puzzles, and also playing boring hide and seek with the enemies teleporting randomly around the map (sometimes directly in front of you, causing you to respawn).”
- “By the end of the game, the setting is uninspired and boring, the mechanics are clunky and broken, and at that point, you are just trying to get the game over with.”
graphics
48 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
58%
36%
6%
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many praising the atmospheric and aesthetic design, particularly in the context of its horror elements and setting. While some players find the visuals beautiful and immersive, others criticize them for being unoptimized or reminiscent of older titles, leading to occasional performance issues. Overall, the graphics are generally considered good, but there are notable inconsistencies and technical issues that detract from the experience.
- “Nice graphics and very real.”
- “The environment graphics are great.”
- “Beautiful graphics, quite chilling story, fun puzzles.”
- “I expected a lot more, but ultimately this is a 2013 horror game (Amnesia clones) with slightly better graphics but very cheap design.”
- “The graphics of this game are absolutely horrible; even Left 4 Dead 2 has better graphics than this.”
- “As for the game itself, I've noticed that the graphics menu does not save your changes, so by default, all my settings were set to max and could not be lowered.”
music
17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
53%
18%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players praising its ability to enhance the atmosphere and create suspense, particularly in horror sequences. However, others criticize its repetitiveness and abruptness, which can detract from the overall experience. While the soundtrack effectively contributes to the game's chilling ambiance, issues like volume inconsistencies and lack of variety are noted as drawbacks.
- “This game was terrifying and fun; the music is what makes it scary because you have to listen for audio cues, and just when you think it's safe, the jumpscare volume goes from 1 to 100 real quick.”
- “I don't usually play horror type games, but the soundtrack and background music really give one the chills!”
- “The atmosphere and background music are good; I love the first episode most, as it is really scary for the players who just started.”
- “And again, the music/ambient sounds didn't add any atmosphere.”
- “The whole ambience was boring and flat; for example, when the place was dark, it would play scary music, and because your character is also slow, the music repeats itself, butchering the whole atmosphere.”
- “There are several immersion-breaking moments in the game; one of the biggest issues is the music's repetitiveness and abruptness.”
humor
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is described as a blend of unintentional comedy and absurdity, with players finding amusement in the AI's nonsensical behavior and poorly designed animations. Moments that were meant to be scary often come off as over-the-top and ridiculous, contributing to a lighthearted experience despite the game's horror elements. Additionally, glitches add a layer of humor without detracting from gameplay.
- “I found it funny that the AI would just chase me and ignore the fact that she saw me enter a wardrobe and simply walks away like nothing happened.”
- “The parts that were supposed to be scary were over-dramatized to the point it's funny because it tries so hard to scare you on something that isn't even scary.”
- “A few glitches but they add some humor to the game and don't hinder anything.”
grinding
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
80%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessively tedious, often requiring significant time investment with repetitive tasks and poorly designed mechanics. The reliance on jump scares and lack of challenging puzzles further contribute to the overall frustration, making the experience feel like a chore rather than enjoyable gameplay.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “The game is extremely tedious with horrid cat and mouse tropes.”
- “The puzzles aren't incredibly challenging, just tedious.”
stability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability is marked by several bugs, including visibility through walls and glitches during chase sequences, which can disrupt gameplay. However, many players find that these issues add a humorous element without significantly detracting from the overall experience, which remains engaging and suspenseful.
- “The game is very buggy with ghosts walking through walls and grabbing you when they're not supposed to, or switches disappearing when you need to turn them on.”
- “There are some buggy instances where I could see through walls.”
- “While certain chase sequences can be buggy at times, the buildup of suspense and audio, both music and sound effects, make this a solid and spooky experience.”
emotional
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the game emotionally impactful, with some describing it as "touching" and noting that it evokes strong feelings through collectibles that enhance the narrative. However, others feel it lacks the depth of emotional content seen in similar titles, which diminishes the overall experience.
- “You will get most of your exposition from collectibles, and that works fine, occasionally offering some emotional stake in your adventure.”
- “This game feels too much inspired by devotion, but it doesn't have the emotional content to elevate the gaming experience.”
optimization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
67%
The optimization of the game has been criticized for its inconsistent performance, with users experiencing significant dips at times. Additionally, there are issues with Steam VR compatibility and difficulties in navigating the English menu, suggesting that improvements are needed.
- “The performance is usually pretty good, but it dips significantly at certain points.”
- “I hope that the optimization improves over time, as Steam VR currently does not start with the game, and finding the English menu could be easier.”
- “Horrible performance.”
- “Maybe at some point the optimization will be better; Steam VR will not start with the game, and the English menu will be much easier to find.”
character development
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Character development is lacking, leading to confusion as important characters are introduced without sufficient background information, resulting in a disconnection from their fates.
- “You don't get much background information or character development, so it's very confusing when they suddenly talk about this character who apparently was pretty important, and you don't care about what happens to them.”
- “The characters feel one-dimensional, lacking any real growth or depth throughout the story.”
- “There are moments that could have been great for character development, but they are glossed over, leaving the characters feeling flat and unrelatable.”
replayability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users generally express a lack of replayability, indicating that the game does not offer enough incentive or content to warrant multiple playthroughs.
- “I simply do not see any replay value.”
- “The game lacks the depth to warrant multiple playthroughs.”
- “Once you've completed it, there's little incentive to return.”