Paranormal HK

About

Paranormal HK is a single player and multiplayer shooter game with horror, drama, thriller and erotic 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.

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77%

Audience ScoreBased on 447 reviews

story41 positive mentions

gameplay15 negative mentions

Unique horror experience with a strong cultural focus on Hong Kong folklore and urban legends, offering an authentic and immersive atmosphere.
Well-designed environment and level art that realistically depict the Kowloon Walled City with detailed textures and atmospheric lighting.
Engaging puzzles that are generally fair and integrate well with the story, alongside varied gameplay including exploration, stealth, and chase sequences.

Gameplay suffers from slow and clunky character movement, awkward controls, inconsistent stealth mechanics, and some frustrating trial-and-error sections.
The English localization and translation are poor, containing grammatical errors and missing translations which can make the story confusing or hard to follow.
The game relies heavily on jump scares, some of which are considered cheap or uninspired, and certain parts of the story and ending feel rushed or unsatisfying.

story
107 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
58%
4%
The story is a culturally rich, folklore-driven narrative centered on a paranormal investigation in Hong Kong’s Kowloon Walled City, praised for its atmosphere and immersive setting. However, many players found the storytelling fragmented, with confusing pacing and a rushed or unsatisfying ending, compounded by poor English translation and localization issues that hinder clarity. Despite these flaws, the story maintains enough intrigue and unique cultural elements to engage fans of horror and urban legends.
- “Beautifully eerie visuals, haunting atmosphere, loved the continuous story-telling between character chapters, with an uncanny soundtrack to tie everything together.”
- “Ghostpie Studio’s storytelling approach is fragmented yet effective, revealing backstories through environmental storytelling, scattered notes, and supernatural encounters rather than lengthy exposition.”
- “The detailed environments, cultural authenticity, and gripping story of a paranormal investigation gone wrong make it an unforgettable experience.”
- “The ending feels rushed, the story is somehow confusing and the translation manages to feel like it was made with Google Translate but still be full of all kinds of typos.”
- “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.”
- “The english translations are full of errors and some Chinese in the surroundings that seem important to the story isn't even translated.”
atmosphere
76 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
62%
34%
4%
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its authentic, eerie, and immersive depiction of Hong Kong’s supernatural underbelly, with detailed environments, lighting, and sound design that create a haunting and unsettling vibe. While some find the scare factor and jump scares inconsistent or occasionally goofy, the overall mood and setting strongly contribute to a memorable horror experience, especially for those appreciating cultural and atmospheric nuances. However, a few critiques note that occasional technical or gameplay flaws somewhat diminish the impact of the carefully crafted ambiance.
- “Beautifully eerie visuals, haunting atmosphere, and an uncanny soundtrack that ties everything together.”
- “ParanormalHK is an intense and atmospheric VR horror game with immersive gameplay and deeply unsettling environment.”
- “Dimly lit apartments, narrow staircases, flickering neon signs, and walls covered in faded posters create an atmosphere that's both authentic and otherworldly.”
- “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 slow, the music repeats itself, butchering the whole atmosphere.”
- “There is no real sense of atmosphere or danger.”
gameplay
75 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
16%
64%
20%
The gameplay of ParanormalHK is a mixed experience, combining exploration, environmental puzzles, and light stealth with moments of intense chase sequences. While praised for its immersive VR mechanics and atmospheric tension, many criticize it for clunky controls, slow pacing, repetitive and frustrating stealth sections, and dated or uninspired mechanics. Overall, it offers a decent but uneven horror gameplay experience hindered by inconsistent execution and occasional immersion breaks.
- “Ghost detection was clearer, with audio-visual cues and better stealth mechanics that made encounters more suspenseful and strategic.”
- “The VR mechanics feel smooth and intuitive, enhancing immersion and making every encounter feel personal and frightening.”
- “The gameplay balances exploration, clever puzzles, and tense chase sequences, keeping you constantly on edge.”
- “The controls are clunky, the mechanics are confusing, and the physics feel off.”
- “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).”
- “Gameplay however, a few clueless and boring puzzles, tons of pixel finding, horribly slow movement but requires you to walk so much just to look for key items, repetitive and oversimplified chase scenes that even running away from mobs in Minecraft feels more intense.”
graphics
57 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
54%
41%
5%
The game's graphics are generally praised for their eerie and immersive atmosphere, with effective use of lighting, sound, and detailed environments enhancing the horror experience. While some users note graphical issues such as quality loss over time, unoptimized performance on lower-end machines, and a limited graphics settings menu, the overall aesthetic and design are considered strong points that contribute significantly to the game's chilling mood.
- “Beautifully eerie visuals, haunting atmosphere, loved the continuous storytelling between character chapters, with an uncanny soundtrack to tie everything together.”
- “The visuals and sound design are top-notch, creating a deeply immersive and terrifying atmosphere.”
- “Lots of unexpected jump scares, excellent graphics, and it was surprisingly immersive.”
- “The graphics of this game are absolutely horrible; even Left 4 Dead 2 has better graphics than this.”
- “Could be fun but there is currently an issue with the game where the graphics cannot be adjusted to anything other than very high.”
- “As for the game itself, firstly 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
24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
62%
13%
The game's music effectively contributes to a creepy and suspenseful atmosphere, with haunting soundtracks and audio cues enhancing the horror experience. However, some users note issues with repetitiveness, abrupt looping, inconsistent tension, and occasional volume imbalances that occasionally detract from immersion. Overall, the soundtrack is praised for its ability to instill chills and support jump scares, though persistent and smoother audio integration would improve the experience.
- “Beautifully eerie visuals, haunting atmosphere, loved the continuous storytelling between character chapters, with an uncanny soundtrack to tie everything together.”
- “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.”
- “While certain chase sequences can be buggy at times, the buildup of suspense, audio both music and sound effects make this a solid and spooky experience.”
- “Music will cut in and out when a ghost is chasing you - there is no consistent tension.”
- “There are several immersion breaking moments in the game, one of the biggest issues is the music's repetitiveness and abruptness.”
- “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.”
grinding
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
12%
88%
The grinding aspect is widely viewed as tedious and repetitive, with gameplay and puzzles often feeling monotonous and frustrating. Many players found the experience more annoying than enjoyable due to the repetitive mechanics and lack of challenge.
- “I appreciate what the game is trying to do, but the gameplay is so repetitive and tedious, it's more annoying to play than anything.”
- “The game is extremely tedious with horrid cat and mouse tropes.”
- “The puzzles aren't incredibly challenging, just tedious.”
humor
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game often comes from unintentional moments, such as awkward AI behavior, poorly executed animations, and over-the-top scare attempts that end up being amusing rather than frightening. Some glitches also add a lighthearted touch without impacting gameplay. Overall, the humor is largely derived from the game's flaws and unintended comedic situations.
- “I found it funny that the AI would just chase me and ignore the fact that she saw me enter a wardrobe, then simply walks away like nothing happened.”
- “The parts that were supposed to be scary were overdramatic to the point it's funny because it tries so hard to scare you with something that isn't even scary.”
- “A few glitches add some humor to the game and they don't hinder anything.”
emotional
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's emotional impact is somewhat undermined by awkward English localization and uneven dialogue, which can detract from key moments. While collectables provide some emotional context, overall the narrative lacks the depth and emotional resonance found in similar titles, resulting in a less compelling experience.
- “You will get most of your exposition from collectables and that works fine, occasionally offering some emotional stake in your adventure.”
- “However, some players may find the translation and dialogue uneven, as the English localization contains awkward phrasing and minor grammatical errors that detract from key emotional moments.”
stability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game experiences several bugs, such as glitches with ghosts passing through walls and disappearing switches, which occasionally affect chase sequences. However, these issues are generally minor and do not significantly disrupt gameplay, sometimes even adding unintentional humor. Overall, the stability is imperfect but doesn’t detract from the suspenseful and immersive experience.
- “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, audio both music and sound effects make this a solid and spooky experience.”
optimization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
67%
The game's optimization is generally poor, with frequent and significant performance drops. Users also report issues with Steam VR compatibility and difficulty navigating the English menu.
- “Horrible performance.”
- “Maybe at some point the optimization will be better.”
character development
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Character development is minimal and lacks sufficient background, making it difficult for players to connect with or care about the characters' significance and actions.
- “You don't get much background information or character development, so it's very confusing when they suddenly talk about a character who was apparently pretty important, but you don't care about what happens to them.”
replayability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users generally find the game lacks replayability, indicating little incentive to play it more than once.