Horror Game Phasmophobia Releases New Update

The popular horror game Phasmophobia has released update v0.9.4.0, implementing new systems to enhance lighting areas and addressing several other changes. This latest update aims to address player feedback and refine Phasmophobia‘s atmospheric aspects.

Phasmophobia is a multiplayer horror game developed by Kinetic Games. Released in 2020, it garnered widespread attention for its intriguing blend of cooperative gameplay and paranormal investigation. In the game, players assume the role of ghost hunters equipped with various tools to identify and interact with supernatural entities. The primary objective is to investigate haunted locations, gather evidence, and ultimately determine the type of ghost haunting the site. With virtual reality support and atmospheric sound design, Phasmophobia delivers an immersive experience, making it a popular title in the horror genre.

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The new update introduces an array of features designed to augment lighting dynamics. New graphics settings, such as Eye Adaptation and Screen Space Global Illumination (SSGI), have been incorporated into the Journal, promising a more realistic portrayal of light adjustments and bounced lighting. Static lighting has undergone a significant overhaul across all locations, accompanied by an increase in ambient light. Additionally, external light sources, like the moon and streetlights, will now permeate through windows, adding a layer of eerie realism to the gameplay. Now, larger rooms such as farm houses intentionally appear darker, contributing to the overall immersive atmosphere of Phasmophobia.

Alongside the new lighting additions, some changes have also been made to the game. These include the removal of the Holiday Event (where players had to eliminate all the dancing snowmen across seven different maps), quicker and more consistent updates to reflections when toggling lights, adjustments to brightness sliders, and improvements to hiding spots in the Grafton farmhouse. The player’s post-processing has been fine-tuned for more cinematic colors, and performance enhancements accompany the toggling of the fuse box, improving the scary experience of Phasmophobia. Notably, ghost writing books are no longer susceptible to being thrown by poltergeist abilities.

Some fixes were also addressed, such as the restoration of metallic doorknobs’ shine, the resolution of several safe spots in Willow, and the correction of item requirements in weekly challenges like “Deja Vu” and “Glow in the Dark.” There were also adjustments in Tanglewood’s reflection probe that prevented objects from glowing properly, allowing motion sensors to accurately display detections on the truck map. Glitches, safe spots in various locations in Sunny Meadows, and Campsite A and B in Maple Lodge Campsite were also fixed.

The enhanced lighting systems and adjustments not only addressed players’ previous concerns but also improved the horror experience. This underscores the developer’s commitment to ensuring a seamless and immersive ghost-hunting journey in Phasmophobia.

Phasmophobia Patch Notes 0.9.4.0:

NEW

• New graphics settings have been added to the Journal (Currently not available for VR and requires a graphics card):
  • Eye Adaption: Simulates your eyes adjusting to light or dark areas over time
  • Screen Space Global Illumination (SSGI): Simulates bounced lighting; making lighting and shadows look less dark. This may affect performance so there are three quality settings.
• Static lighting has been overhauled in all locations
• Ambient light has been increased
• Light from outside sources (moon, street lights) will now shine through windows
• Larger rooms or rooms with darker materials such as farm houses may look darker, however this is intended

CHANGES

• Removed the Holiday Event
• Reflections will now update quicker and more consistently when lights are toggled on or off
• The brightness slider has been adjusted to 0%-250% and its maximum value lowered slightly due to the new brighter ambient light
• The cursor brightness slider has been adjusted to be 0%-100%
• Moved the wardrobe and lights in the Nursery in Grafton for better lighting
• Adjusted the range and brightness of the passive player light
• Adjusted the range and brightness of several location lights to make them more realistic
• Grafton hiding spots
  • The upstairs hallway armchair and nursery crib are now hiding zones and can be blocked
  • The upstairs armchair has been moved closer to the wall to make it safer
• Adjusted the player post processing to give slightly more cinematic colours
• Improved performance when toggling the fuse box
• Ghost writing books can no longer be thrown by a poltergeist ability

FIXES

• Metallic door knobs are now shiny again
• Fixed several safe spots in Willow
• “Deja Vu” weekly challenge now has the correct items
• “Glow in the Dark” weekly challenge now has the Fuse Box as the correct state: Broken
• “Hide and Seek: Extreme” weekly challenge now correctly has 3 evidence
• Adjusted several reflection probes in Tanglewood to stop glowing objects when a light is turned on in a different room
• You can now take a photo of the Sunny Meadows summoning circle
• Motion sensors now correctly show detections on the truck map
• Fixed safe spots in the Sunny Meadows male room 5 and Maple Campsite Storage Tent 2
• The ghost can no longer get stuck on the fallen down locker in the School hallway
• Campsite A and B in Maple Lodge Campsite will now work correctly

Phasmophobia

Phasmophobia is a cooperative paranormal investigation game where players use special ghost-hunting tools to investigate paranormal activity in a variety of locations.

Released

September 18, 2020

Developer(s)

Kinetic Games

Publisher(s)

Kinetic Games

Genre(s)

Survival Horror

Multiplayer

Online Co-Op