Best Ghost Hunting Games for PC

Why it's here: The best ghost hunting game on PC, and the one every other entry here is measured against. You and up to three friends walk into a haunted house with an EMF reader, a spirit box and a thermometer, and the ghost listens to what you say into the microphone. The recurring complaint in Steam reviews is bugs and glitches after big updates, so expect the odd broken round. Rated Teen, 94% positive across 839,000 lifetime Steam reviews, the most-rated game on this list by a wide margin, plus 4.59 from 27,750 PlayStation players. If you have never played a ghost hunting game, start here.

Why it's here: The pick for atmosphere: Demonologist takes the Phasmophobia loop of identify, then exorcise, and rebuilds it in Unreal Engine 5, so its cursed hospital and mansion look and sound far nastier than the genre standard, and you spend your earnings on a safe house between jobs. The recurring complaint in Steam reviews is a missing tutorial and jump scares that repeat once you know the maps, alongside a derivative-of-Phasmophobia charge. Very Positive at 85% of 24,000 lifetime Steam reviews, the second most-rated game here. Play it after Phasmophobia, when you want the same routine with real dread attached.

Why it's here: The best ghost hunting game here for a big group: the Steam page lists lobbies of up to six, two above the genre's usual four, split across an Identify mode and a Cleanse mode where you confront the spirit rather than just naming it. Vehicle, headquarters and gear upgrades give a crew something to grind toward. The recurring caveat in Steam reviews is that it still misses a few Phasmophobia features, cursed items among them, and balance is uneven on some equipment. Very Positive at 94% of 1,443 lifetime Steam reviews, level with Phasmophobia on share. For a full Discord call, this is the one to book.

Why it's here: The best solo ghost hunt on PC, and the most honest one: Conrad Stevenson's Paranormal P.I. is a single-player simulation where a case can take several night visits, you carry only the tools real investigators use, and the payoff is learning why each ghost is still there. The recurring complaint in Steam reviews is that this patience turns into a slog for anyone expecting Phasmophobia's pace, with a small map pool on top. Very Positive at 93% of 987 lifetime Steam reviews, the smallest corpus on this list. If you want the investigation without the co-op noise, this is the pick.

Why it's here: The best twist on the formula: FOREWARNED moves the ghost hunt into procedurally generated Egyptian tombs, where the entity is a cursed Mejai warrior you identify from its phenomena while looting relics, and dying lets you come back as its servant to help or betray the survivors. PC and VR players share lobbies. The recurring complaint in Steam reviews is a steep learning curve and thin public lobbies, so bring your own group. Very Positive at 90% of 6,659 lifetime Steam reviews. If Phasmophobia's houses have gone stale, this is the freshest setting on the list.

Why it's here: The pick for a short night: Pacify keeps each mission self-contained, a mansion, a farm and a witch's woods, each with its own monster to weaken and capture for PAH Inc. and its own set of endings, so a session fits around a schedule instead of demanding one. The recurring complaint in Steam reviews is thin guidance, so the first run on each map is trial and error, and solo play is punishing. Rated Teen, 86% positive across 42,000 lifetime Steam reviews, plus 4.08 from 1,400 PlayStation players. Bring three friends, not a walkthrough.

Why it's here: The pick if you want to catch the ghost rather than just name it: Ghost Watchers hands you a trap and a mood meter, so a job in one of its abandoned houses ends with the entity captured and the last stretch of the round turns into a chase. It is the most action-heavy hunt on this list. The recurring complaint in Steam reviews is polish, with bugs, connection drops and a cheap-copy comparison to Phasmophobia that a share of players find fair. Very Positive at 86% of 16,000 lifetime Steam reviews. For a squad that finds evidence-only rounds too passive, this is the change of pace.

Why it's here: The deepest deduction on this list: Ghost Exile runs more than 20 ghost types against 10 evidence types, then makes you assemble the right ritual items and perform the exorcism yourself, so a wrong guess costs the job. Speech recognition lets the ghost answer what you say into the microphone. The recurring complaint in Steam reviews is bugs, twitchy controls and voice recognition that misses, with multiplayer connection problems behind them. Very Positive at 88% of 4,661 lifetime Steam reviews. If you have exhausted Phasmophobia's evidence chart and want a harder one, start here.

Why it's here: The only competitive ghost hunt here: Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed is a 4v1 game of hide and seek where four players run proton packs and PKE meters while a fifth plays the ghost, possessing objects and sliming the team, with Ray and Winston voiced by the original actors back at the firehouse. The recurring complaint in Steam reviews is a small player base that slows matchmaking, so plan on friends or the bot mode. Rated E10+, 90% positive across 1,299 lifetime Steam reviews, plus 4.06 from 3,054 PlayStation players. For a mixed-age room, this is the safest pick on the list.