Phantasmal: Survival Horror Roguelike

[b]WARNING: The developer banned me from the forums for asking probing questions regarding the (lack of) optimization in this game. I had initially considered repurchasing the title to update the review if things had gotten better. The discussion can be [url=http://steamcommunity.com/app/342550/discussions/0/1620599015866856302/]viewed here in detail[/url]. Ironically, I broke no Terms & Conditions, but he did. Consider this fact that he will never address optimization, and cares even less about customers.[/b] Phantasmal is a survival horror roguelike title with Lovecraftian influences, and it's the first game that we've seen on Steam from New Zealand based publisher/developer Eyemobi Ltd. The combination of essentially three gaming genres is a brave, yet unique, step for an up and coming company, especially given the roguelike elements that are thrown into play. Boasting procedurally generated rooms, permadeath, stealth mechanics, along with health and sanity meters, one question beg...

One of the best indie horror games on steam. I've been playing it on and off for a few months now. I would like to review the pros and cons . Keep in mind that this is still in early access , full release planned on April. PROS - The atmosphere is spot on and does not rely on cheap jumpscares - You'll get a weapon to defend yourself. It does not make the game any easier though :) - Combining elements of survival , stealth and quick thinking for success - Random generated levels , so it has replayability. CONS - The textures are kind of generic - Some animations are still buggy/jerky (should be fixed) - A few bugs with items (should be fixed upon release) Overall i can recommend this game for the price. The devs are responsive and listen to the community. Good job

I enjoy the premise and idea of this game, however, I don't understand the Sleeper. The sleeper spawns if you spend too much time in an area, preventing you from looting everything and giving you a sense of urgency. However, I can not even sprint straight to the end of the level, no looting, stealthing, or even fighting enemies, without the Sleeper spawning and killing me through walls. I will sprint straight to the exit doing my best not to get lost (a guessing game with the procedural generation), and it will spawn without fail every time. Am I doing something wrong? Because so far I seem to be doing everything correctly. It also doesn't exactly "chase" you, as the game states... It simply flies through the walls to where you are, moving at what seems to be a faster pace, so unless the exit is right in front of you, there is no outrunning it. I'm vexed by this mechanic to say the least, but I'm going to continue and try to get past it. EDIT - So, it seems that the Sleeper ac...

Spent a good amount of time just TRYING to get this to work properly. It does not. I sat at the menu screen for ages just trying to fix the resolution. Checking the other reviews, I see that I'm not the only person with this problem. In fact, it seems like at least half the people who tried this game found that it had been released in a broken state. Broken abandonware for $15? No thanks.

Phantasmal is a procedurally generated first-person horror game which has made its way from Kickstarter, to Greenlight, and finally onto Early Access. It borrows liberally from other successful horror franchises (Outlast, Amnesia, and Silent Hill 2 come to mind) with the added twist of random level design. On one hand the game is, in theory, infinitely replayable. On the other hand, it lacks some of the tension and methodical pacing of more traditional horror games. It's tough to really call Phantasmal "horror" at all. Its more of a dark stealth experience with some unpredictable jump scares. Overall, there's a lot to like here--optional combat while stressing stealth, a cool risk/reward mechanic with light sources, and of course the unkillable tentacle monster. Unfortuantley, like many Early Access games, it's impossible for me to recommend Phantasmal in its current unfinished state. The lighting effects and motion blur are nauseating and the enemey AI and frequent glitches turn what ...

Early Access Review: This game was a huge surprise. Even though it has a lot of bugs, it is now my one of 10 favorite horror games of all time. Coming from me as a huge horror junkie, that is a HUGE praise. The mixture of ultra creepy atmosphere, stealthy roguelike, unpredictable procedurally generated environment, and extremely scary creatures delivered a true and awesome survival horror experience. After each time I die, the floors are not same as the last one at all. Well, the rooms are similar but the pathways are always different which give a lot of repayability and unpredictable results. Amazing. The creatures are extremely creepy, smart, and not to be messed with. At first, I was thinking, "I can plow through the game killing all the monsters and running. Yeah no problem." He he... Well no. Never happened. Each time I do that, I die immediately after 20 seconds. The monsters are very mean. The game requires a lot of stealth, careful planning with the guns (with very low a...

This Game Is Amazing! ive been following it for about 2 years. It has come so far. Its All procedurally Generated No To Levels The Same!. its scary the atmosphere is perfect and the update the game regularly. There are different types of monsters too. there are some you cant see easily and some who are tall. some who are human like. The game is getting better they are definitly adding lots of content to the game. Pros: Procedurallly Generated: Scary: Lots Of Levels: Great Graphics and atmoshere: Cons: There are lots of bugs with the UI on books: Sometimes monsters get stuck: if you click while the game is loading it will freeze: Overall i give this game a 9/10 I Would recommend This To Anyone Who Wants A Good horror Game.BTW the gME IS NOT FINNIESHED there is much more to come.

In the short time I played Phantasmal I wasn't impressed. The character models all look the same and have very unpolished animations. The game is another really dark horror fps. Sure, everything is randomly generated, but if the game is unpolished and not fun to play then what is the point. Using weapons has no weight behind them. Also, the framerate is very inconsistent. You can usually tell where all the monsters are even in the dark simply by looking in one direction and watching the framerate drop to 25. Give this title some time. Even past 1.0.

Right now, it's very early. Literally everything it's prone to change, but I can say, with my little time in it, that it's totally worth it right now. Sure, it's a little bit broken, but I've screamed more than once. The monsters, the colors, the music, the sounds, the atmosphere, everything fits very well, and I actually have faith in this project. Please check it out and support the devs; they deserve it.

I regret buying this game. The controls feel slow and glitchy. The audio/sound effects are just horrendous. And for a game made in the past year or so the graphics are terrible. I was willing to overlook graphics for great gameplay however this wansnt the case. IT does have a creepy feeling to the game but its just not worth it. I hardly ever regret buying games...this time I do. I was looking for a cool single player game to have a creepy adventure in and this falls so far short. I wanted to shut if off just 5 mintues into the game but I played for at least 15 minutes which was 10 minutes too long. I bought it mostly becuase of the good reviews.... here to warn others.... you may be sorely dissapointed.