How to play guide

Phasmophobia Beginner's Guide: Gathering Evidence, Sanity and Surviving a Hunt

A Phasmophobia starter guide: the seven evidence types, identifying ghosts with the journal, sanity, hiding during hunts, default PC controls and common mistakes in your first contracts.

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Phasmophobia is a psychological horror game from Kinetic Games for up to four players. You and your team are ghost hunters: you drive to a haunted location, carry equipment from the truck, collect evidence and try to name the type of ghost haunting the place. The game has been in early access on Steam since 2020.

This guide is for players starting out, or anyone who keeps asking “why do I keep dying and why can't I find evidence?” The game is scary, but its rules are systematic; once you understand them, every contract becomes a puzzle.

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Below you will find the goal of the game, the default PC controls, first steps, practical tips, common mistakes and frequently asked questions. The game is updated often, so equipment and ghost details may change, while the core logic stays the same.

Goal of the game

Every job is a contract. In the lobby the host picks a difficulty, players vote on a map and prepare the equipment. On site your main task is to identify the ghost type, and each contract also comes with three optional objectives. You find the ghost room, gather evidence with your equipment, record it in the journal and select your guess. When you close the truck door the contract ends and rewards, experience and stats are shown.

According to the game's wiki there are seven evidence types: EMF Level 5, D.O.T.S Projector, Ultraviolet (finger, hand or footprints), Freezing Temperatures (below 0°C), Ghost Orb (only visible on camera), Ghost Writing and Spirit Box. On standard difficulties each ghost has a unique combination of three. The dangerous part is sanity: as the team's average sanity drops the ghost becomes more active, and below a threshold it can start a hunt. During a hunt the exit doors lock, nearby lights and electronics malfunction and the ghost tries to kill players.

Controls

Key	Action
`W A S D`	Move
`Shift`	Sprint
`C`	Crouch
`E`	Grab item
`G`	Drop held item
`Q`	Swap item
`1 2 3 4`	Inventory slots (keyboard only)
`Left click`	Interact (doors, light switches, etc.)
`Right click`	Main use of held item (on/off)
`F`	Secondary use / place item on floor or wall
`T`	Special; hold to toggle head gear
`H (hold)`	Check your watch
`J`	Journal (evidence and ghost types)
`V`	Push-to-talk: local voice
`B`	Push-to-talk: radio (global)

First steps

Start with the tutorial and AmateurPlay the Training mission first; it walks you through evidence equipment and hunts. Then play your first contracts on Amateur, the easiest difficulty. According to the wiki it has a 5-minute setup phase during which the ghost cannot hunt. That time is perfect for learning the location and testing your gear.
Pick a small mapOn large maps, even finding the ghost room takes a long time. Small houses lower the risk of getting lost and keep the walk back to the truck short.
Find the ghost room firstTurn on lights as you go and sweep rooms with a thermometer and EMF reader. Doors moving by themselves, flickering lights, thrown objects and a noticeable chill mean you're close. Focus your search there.
Place your equipment in the roomSet a video camera to watch the room for ghost orbs and place the ghost writing book and D.O.T.S projector inside with F. They can catch evidence while you do something else.
Record evidence in the journalOpen the journal with J and mark each piece of evidence. It filters out ghost types that don't match. Don't mark evidence you're unsure about; a wrong mark removes the right ghost from the list.
Watch sanity from the truckThe sanity monitor in the truck shows your own sanity and the team average. According to the wiki, having a room's main lights on stops passive sanity drain in most cases; holding a flashlight does not.
Check the optional objectivesThe whiteboard in the truck lists the contract's extra objectives. They pay money and experience; in your first days try to finish the easy ones, such as photographing the ghost.
Make your guess and close the truckWhen evidence is complete, or you're confident enough, pick the ghost type in the journal. Once everyone is back, close the truck door to end the contract. Leaving before finishing gives no rewards.

Tips and tactics

A crucifix stops a hunt before it startsAccording to the wiki, a crucifix prevents the ghost from starting a hunt within its range; tier I works once, tier II twice. Place it near the middle of the ghost room, not at the doorway.
Incense can save youIncense, formerly known as smudge sticks, is lit with an igniter and stops the ghost from hunting for a while. Lit near the ghost during a hunt, it disorients it for a few seconds and gives you time to escape.
When a hunt starts, hideFlickering lights and crackling electronics mean a hunt has started. The exits are locked, so running outside won't work; get into a locker or a room with a door, close it and stay still.
Keep electronics off during huntsActive electronics and talking near the ghost can give away your position. Let go of push-to-talk and don't switch on your flashlight unless you must.
Try the Spirit Box in the darkFor Spirit Box evidence, ask questions in the ghost room, such as “Where are you?” or “Are you friendly?”. The game uses voice recognition, so check your microphone settings. According to the item's own description the room lights must be off; a response makes a light flash on the device.
Watch for Ghost Orbs on cameraGhost orbs can't be seen with the naked eye; only through a video camera, the truck's video feed or head gear. Having one player watch the monitor in the truck speeds things up.
Keep the lights onMain ceiling lights stop passive sanity drain in most rooms; lamps and TVs don't. If the fuse box is off, find it first, but remember the ghost can turn lights off too.
Bring Sanity MedicationSanity Medication restores sanity: 40% on Amateur and 35% on Intermediate, according to the wiki. It is the easiest way to keep the team above hunt thresholds in long contracts.
Be extra careful soloPlaying alone, no one warns you during a hunt. Pick your hiding spot before entering the ghost room and place a crucifix early.
Note the ghost's behaviourThe journal describes each ghost type's quirks. When you're down to two or three candidates, use behaviour instead of missing evidence to narrow your guess.

Common mistakes

Searching for evidence before finding the ghost room: scattered searching wastes time and sanity.
Marking evidence you're not sure of: the correct ghost gets filtered out and the guess is wrong.
Running for the door when a hunt starts: exits are locked during hunts, you need to hide.
Going in without a crucifix or incense: when sanity drops you have nothing to protect yourself.
Wasting the setup phase: the safe 5 minutes on Amateur is the best time to place equipment.
Quitting before finishing: an abandoned contract gives no rewards.

Frequently asked questions

Is Phasmophobia available in Turkish?

Yes. According to its Steam page the interface supports Turkish; full audio is English only.

Can I play solo?

Yes. The game supports single-player and online co-op teams of up to four.

Do I need a microphone?

Not strictly, but it matters. The game uses voice recognition; asking Spirit Box questions and some objectives rely on your voice. Check mic settings in the options menu.

How do I identify the ghost?

On standard difficulty each ghost has a unique set of three evidence types. Recording what you find in the journal narrows the options. On Nightmare one evidence is hidden, on Insanity two are.

Does it support VR?

Yes. The Steam page lists VR support, and VR and non-VR players can play together.

This guide was written for version: Guide written for the early access version current as of September 2026; equipment and ghost details may change with updates.