Phantoms is a fresh addition to the “Analog Horror” subgenre. To be a fan of the horror genre in games in recent years is to have a huge number of great options to play with, and just when you think that some subgenres are getting stale, new options appear (or reappear) to get gamers excited again. One of the most popular subgenres at the moment is analog horror, which has recently become widespread in video games with the SCP theme.

Phantoms uses the subgenre of analog horror to create a hostile environment in which the player doesn’t really understand what’s going on at first. But what about the rest of the game?

Same Corridor, Same Rules

The game follows a looping gameplay rule, where you as a character find yourself in a train carriage with several cabins and an conductor who just asks you to go back to your cabin. After a bit of exploration, the character is teleported to a bizarre version of the same train where all the cabins have bodies tied up with barbed wires.

Repair the Electrical System, Evade the Conductor

The gameplay is very simple where the player has to repair the electrical system by picking up each item needed by searching the cabins. Of course, in the meantime there’s a version of the train conductor walking down the corridor and if he finds the player, it’s game over.

In Phantoms, Claustrophobic Setting Heightens Tension

Accompanying this, Phantoms’ setting is well crafted, creating a claustrophobic feeling with limited vision in corridors. The train corridors have few obstacles, but randomly generated barbed wires require you to duck. There are also posters in the corridors, some with information and others referencing the developer’s other games.

The whole experience is also enhanced by a good use of sound, which by the way, it is recommended that the player or streamer use a headset or headphones so that they are aware of the position of the creature that is prowling the wagon, which further increases the tension in the midst of the feeling of loneliness.

Simple gameplay with great care taken with the setting, what could go wrong?

Technical Problems Can Frustrate Players

Unfortunately, because the gameplay of Phantoms is so simple, it’s also very easy to make the game not fun enough to keep trying. As each level is linked to a part of the game’s story, allowing the streamer or player to understand what’s happening, it’s disappointing to see that little care has been taken with the rules imposed on the game.

When the second version of the train appears in the game, new rules are introduced with each level the player manages to advance through. Initially, you just need to avoid being caught by the conductor, as he doesn’t enter the cabins. And as a rule, you can’t stay in one place for too long or some supernatural force will find you and it’s game over.

Unbalanced Gameplay is Challenging

To start the alternate version of the train, the player must go to either end of the carriage to search for repair items. As the player progresses, hiding time in cabins decreases dramatically, and sometimes the conductor stands directly in front of the cabin, causing unavoidable losses. Later in the game, the player can be taken to the alternate version mid-corridor, often encountering the employee immediately with no chance to react.

There is a lack of balance, which is extremely necessary for this type of game. The gameplay isn’t easy to get right but we have successful examples such as the well-known Five Nights at Freddy’s. In FNAF, the advanced levels require precise reactions from the player, but it’s possible to finish a night without needing much luck.

Unfortunately, Phantoms requires a lot of luck and ends up frustrating both the streamer and the players. This can be worsened since there is also an atmosphere of mystery. Most players will give up out of frustration from spending more time looking at a menu than actually playing the game.

Phantoms Should Focus on Skill over Luck

Phantoms isn’t a bad game, but to make it a better experience, it would be desirable to take better care to balance the gameplay with rules that depend less on the player’s luck and more on their ability to understand how the game works.

To conclude, the game is highly immersive and has no performance problems or anything that could prevent the player from enjoying the experience and the atmosphere created. There is also a secret level for those who like a challenge, where the rules of the game become much more aggressive and challenging.

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Phantoms (PC) - 2024

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Summary

Far from being a bad game, but one that needs a lot of tweaking, is what I can say about Phantoms. It has good content for analog horror fans, but relying on the player’s luck to make any sort of progress can be very frustrating and can end up resulting in the abandonment of what could’ve been a good game.