Games Like Phasmophobia: 4 Ghost-Hunting Picks

For games like Phasmophobia, start with Demonologist or Ghost Exile if you want a four-person team to identify a spirit using equipment, then perform an exorcism. Choose FOREWARNED if you want evidence-gathering inside Egyptian tombs followed by a relic escape, or Ghost Watchers if you want to study a ghost and then catch it. All four have online co-op on their Steam pages; none should be mistaken for an identical Phasmophobia investigation.

An original evidence-to-outcome map compares Phasmophobia with four ghost-hunting alternatives

Keep the investigation; check the ending

Phasmophobia's developer page describes a four-player online investigation: take equipment into a haunted location, collect paranormal evidence, identify the ghost type, and survive. It names tools such as EMF readers, spirit boxes and thermometers, plus a truck role for teammates who monitor cameras and sensors. Its pitch is about finding out what is there, not requiring your crew to capture or banish that spirit.

That leads to our original evidence → decision → outcome check. For each alternative we ask: Does the group gather clues to identify an entity? What decision does that identification unlock? Is the run finished by reporting, exorcising, catching, or escaping with something? This is an editorial comparison of developer descriptions, not a playtest ranking. It prevents a list of merely "scary games with friends" from being passed off as a list of Phasmophobia equivalents.

Copyable comparison: four alternatives and the baseline

The prices below are US Steam base-game prices checked September 30, 2026 through Steam app details. They may change with sales, location or time. "Windows" identifies the Steam edition checked, not every platform a game may support. All five linked Steam feature lists say online co-op; that alone does not establish local split-screen or cross-platform play. Where the developer listing does not state a party cap, we leave it unverified rather than filling it from a third-party guess.

Official sourceEvidence or investigationWhat follows identificationPlayers documented by developerPlatform checkedUS Steam price, Sep 30
Phasmophobia — baselineEquipment and paranormal evidence to identify ghost typeComplete the investigation and surviveUp to 4 onlineWindows$19.99
DemonologistEquipment used to identify an evil spiritExorcise it1–4 onlineWindows$19.99
Ghost ExileEquipment and evidence used to determine ghost typePerform an exorcism ritual1–4 onlineWindows$14.99
FOREWARNEDInvestigate phenomena to identify the MejaiEnter the inner tomb, retrieve a relic, escape; optional banishment1–4 onlineWindows$12.99
Ghost WatchersDetermine ghost type, age and mood from evidenceCatch the ghostOnline co-op; cap not stated in checked developer descriptionWindows$14.99

This is selectable HTML text rather than an image of a table. Player-count and task claims come from the linked developer descriptions, not Steam's community tags or an unverified forum answer. Recheck current price and mode before buying.

Demonologist: identify first, then exorcise

The Demonologist store description explicitly makes identification and exorcism a connected goal for one to four players. That gives a Phasmophobia group a familiar starting assignment—figure out which spirit is present—but a different finish. The developers also describe equipment, random events and cursed locations that react to spoken words.

Our inference: choose it if your friends feel that naming the ghost should lead to a second, more active task. Do not infer identical evidence rules or a gentler scare level from that shared structure. The official Steam page lists online co-op and a Windows edition; the store price in the table is a dated US snapshot.

Ghost Exile: the diagnosis becomes a ritual

Ghost Exile also asks a one-to-four-player crew to determine the entity type, then carry out an exorcism. Its developer describes jobs such as placing equipment, drawing protective seals, doing optional tasks and photographing evidence. Those are documented ways for teammates to contribute rather than a claim that its ghost behavior matches Phasmophobia's.

The important change is the cost of a wrong conclusion: the developer warns against hasty identification before the ritual. That is a stronger reason to include Ghost Exile than simply sharing a haunted-house setting. It is an alternative for groups who enjoy discussing clues and then acting on the answer; the ritual makes the end of the run materially different.

FOREWARNED: solve the identity, then raid the tomb

In FOREWARNED, one to four archaeologists investigate phenomena in Egyptian ruins to identify the Mejai. That knowledge lets the crew enter the inner chamber, recover a relic and escape while the threat becomes physical. The developer also describes an optional deeper ritual to banish the evil, PC/VR play and positional voice chat.

Here the identity decision is a gate to a second expedition, not just a result to record. If your group likes Phasmophobia's evidence discussion but wants an objective after the correct guess, the relic route is a clear documented distinction. The tomb, traps and treasure are not evidence that its ghost-identification system is identical; they are the new job you are choosing.

Ghost Watchers: investigate and catch, with a cap to verify

The Ghost Watchers developer page describes exploring abandoned houses, collecting evidence, determining the ghost's type, age and mood, and then catching it. That preserves a ghost-study phase but changes the endpoint from identifying and leaving to attempting a capture. The listing includes online co-op and a Windows edition.

The checked developer description does not provide a reliable numerical lobby cap, so the table deliberately says so. If exactly four people must join, confirm the current limit through an official game or store statement before paying. We will not promote a curator blurb or old discussion into a developer-verified cap.

Choose by the decision your team wants to make

Want the closest evidence → identity setup with an added removal step? Compare Demonologist and Ghost Exile. Want the right identity to open a dangerous treasure-and-escape phase? FOREWARNED is the documented branch. Want clues to culminate in catching a ghost? Ghost Watchers is the branch, pending a party-cap check. Want to stop after identifying the entity and managing the team's safety? Phasmophobia itself remains the baseline. This decision route is our original synthesis of the official task descriptions, not a claim that one game is objectively more frightening or better.

Quick answers

Which checked games let the team identify a ghost and then exorcise it? Demonologist and Ghost Exile state both steps in their official descriptions. FOREWARNED offers a further banishment route after its tomb investigation. Phasmophobia's cited page instead centers the investigation and ghost identification.

Are these just Phasmophobia with different graphics? No. The post-identification task changes: ritual, relic escape or capture. That change may matter more to your group than the haunted setting. Read the comparison before buying.

Can the whole group play together on one screen? The checked Steam feature lists show online co-op, not verified local shared-screen co-op. Treat couch play as unconfirmed until an official source establishes it for the specific game.