The Hunt Begins

First, I'll say for an early access game, this is shockingly polished. While I did receive the key for free, that in no way influenced my opinion or this review. The devs did a spectacular job of refining the core mechanics to the point that we couldn't find more than superficial issues. The artwork is terrific and the physics seem solid as well. If you're looking for a Phasmo style ghost experience with Among-Us levels of shenanigans and sprinkle a healthy dose of Meme-worthy nonsense, this game is for you. I have full confidence that if they continue on the course they've plotted, this game will be insanely good when it reaches final release with a ton of room to grow. Well Done!

I have played a lot of ghost-hunting games, but The Hunt Begins finally checks the boxes that so many other titles in the genre miss. It takes the classic formula—using tools and deduction to purge a spirit—and injects it with a fresh 4v1 asymmetrical energy. The Good: Play as the Ghost: This is the game-changer. Being able to actively hunt the hunters, drain their sanity, and eliminate them one by one is incredibly satisfying. Atmosphere: The environments are top-notch and genuinely creepy. Customization: The character customization is surprisingly deep and adds a nice personal touch to the experience. Gameplay Loop: Whether you are the hunter or the hunted, the mechanics feel engaging. The "Early Access" Quirks: UI: The user interface could definitely use some polishing and modernization. Bugs: There are some minor bugs present, but nothing game-breaking or experience-ruining. Verdict: Despite being in Early Access, the execution here is fantastic. It is a solid foundation that is already more fun than many finished games in this genre. I will absolutely be playing this again. Disclaimer: I received this product for free, but my opinion is my own.

A refreshing take on the haunted hunt genre! Lots to come, and already a good amount in the early access. 10/10 recommend

I have only played the tutorial as nobody is playing. It feels very early access although everything appears to function that is in here. It needs a lot of balancing between the ghost and hunters. Matches will be way to quick more investigation parameters should be used while also limiting the ghost to gaining abilities over time to fix the short match problem it has. Steam Deck can run this on low settings in tutorial I was getting around 80 FPS but Medium has a severe drop in frames. Ghost killing of hunters feels far too easy and quick to me. Feels cheap and rushed but still giving it a positive grade due to it's potential. 6/10

10/10 Amazing Game! So much fun already, can't wait for future unlocks/upgrades & more! Very well done!

Absolutely LOVED this game! I am so happy that you can be the ghost and troll friends. The jump scares really are scary and will make your heart rate go up quick. The game mechanics with how hunters and ghost move is fair too. The maps/graphics and details were lovely. AND YOU CAN CUSTOMIZE YOUR CHARACTER!! I can't wait to see how this game develops further and to play more! We had the best time playing :D

This game is gonna be SO GOOD. I mean, it already is good, but this is still early access and the dev is clearly passionate about it so the only way from here is UP. Honestly had SO MUCH FUN playing with my friends, murdering their faces, finding little meme Easter eggs, and generally goofing off. Don't take this game seriously, it's not meant to be taken seriously. It's meant to have a raucous good time with people, and that's exactly what we did. Since this is launch day, and it is early access, there are of course things that need to be ironed out. That's to be expected. The core of the game is already solidly there though, and it is playable and it is enjoyable. I love the fact that you don't have to be the ghost if you don't want to. Players get to select if they want to be the ghost or not, and only those that select to be the ghost will potentially be given the role. So if you don't want to try and murder your friends, you don't have to. On the other hand if you do want to be full of the murder, but so do the others in your group, it's up to random chance. I like that the ghost player doesn't really know all the evidence they can leave (thus far only writing is controlled by the ghost player), so it means the ghost cannot grief the hunters. Likewise though, the hunters cannot get their sanity back, so they better utilize their time wisely for figuring out the ghost. Ghost abilities (outside of hunting to kill) are random, so you strategize on the fly. Evidence finding is random, so you have to be involved in the map. Honestly, it's pretty solidly balanced right now. Definitely needs fine-tuning, but again, for an early access game at launch, it's right where I expected it to be. Dev is also extremely active in his discord, and in live streams, looking for constructive feedback, taking notes on things players are interested in seeing and would enjoy doing, and noting bugs to be fixed. It's how you know this is more than just a game, it's a passion, and I have absolute faith that this will blossom into something unique and wonderful. It's definitely a fresh take on the asymmetrical horror genre, and I for one am here for it. For full disclosure, I received a key for free in return for streaming it for a minimum of two hours and leaving an honest review here. I was not required to leave a positive review. These are my honest opinions on the game.

It has potential... but it's VERY early days and it's not quite there yet. MAPS: Only two at the moment but they do look really good. Problem is... they are huge. Way too huge. Because the ghost can interact with items anywhere, it means finding the room the ghost is in is nearly impossible and it's way too easy to get lost. Some smaller maps would do a world of good for this game. But hey, at least they look good. CHARACTERS: EDIT: THIS HAS BEEN FIXED IN THE 12/13/2025 UPDATE. You can modify your character model but it is super glitchy and doesn't always save. You can't see what you look like since the mirror in the lobby doesn't reflect (this is where you modify your appearance) and the menu will only show the default female character. It is recommended you adjust how you look so you know who is who in the game. GHOST: It is currently too easy for the ghost to just never do anything in their room and then not provide the evidence players need to figure out what it is. At least one game we got 4 evidences which makes the ghost ... nothing. If the ghost never chooses to interact with the book, then you never get ghost writing. And the ghost could simply choose to not walk through the smoke so you might never get astral form either. If a ghost doesn't toss items, then you won't get EMF 5. There needs to be some balance in this so that figuring out the ghost room and what it is isn't darn near impossible. I realize it's early days still but some modifications to what the ghost can do would be awesome. More unique interactions (things like playing the piano and not just tossing or levitating items) would be great. Options for things like flickering the lights or making footstep or breathing sounds would be great too. Lots of potential here but it's just not in the game yet. PLAYERS: The weird glowing fingertip hand needs some work. Sometimes it will light up and sometimes it won't. I realize it's supposed to be in the ghost's room but using it to find the ghost's room didn't work and at least once it was brought in near the end and just wouldn't turn on. But the turning it on and then putting a scroll that you've selected and then selected again and then tossed it into the hand or whatever... weird. It's just a very clunky mechanic and not where I'm sure the developer wants it to be. Locking your ghost guess in - fine - but then actually doing something with the glowy hand thing... frustrating EVERY.SINGLE.TIME. OVERALL THOUGHTS: I feel like this is something players of Phasmophobia have been begging for for ages now. So I'm surprised not more people are jumping on board to give it a try. My personal thought is the price is high for a very VERY early release game that is functioning but definitely frustration inducing. I do love that the abilities of the ghost change but there needs to be more options and more benefit for giving players evidence (or just make that evidence appear over time despite the player choosing to be the ghost). Finding the ghost room was a HUGE PITA and I'm guessing that was not intentional. More maps with smaller locations would help a ton. I'm sure when some of the current bugs get ironed out and some updates are pushed out the game will be more fun to play. My crew enjoyed it - but didn't enjoy it enough to want to play it again and again... at least YET. I'll update my review as the game updates if I feel like it has pushed past the "not recommended" into the "recommended" territory. It's not terrible - but it's not amazing either. If the price were lower, I'd probably recommend it for a one off game night with friends. Hope to see some major updates from the developer in the future.

The key word for this game is 'Potential'. The concept is great and the dev is super-approachable and friendly (it was hearing the dev talk about the game and his plans for it that really sold me on it). Yes, it is very early access right now, but after interacting with the dev, I do believe that this game is going to be something truly special, so supporting it was a no-brainer for me. You can be the ghost and haunt your friends, you can be the hunter and hunt your friends; what's not to like?

This game is so much fun to play. I really have so much fun playing it with my friends <3