Phasmophobia’s new animations are here, and players think it’s a joke

Phasmophobia’s long-awaited character and animation overhaul is finally here, and the community response seems to be incredibly hostile. Players are flooding the game’s subreddit with clips of broken wrists, bizarre neck snapping, and completely unnatural movements.

Kinetic Games has sold millions of copies, placing Phasmophobia among the top 100 selling games on Steam in the United States by revenue. So it’s not a stretch for fans to expect a certain level of polish for a studio of that size. Instead, players are calling the update an “embarrassment”.

One highly upvoted post highlighted a new watch animation where the character’s hand appears entirely upside down. The fingers curl back in a way that looks like a severe bone fracture.

A separate technical breakdown pointed out that first-person and third-person camera models are now completely synced. When a player looks up at the ceiling, their character model violently snaps its head 90 degrees backward.

The OP noted that character limbs seem to animate completely independently from the rest of the body. If you grab an item, your arm just shoots out robotically while your torso stays completely rigid.

Complaints suggest the game’s original nostalgic charm has been replaced by sheer laziness. A harsh critique mentioned doors severely glitching out when opened by teammates. The same user pointed out feet twisting backwards when characters simply turn around in place.

One thread picked up over a thousand upvotes, showing off the absolute mess the new animations are:

Complaints suggest the game’s original nostalgic charm has been replaced by sheer laziness. A harsh critique mentioned doors severely glitching out when opened by teammates. The same user pointed out feet twisting backwards when characters simply turn around in place.

Players are actively pointing to rival ghost-hunting games as examples of how to do things right. Commenters repeatedly brought up competitor titles like The Other Side and Ghost Exile.

A commenter said The Other Side has better overall customization and animations despite being developed by a team of just two people. People are starting to look at Phasmophobia’s massive budget and asking where the money is actually going.

You can find massive discussions questioning the quality assurance team and calling the overall release just plain bad. Another thread simply called the new look a late April Fools’ joke.

For a game that built its massive success on immersive co-op horror, bad animations can be a major letdown. Flashlights now take up massive portions of the screen, and the new prestige system feels like an endless grind.

Players are already asking for the ability to toggle the new animations off entirely. Kinetic Games has not yet issued a statement regarding the backlash against the new animations.

Featured image edited with AI

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