Indie Game 'Midnight Ghost Hunt' Pits Busters Against Poltergeists in 4v4 Multiplayer
Developer Mellowsoft's upcoming game Midnight Ghost Hunt is tearing up Reddit with a new preview that shows off some of the most fascinating multiplayer gameplay since Friday the 13th: The Game, pitting teams of ghost busters against poltergeists capable of manipulating household objects and generally haunting the dickens out of some spooky locations.
Described as a "multiplayer hide and seek game," Midnight Ghost Hunt players can either be ghost hunters or ghosts. Hunters, complete with Ghostbuster homage backpacks, team up to find and capture every ghost, which has the ability to "possess" household objects and hide. Ghosts aren't entirely defenseless. They can gather ectoplasm and destroy the generator powering the ghost hunters' weapons. There are even different classes of ghosts, including Poltergeists that can hurl objects, Phantoms that can turn invisible and Doppelgangers that can take on the appearance of a Hunter.
The tables turn when the clock strikes midnight, when captured ghosts escape, more powerful and angry than ever. The ghost hunters become the hunted and must survive long enough to escape the deadly haunted house.
A lot can still change before Midnight Ghost Hunt drops, so developer Mellowsoft is still considering adding new game mechanics. One particularly hot debate has been over what happens when ghost hunters break the first rule in busting and "cross the streams." Will it lead to disaster or only enhance their ghost-stopping power?
A major inspiration for Midnight Ghost Hunt is Prop Hunt, originally a fan-favorite mode in Garry's Mod and Team Fortress 2, which was later emulated in several versions of Call of Duty. " Loved Prop Hunt when I was in school," the developer posted to Reddit. "This is the core concept, with a twist that the props can fight back."
Midnight Ghost Hunt is built in Unreal Engine 4, so you know you're getting some delightful ragdoll physics ("I really do love ragdoll physics," the developer posted). Midnight Ghost Hunt was a recipient of a dev grant from Epic Games, which distributed a million dollars in "no-strings-attached" funding to indie developers working in the Unreal Engine.
Check out this gameplay video to see players transform into boxes, guitars, potted plants and more:
The Midnight Ghost Hunt release date is still TBD, though interested players can still sign up for a multiplayer alpha launching at Dreamhack Winter, held from Nov. 30 to Dec. 3 in Sweden.
For now, Midnight Ghost Hunt will be PC/Steam only, but the game's developer posted that Mellowsoft "will try everything" to get it released to Xbox One as well.
