The Other Side Review: A Ghost Hunting Game With No Soul
A Polished Frankenstein of Ghost Game Leftovers
Welcome to The Other Side, the newest ghost-hunting title clawing its way onto Steam’s horror shelf like a cursed VHS tape at a haunted Blockbuster.
It’s dressed up in Unreal Engine 5 with moody lighting and unsettling ambiance (points for that), but once you get under the hood, it starts feeling like a highlight reel of every ghost game you’ve already played. Except it doesn’t always pick the right highlights.
Let’s break this sucker down.
The Good (Yeah, there's some)
Scary ass ghost events
I’ll give credit where it’s due: when the game wants to scare the hell out of you, it can. From doors exploding open like a pissed-off poltergeist to ghosts creepily strutting down hallways like they’re on a supernatural runway, The Other Side knows how to set a mood.
It leans into the Haunt Chaser-style spectacle, and sometimes, it works.
Image: The Other Side | Deevote
Clean UI
For a game that tries to juggle a lot (investigation tiers, cleanse rituals, dual-wielding items like you’re ghost-hunting Lara Croft), the interface holds it together well.
No clunky menus. No fighting the cursor. It all just…works.
Not to be mistaken for the in-game secondary item stuff – more on that below.
Image: The Other Side | Deevote
Atmosphere and Sound Design
This is where Unreal Engine does some heavy lifting. The lighting? Grim and gorgeous. The audio? Crisp, creepy, and layered.
Footsteps echo just right. Doors creak and slam with dread. You’ll find yourself pausing just to listen (which is probably when the ghost spins your head to Jesus, but hey: immersion matters).
The Bad (Brace Yourself)
Ghost Behavior is Cookie-Cutter
There’s no unique flavor to these spirits. No personality. They don’t stalk or toy with you like in Phasmophobia.
They’re just kind of…there (like ghost-shaped security guards doing the bare minimum).
Image: The Other Side | Deevote
Hiding Feels like a Lie
Unless the ghost hasn’t seen you at all, forget about ducking into a closet or playing peekaboo in some room. If they’re on you, your best bet is to try and loop the ghost around a table, couch, etc. and hope that the hunt ends soon.
The Recycled Map Situation
The first house map is almost a carbon copy of the first house map in Obsideo. And not in a cheeky homage kind of way.
More like: “Wait, haven’t I died here before?” kind of way.
I understand that it’s likely just a purchasable asset, but using the same map for a game in the same genre just seems incredibly lazy to me, sorry.
Image: The Other Side vs. Obsideo | Deevote | Kyle’s Garage
Nickel and Diming with Consumables
You get one use out of anxiety pills (and they cost $50). Candles? $100 for a single use. You’d think we were ghost hunting during an economic collapse. It feels less like resource management and more like being punished for trying to stay safe and sane.
When you design your game like this, you’re literally encouraging players to get in and get out as quickly as possible to save money on resources instead of, hmm maybe getting immersed in a horror game?
That Car Ride Intro
Cool scenery. Nice lighting. Literally no point.
It’s skippable (thankfully) – but why is it even there? I don’t need a scenic Uber ride to a haunted house. Just drop me in and let me get haunted already.
Image: The Other Side | Deevote
The Bad (Brace Yourself)
Alarms that Ruin Lives
Just like in Obsideo, we’ve got alarm clocks and car alarms going off like it’s ghost rush hour. It’s not scary – it’s annoying. More rage-inducing than immersive.
I’m half expecting to hear “on the ceiling” after turning off each overly loud alarm.
The "Reborn" Bug
There’s a mechanic where you can be reborn after death (which is actually kind of cool), but sometimes it just…doesn’t work.
You’re stuck, glitched out, wondering if you’re still dead or just spiritually unemployed. Outside of that fun, this also has the added benefit of soft-locking you and your party out of completing the contract, since you can’t stand by the car – so now it’s time to leave the game!
Sigh.
Image: The Other Side | Deevote
Secondary Item Controls Are Hot Garbage
Trying to manage two items at once feels like trying to pat your head and rub your stomach (while also being chased by a funderful ghost).
Whether it’s using the camera, checking your vitals, or trying to get into the ghost evidence, it’s janky and unintuitive – like it was duct-taped together five minutes before launch.
Image: The Other Side | Deevote
Investigation vs Cleanse: Pick a Lane
The game’s rocking two main modes: Investigation and Cleanse.
Investigation plays it straight: gather evidence, figure out what’s haunting you. Take off and wish the residents good luck.
Cleanse is where you’re supposed to exorcise the ghost, but things start to spiral.
After putting the evidence into this super complicated, text-based seizure machine, you’re supposed to find two artifacts with Harry Potter’s spirit wand and – well, that’s kind of it.
Image: The Other Side | Deevote
You find them and then you can go home. No ritual. No drama. No triumphant banishment with epic music. Just a vague sense of “Wait… that’s it?” It’s not satisfying, especially when the setup had the potential for something way cooler.
Compare that to Ghost Exile where you had to find the ghost’s favorite item and burn it. Now that was ritual. That had stakes. This? This feels like ordering a five-course meal and getting a breadstick and a pat on the butt for funsies.
Final Thoughts on The Other Side Game Review
Look, The Other Side isn’t bad – it just doesn’t know what it wants to be when it grows up yet.
It’s got the mood. It’s got the visuals. It’s got a couple of banger scare moments. But it also has a buffet of half-baked mechanics, recycled content, and design decisions that scream “look at me!” instead of “play me again.”
Right now, it feels like it’s trying to stand out by complicating everything. Tiers of evidence. Extra rituals. Dual wielding. But none of it gels into a smooth, cohesive experience.
Image: The Other Side | Deevote
It’s all frosting and no cake.
Still, it’s early days. The devs seem active, and there’s room to grow. If they focus less on the bells and whistles and more on the ghostly meat and potatoes (tight AI, unique haunt behavior, intuitive gameplay flow), this thing could evolve into something special.
But for now?
Final Score: 5.8 out of 10
A pretty ghost game that plays like a haunted PowerPoint presentation of better titles. Style over substance. The Other Side is still worth a look if you’re into ghost hunting games – but don’t expect the second coming of Phasmo just yet.
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