Midnight Ghost Hunt’s first update includes a terrifying doll factory

Midnight Ghost Hunt’s first major update includes a new map full of chaotic props: baby dolls with knives and scuttling little legs, lethal forklifts, and soda machines that chase ghost hunters around the map while ejecting soda cans like softballs. I’ve heard of an unsafe workplace before, but this is It’s ridiculous.

Polygon got to see the updated map before it was released by Vaulted sky Games. The doll warehouse has a mix of horror stories and comedy.

This is the concept of Midnight Ghost Hunt is simple — a group of four amateur ghost hunters enter a scary location, like an abandoned pirate ship or museum. They’re there to hunt down four opponents playing as ghosts, who hide themselves in silly little props and use their spectral abilities to evade capture. In the initial five minutes, ghosts become weaker and more fragile, while the hunters are able to smash and extract their souls. The clock hits midnight. If there is even one ghost left, the game ends.

The newest map highlights the game’s greatest strengths, in that it straddles the line between camp and legitimate terror. There’s the constant heavy background noise of old processing machines run by nobody in particular. All four hunters may have to chase away the ghost panicking, sometimes together. Other times the ghosts may set up a jumping-scare that involves a falling sword, exploding cannon or other effective tricks. Every time I heard a cat screech or a creepy laugh, I’d duck, because it usually meant a knife-wielding baby doll would be close behind.

Vaulted sky Games/Coffee Stain Publishing

Previous maps have their own advantages — the mansion has knight armor with swords that make for a compelling hallway ambush, and the museum is full of globes that can roll away from hunters at mach speed. The doll factory has more props that are suited to frontal attacks, which gives the ghosts greater options. You can have them possess heavy metal gates that they transform into guillotines and use against unsuspecting hunter. These items are a double-edged sword. Hunters can attack larger objects with their weapons and pounce on them, while a smaller item might escape unharmed.

The update improves the hunters’ weapons as well. A makeshift stop-sign buckler is now available for the shockstick. This short-range weapon can strike a ghost quickly. With this utility added, hunters have an increased chance of dueling it out in later games. Some of the best moments for hunters come when they surprise angry revenants with salt shotguns or melee blows. Polygon has learned that Vaulted sky Games, the developer, said ghost/hunter wins are now close to 50/50 with large updates such as this weekly patch.

Midnight Ghost Hunt has earned success in streaming communities, and it looks like the developer is leaning into the game’s strengths with the latest map and update. This improved balance makes matches more entertaining for both players. Ghosts, on the other hand, can cause much more trouble in the beginning minutes of gameplay, but hunters are less likely to take a final stand after midnight. It is less balanced. There are very few distractions worse than watching a vending machine chase you, shooting cans at your head.