The game is divided into
levels, which in turn are divided into stages. Each level starts with a
cutscene and has one or more
boss fights. The game saves automatically after each level. A level is progressed through by completing its stages. A stage can be a period in the game in which the player has to
puzzle and/or
fight his way to a certain point or can be a boss fight. Upon completing a stage, a new
checkpoint is reached. As a disembodied spirit, Raimi cannot interact with the physical world except through possession.
Gravity still affects him though he floats and can elevate himself for short periods and he cannot pass through solid walls. Normally, his sight is blue/white, but when standing at the same spot as an object or creature, his sight turns red. Ghosts are invisible and intangible, though they can be seen by other ghosts and animals can sense their presence even when they are possessing something. Without a host, a ghost is a lot faster than the physical world and sees everything in
slow motion. When Raimi possesses an object, such as a dog food bowl, he sees things from the object's perspective even if the device has no visual apparatus. He can provide some motive force on an ordinarily immobile object, activate electronics, and alter an object's appearance; for example, turning water from a possessed faucet red, or changing the reflection in a mirror. Creatures can only be possessed when badly frightened or startled. This is accomplished by performing a set combination of actions. Glimpses of a host's recent memories are sometimes gained immediately upon possession. Raimi has the same control over a host body that he would over his own. The only exceptions are an inability to make the host approach something which frightens him or her very badly, and the very difficult task of resisting something the host likes. If a host is killed or destroyed, Raimi is unharmed and returns to his ethereal state. However, he cannot remain outside a host indefinitely; his spirit is continuously pulled towards the afterlife. Raimi can only anchor himself to the world by possessing something, though absorbing life from small plants grants him additional time in this world. For the most part, Raimi gets to possess guards who carry one weapon and an unlimited amount of
ammunition. Other possessive humans are
professors,
engineers and several people with different supportive jobs. They cannot do battle, but allow access to new areas and sometimes carry objects with them that may be needed to proceed. Human hosts have no memory of what occurs when Raimi possesses them. They recall only being badly frightened, and then suddenly being in a different room. They will not do anything or get less frightened when Raimi dispossesses them, so they can be possessed again at any time. Animals also cannot be used for combat, but are vital to reaching some areas. Due to their size, rats and dogs (rabbits and roaches in multiplayer) can crawl through some small holes and reach the room on the other side. Bats can fly to otherwise unreachable areas. Other animals are tools to make a human host possessive. The only exception to animals being useless for combat situations are
imps, but they can only be possessed in the multiplayer mode. Each host has a different ability. Some human hosts can sprint and others can crawl. This means a character that can sprint cannot crawl or vice versa and this goes for all abilities. In some cases, the L button activates the
zoom function.
Power-ups are also available, being able to adjusted in the game's settings. Additional characters and maps can also be unlocked by finding
collectibles in the story mode. ==Development==