Halloween is one of the best times of the year for gaming and all things nerdy. Not only is it whensome of the best merchandise becomes available, but games likeOverwatch 2also hold themed events with special costumes available. If you’re looking to celebrate the season early, it can be a long wait for these events to start.
Related:Best Video Game Halloween Costumes
If you’re looking for games to help you feel the spirit of the spookiest season, you’re spoiled for choice, and it can feel like hard work to separate the tricks from the treats. Here are some games guaranteed to help you feel your most ghoulish self.
1The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
Few horror movies are as iconic as the 1974 classicThe Texas Chain Saw Massacre, and the game of the same name puts you in the shoes of either the Slaughter family themselves or one of the victims trying to escape. For many people, horror movies are synonymous with Halloween, so something that puts you into one is the perfect potion.
With multiple maps to explore and different characters to play as, the game does a fantastic job of conveying the feel of the original film, with extra care shown to the Family House map especially. Jumping in with your friends is guaranteed to be a frightfully good time and maybe evenmore hilarious than you’d expect.
2MediEvil
MediEvilhas everything you could ask for from a game to make you long for October 31st. You play as the undead knight Sir Daniel Fortesque, battling against enemies ranging from zombies to vicious pumpkin plants. The experience drips with a delightfully camp take on horror tropes, never taking itself too seriously, and is a great option if you like your Halloween not to be too scary.
Originally released for the PlayStation back in 1998, MediEvil received a full Playstation 4 remake in 2019, making it easier than ever to pick up and play. Whether you’re trying to dodge killer scarecrows or grappling with ghouls, MediEvil will help you feel like a true haunted hero.
3The Mortuary Assistant
There aren’t many games with as unsettling a premise asThe Mortuary Assistant, putting you in the position of the titular character. Tasked with figuring out which of the corpses under your care is host to a demon, you’ll spend your time deciphering clues and trying not to get so scared you have to take a break and tell yourself the fictional video game demon can’t hurt you.
Related:Scariest Haunts In The Mortuary Assistant
The game is a rare horror treat that remains just as frightening on subsequent playthroughs, thanks to the fact that the demon changes which body it’s lurking inside each time you play. If Halloween to you means being scared witless, then The Mortuary Assistant will keep you frightened right through until Christmas.
4Ghost Master
If you’re getting fed up with always being the one haunted and not the one haunting, Ghost Master is a puzzle strategy game that puts you in charge of a fleet of vengeful spirits. Each level is a new location that you’re in charge of driving the mortals away from by leveraging the abilities of your undead employees. With locations ranging from hospitals to homes built on chicken burial grounds, the environments are varied enough to keep you invested.
Ghost Master is perfectly cheesy, but it has real gameplay meat on its spectral bones. Every ghost you recruit has its own suite of abilities, upgrade choices, and ways they can be utilized. Many of the levels have specific goals that require real planning to pull off, as well as optional objectives that reward you with new spooks. It will take time to really master Ghost Master, but it’s time well spent.
Watching classic horror movies for Halloween is a time-honored tradition, and many of thesehorror movies have had video game adaptationsover the years.Dead By Daylightis unique in that it features characters and locations from multiple franchises such as Alien, Saw, and even Halloween itself - the movie, not the holiday. Whether you want to experience playing as horror icons like Michael Myers or flee from them as a survivor, Dead By Daylight has you covered.
Featuring characters from game series likeSilent Hill, you’ll find no shortage of nostalgic franchises included in the game. As an asymmetrical multiplayer game, you may team up with three friends to try and escape the clutches of the killer or play solo and hunt survivors down. Nothing else contains quite as much horror nostalgia in one package.
6Luigi’s Mansion 3
For the most part, horror games aren’t family friendly, buthorror games great for kidsdo exist. One of the best isLuigi’s Mansion 3, an action-adventure puzzler game where you play the often-overlooked brother of Mario. Trekking through a haunted mansion, you have to clear it of spirits with a Ghostbusters-inspired vacuum cleaner alongside your undead animal companion, Polterpup.
Bright, colorful, and full of charm, Luigi’s Mansion 3 manages to show you how frightened Luigi is by his encounters with the ghosts and the atmosphere of the hotel without ever presenting these things as frightening to you. Whether you’re playing with family or solo, this is a spooktacular way to get into the spirit of things.
7Pumpkin Jack
A 3D platformer, Pumpkin Jack sees you play as Jack, the Pumpkin Lord, with a pumpkin head. It’s hard to think of anything that screams Halloween more than that much pumpkin in one package. Satisfying gameplay meets lush graphics to create a perfect holiday experience.
Related:Games To Play For Halloween That Aren’t Scary
Pumpkin Jack doesn’t overstay its welcome either, proving thata game doesn’t need to take multiple playthroughs to be great. You could easily see everything the game has to offer in one sitting, but it does let you replay levels to see anything you missed, which is a great excuse each Halloween to dip back in and get yourself in the mood to carve a jack-o-lantern.
8Haunting Starring Polterguy
A throwback to 1993, Haunting Starring Polterguy sees you take on the role of street tough turned poltergeist, Polterguy. Out for revenge against the Sardini family for owning a business that produced the defective skateboard that caused your death, you haunt them out of house and home, chasing them to each new house.
You achieve your ghastly goals by possessing household objects, either trapping them for the next time someone tries to use them or taking direct control to terrorize the yuppie family. You might turn a rug into quicksand or the armchair into a fanged monster that tries to eat them. Your only real obstacles are a dwindling power meter, refilled by performing quality scares, and the family Chihuahua who doesn’t take kindly to your presence.
9The Evil Within
One of the best survival horror games in recent memory, followed up by a great sequel inThe Evil Within 2, you’ll be exploring an unsettling mental hospital while fighting monsters you’ll wish you’d never seen. If the original Resident Evil games are something you long for, you’re in luck. The Evil Within isn’t just inspired by them but was developed by Shinji Mikami, the creator of Resident Evil himself.
With an immersive atmosphere and deep story, The Evil Within is a great series in its own right and an exciting way to get yourself in the mood for more frights. Known for being more challenging than many other modern survival horrors, you’ll be kept on the edge of your seat the entire time.
10Costume Quest
Costume Questmeets all the criteria you could want for a whimsically nostalgic Halloween game. A turn-based RPG, you’ll follow the story of twin siblings Reynold and Wren, tasked by their mother with making friends in a new neighborhood on Halloween. Dressed up in adorable costumes, your abilities in combat will change depending on what you’re dressed as, whether it’s a robot or the Statue of Liberty.
You’ll fight monsters, trick-or-treat, and collect new costumes. Costume Quest is a perfect Halloween experience and has a sequel ready for you to sink your teeth into. It hits the perfect tone of reminding us what it was like to be a kid at Halloween and will light up your love for the holiday.
