When summer ends and autumn begins, it can only mean one thing, Halloween is just around the corner. With it comes pumpkin flavored everything, haunted houses, scary movies and dimming the lights to slaughter some ghouls and goblins in some of our favorite games. Horror games have exploded over recent years delivering some tense and terrifying titles to the gaming world on all kinds of platforms. From NES to VR here are a few that get me in the mood for Halloween!
THE HOUSE OF THE DEAD
The House Of The Dead is one of the most famous horror video game franchises of all time. It was created by Sega back in 1996 and is still going strong today. We normally associate horror and the dead with Halloween, and with over 7 House Of The Dead games to choose from, everyone can really get into the spirit of the occasion by playing one or more of the titles in the series. The aim of the game, as you would probably expect, is to take on hordes of the undead.
MORTAL KOMBAT X
What has also become common around October 31st is getting together with friends to enjoy the occasion. Nowadays it is quite normal to enjoy each other’s company whilst playing one of the games that is perfectly suited to Halloween, Mortal Kombat. This game and franchise have become a household name and a classic in the gaming world. The most recent games include multiplayer masterclasses, allowing friends to do battle with plenty of gore thrown in for good measure. With the addition of DLC packs that include the characters like Freddy, Michael Myers, Alien, Jason and Leatherface and it will certainly get every player into the Halloween spirit.
WHICH WITCH
How about a different kind of Halloween game to get you in the mood? Which Witch is a superb mFortune Mobile Casino exclusive and it invites players into a world of magic and mystery, with potions galore. It’s a head to head battle between the Green Witch and the White Witch in an exciting online slot game which features 15-win lines. There’s also a huge progressive jackpot thrown into the mix too, which makes Which Witch the slot game of choice this Halloween.
WILSON’S HEART
Wilson’s Heart is considered by some to be the best single-player horror game for Oculus Rift on the market. It provides a haunting experience full of atmosphere. It is an immersive first-person psychological thriller set in a 1940s hospital that has undergone a haunting transformation. In this original VR adventure, you become Robert Wilson, a patient who awakens to the shocking discovery that his heart has been replaced with a mysterious device. As the hospital hauntings intensify, you and your fellow patients must traverse increasingly maddening corridors, overcome frightening environmental hazards and work together to defeat the sinister inhabitants in your pursuit to reveal who stole your heart…and why.
LEFT 4 DEAD
Left 4 Dead may be a decade old now but it’s still a gaming classic. The co-op action horror game for the PC and Xbox 360 casts up to four players in an epic struggle for survival against swarming zombie hordes and terrifying mutant monsters. There’s real carnage ahead, as you have to battle chapter after chapter which is packed full of creatures who are not only out to kill you, they want to vomit on you too. Set in the immediate aftermath of the zombie apocalypse, L4D’s survival co-op mode lets you blast a path through the infected in four unique “movies,” guiding your survivors across the rooftops of an abandoned metropolis, through rural ghost towns and pitch-black forests in your quest to escape a devastated Ground Zero crawling with infected enemies. There’s laughs, teamwork and exciting moments to be had in this zombie thriller.
FRIDAY THE 13TH: THE GAME
Dim the lights and grab your hockey mask because things are about to get tense! Originally called Summer Camp, Friday the 13th: The Game is a horror fans dream come true. Developed by the small development teams at Gun Media and IllFonic they were able to obtain licensing for Friday the 13th and bring Jason to life in a game where you are the hunted or the hunter. Dawn the hockey mask and go after unsuspecting campers as they run and hide in iconic franchise locations. Much like other games on the list the character choice you make will effect their special skills and abilities in the game as they try and escape Jason’s machete. This game is available in both single player and online co-op mode.
MANIAC MANSION
Maniac Mansion for NES is a true classic that is a graphic adventure throwback. It was released back in 1987 and is a point-and-click game, with the player having to guide lead protagonist Dave Miller around a maniac’s mansion as he attempts to save his girlfriend from the mad scientist. The choices a player makes are crucial, giving this game real depth that is sometimes lacking in modern titles. You can also chose from other characters that have different traits that will help you along the way. It’s worth a look this Halloween, especially for the nostalgia factor.
GHOSTS & GOBLINS
Pegged as one of the hardest NES games of all-time Ghost and Goblins is full of ghouls, devils, zombies and well, ghosts and goblins. Ghost ‘n Goblins, is a side-scrolling platform game developed by Capcom and released in arcades in 1985. You set out on a quest as a knight named Arthur who must battle through hordes of the undead in order to rescue the kidnapped princess Prin-Prin from the demon king Astaroth. The game has been adapted to several platforms after it made its debut in the arcade which was followed with newer versions of the game on Super NES. It only has 6 levels but 2-3 of them are some of the toughest in the NES Universe. Once you beat the game, you have to beat it again to actually save princess Prin-Prin! Playing out like a twisted game of Mario brothers, the princess is in another castle! NOOOOoooOOooOoo! For a straight shot of nostalgia suit up in your armor this Halloween and battle some Ghosts and Goblins!
SLAYAWAY CAMP
Rounding out our nostalgic game list is an android game that isn’t vintage at all. But the stylization of the gameplay will make you think it was ripped from the late 80’s. If Minecraft and Friday the 13th had a digital 8-bit baby this would be it! A killer puzzle game where you control Skullface, a psycho slasher bent on slaughtering camp counselors at the title campground. Slide an adorable voxel murderer around hundreds of isometric puzzle levels to squash, flay, and decapitate hapless victims in this darkly comic homage to 80s horror.
THE BEST OF THE REST
Some honorable mentions that I didn’t include in the list above are; Silent Hill, Resident Evil franchise, Until Dawn, The Last of Us, The Suffering and the Evil Within. These are all fantastic games to check out this Halloween season!
What are some of yours? Tell us in the comment section below.
