Its time to revisit some spooky classics, turn off the lights, and make sure you have a pair of pants on you wouldn’t mind wetting. Every year I enjoy a spooky game marathon, and I thought I’d share some of my favorite games to play during Halloween. While not all games played during Halloween must be absolutely terrifying, I love finding those gems that fit the Halloween spirit, whether they’re corny attempts to be scary or genuinely terrifying works of horror. Without further ado, here are some of my favorite games to marathon during the scariest month of the year.
F.E.A.R
- Game Developer: Monolith Studios
- Original Release Date: 8/17/2005
- Where to Buy: Steam, GOG
Why is F.E.A.R a good play for Halloween?
Scary environments, late 90s B-movie horror scares, great shootouts, gore and blood effects that are impressive even today.
If I explained to you the basic plot of F.E.A.R., you might assume it to be your classic ghost story where a company trifles with something they don’t understand and ends up loosing chaos on the area. It’s a pretty simple story with some spooks along the way to juxtapose the gruff spec ops men that are sent in and make them look like big babies by the end as they are all killed off by horrors unknown. But after playing the game for yourself, you’d come to a wildly different conclusion; while this is a classic ghost story in synopsis, the ghost in Paranormal Activity just makes you, like, trip down the stairs a few times. The spooky ghosts in F.E.A.R. send Navy SEALS to come kill you instead. F.E.A.R. is about 25% horror game and 75% John Woo / The Matrix shootouts.
In the game you follow an unnamed “Point Man” from the First Encounter Assault Recon, a special U.S. task force made to combat the unexplainable horrors of the world. You are sent in to deal with an uprising at the company ArmaCam who has been recently experimenting with clone soldiers that get their orders from a psychic named Paxton Fattel. All well and good, except that a previous psychic child turned experiment known as Alma, has reconnected with Paxton from beyond the grave. This drives Paxton mad and results in the clone battalion going on a murder spree across ArmaCam facilities. While it is technically a horror game and does serve up some decent spooks, the main inspiration behind F.E.A.R. was the John Woo film Hard Boiled and The Matrix, which explains the downright comical levels of particle destruction and blood effects, which combined with your Keanu Reeves slow-motion powers, makes for some scenes straight out of a 90ss Hollywood action movie. F.E.A.R. is a great first foray into horror games, as its barely a horror game, but still makes it as one of my favorite games to play during the Halloween season.
DUSK
- Game Developer: John Szymanski/New Blood
- Original Release Date: 1/10/2018
- Where to Buy: Steam GOG, Nintendo Switch
Why is DUSK a good play for Halloween?
Stereotypical Halloween themes/creatures; an evil cult, science experiments gone wrong, interdimensional monsters. Reminds me a lot of Army of Darkness in the tone its creating
DUSK has all the trappings of a stereotypical horror movie; an evil cult, a corrupted military and science program working with tech-inspired gameplay loop and visual style. The low-poly, retro-esque visual design recontextualizes all of the horror elements movement shooter that finds itself standing alone in feeling recent, yet doesn’t forget the lessons of its forefathers to bring the feeling of classics such as DOOM, Quake and Unreal Tournament into the current day.
Homeworld: Emergence
- Game Developer: Barking Dog Studios / Relic Entertainment
- Original Release Date: 9/1/2000
- Where to Buy: GOG
Why is Homeworld: Emergence a good play for Halloween?
One of the only games to effectively capture the terror of space and the unknown in such a unique way, great voice acting and a satisfying story about fighting the unknown.
This is going to sound moronic, but what if I told you that a sci-fi strategy game is one of the more unnerving games I’ve ever played? That’s exactly what Homeworld: Emergence is. (Note: Homeworld: Emergence was originally released as Homeworld: Cataclysm. The name was changed to Homeworld: Emergence due to licensing issues). After your crusty mining ship discovers a horror best left forgotten, Emergence has you taking up the fight to stop a nano-virus known as The Beast from devouring the galaxy. It might not sound very scary, but Emergence is one of the only games I’ve ever played that successfully conveys the horror of deep space. Every sensor ping is a shot into the dark unknown. Every contact on your sensor readout is a mystery. And The Beast could be lurking anywhere, waiting to give your crewman a fate many would consider worse than death. Adding to this is the voice acting. Other Homeworld games are known for their professional and concise callouts, making them sound like an organized force strategically letting allied forces know the situation. Cataclysm has the same professional voice acting, but it’s also interspersed with moments of sheer shock and terror. Clicking on allied units could give you the relatively calm voice of a pilot replaced moments later by the same pilot and crew being consumed by a terror that no one, including you, truly understands. The only drawback to Emergence’s brilliance is that there is required reading. I strongly, strongly recommend playing at least the first Homeworld game before Emergence. Emergence’s dated visuals might seem off-putting, but stick with it and you’ll get both a truly unnerving experience and a great space strategy game to boot.
Alien: Isolation
- Game Developer: Creative Assembly
- Original Release Date: 8/6/2014
- Where to Buy: Steam, GOG, Xbox, PlayStation
Why is Alien: Isolation a good play for Halloween?
Tense environments, brilliant enemy AI, faithful art design to the original movies, excellent sound design, engaging plot following up the first Alien movie
Alien: Isolation takes the cake for being the only game where I had to legitimately take a break from it and come back to it later because it was too nerve-wracking. In my opinion, it’s also the only release from the Alien franchise since the original Alien movie in 1979 to live up to its tagline: “In space, no one can hear you scream”. Trapped and—you guessed it—isolated, you’re aboard the Sevastopol space station with limited resources and a xenomorph running rampant. You play the character Amanda Ripley—The daughter of Ellen Ripley from the Alien movies. As Amanda Ripley, you must evade the xenomorph long enough to solve what happened to your mother aboard the Nostromo years prior. If you accomplish that task, against all odds, you still must escape with your life intact. While the incredible atmosphere, sound design and music add to the tension, the jewel in Alien: Isolation’s crown is the xenomorph itself. As It is one of the only enemy AIs in a game that truly gives off the feeling of being hunted down by a dangerous apex predator. Just when you think you have the xenomorph outsmarted, it figures out your tricks and finds you. Just when you think you have it beat, it comes around for another go when your guard is down. Just when you dare try to think you’ve figured out its patterns, it will hide away for minutes at a time, leaving you in nothing but the ambient noise of the space station. While you try to figure out where the xenomorph went, it prepares to strike. Alien: Isolation is truly one of the only great works of sci-fi horror released in the past years.
Dead Space 2
- Game Developer: Visceral Games (R.I.P.)
- Original Release Date: 1/25/2011
- Where to Buy: Steam, GOG, Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch
Why is Dead Space 2 a good play for Halloween?
Excellent visuals that still look great compared to modern games, great 3rd person action, great art design, likeable characters/plot.
Its no secret to anyone that knows me personally that Dead Space 2 is not only my favorite horror game, but also one of my favorite games of all time. Following up the terrifying Dead Space is no easy feat, yet the late Amanaged to serve up scares in the sequel while cranking the action dial up simultaneously. The “Aliens” to Dead Space’s “Alien”, Dead Space 2 is definitely more action focused than its predecessor. It makes up for an initial lack of horror with some downright terrifying sections. Here are some examples of Dead Space 2’s creepiest segments:
- A walk through an evil cult’s base of operations while the Necromorph menace runs rampant
- A trek through an infected day care where even the children themselves weren’t spared from the Necromorph infection
- Scariest of all, an atmospheric trek through a spaceship that those who played Dead Space might find very familiar.
Darkwood
- Game Developer: Acid Wizard Studio
- Original Release Date: 4/7/2014
- Where to Buy: GOG, Epic Games Store
Why is Darkwood a good play for Halloween?
Incredible audio/visual design, genuinely scary set pieces/encounters, zero scripted jump scares, engaging gameplay loop of scavenging/avoiding monsters, unique art style.
Calling a top-down view game the “scariest game I’ve ever played” may seem like exaggeration, but please believe me when I tell you that Darkwood is down, the most consistently scary game I have ever played. Darkwood is set in a cursed forest filled with horrific abominations and unknown horrors around every corner and in every bush, meaning that for those living in the West, Darkwood is a terrifying, Lovecraftian-inspired horror game where contact with other sane individuals is limited, resources are scarce, the nights are filled with terrifying phenomena and monsters breaking down your house’s door, and eldritch truths threaten to drive you insane. For those living in Slavic countries, Darkwood is a simulation of everyday life, where contact with other sane individuals is limited, resources are scarce, the nights are filled with terrifying phenomena and monsters breaking down your house’s door, and eldritch truths threaten to drive you insane. In all seriousness, Darkwood is a masterclass in tension-building and creature design; its designs remind me of H.R. Giger’s work crossed with nature and forests, while its use of lighting, music and sound effects gives you the feeling that even in broad daylight, they’re out there, stalking you, and waiting for you to slip up. It’s even more impressive that the game does not feature scripted jump-scares; everything that spooks you out in the world is naturally occurring and rarely scripted. A true masterclass in unknowable horror and tension, Darkwood is easily one of the best horror games I’ve ever played, and an easy recommend for anyone even remotely interested in the horror game genre.
So, whether you’re looking for just some schlocky monter fun or to experience some true terror, these games offer excellent options for both sides of the scary spectrum. So have fun, and don’t forget to turn off the lights.
