It’s that time of year again. The time where you turn the lights down, the music up and prepare to wet your pants with some horror games. With less than a few days left until Halloween, you may be asking yourself, “What should I play”. There’s quite an extensive library out there but here are some relatively new (and inexpensive) games that you may have missed.
A young pumpkin maid, Amelia, accompanies her witch mistress, Charlotte, during Halloween for trick or treating. Charlotte insists on visiting a cursed mansion where a mysterious host is having a party. Before Amelia knows it, she is on her own and has to search through the massive mansion to uncover its dark secrets, delicious candy, and find Charlotte.
Why you’ll love it
If you’re a fan of 2D RPG Maker games likes Corpse Party and Mad Father, Trick and Treat is certainly the game for you—albeit a little more light-hearted—but Trick and Treat still manages to keep a good balance between scary and cute. The art style is adorable and pulls off the creepy yet classy look. It has a multidimensional story with a rescue mission, exploration and solving a mystery. The music is charming, well timed and isn’t distracting, and the characters are hilarious. While the map is a little small and the gameplay short, the puzzles, multiple endings and relatively easy gameplay will be enough to keep you entertained. It’s definitely a neat little game that keeps the theme and feel of the Halloween season. Trick and Treat is available for free on Steam.
A farmer struggles as his crops fail from a blight that is spreading across the land. With no more hope left, the farmer ventures out to find out the cause and save his farm.
Why you’ll love it
Disturbed is a point-and-click, choose-your-own adventure style game with both horror and fantasy elements. The frustrating deaths are plentiful and add extra gameplay time and achievements to your Steam account. While the artwork is simple, its sketchbook style adds an uneasiness as you play and keeps to the mood of reading a book. It’s a simple game but a good play nonetheless. Disturbed is free to play on Steam.
An escaped prisoner finds his way into an old empty house in the middle of the woods. The creepy place makes him afraid of his own shadow and he must keep himself calm as he solves all the puzzles and mysteries of the house.
Why you’ll love it
This 8-bit, pixelated, 2D side-scroller is a charming yet freaky find. Don’t let its art style fool you; the scary moments make you jump in both fear and frustration as you fight to keep your character’s heart rate down. Since the game is non-linear, you can explore to your heart’s content around the creepy property. There’s always something new to watch out for as you pass by objects and the constant puzzles are both fun and challenging. Breathing Fear can be a bit frustrating with the character being so easy to startle but that’s what makes the challenge. Breathing Fear is available for $3.29 on Steam.
It’s 3AM and your neighbours are having a party. You don a hockey mask and go on a killing spree to stop them and finally have some peace a quiet.
Why you’ll love it
I’m cheating a little bit since this game isn’t technically horror but it’s fun if you’re a fan of hack and slash films. Your character goes from house party to house party to find new ways of stealthily killing the guests. The levels change up every time so there’s always new methods of killing. You can straight up stab them, poison the punch, electrocute etc. The possibilities are endless. The 8bit art style and bright colours really give Party Hard a delightfully 80’s feel with an awesome soundtrack to match and the character designs and writing will make you laugh the whole way through. Despite the monotonous gameplay, Party Hard is a great way to vent out your frustrations during your neighbour’s loud Halloween party. Party Hard is available for $13.99 on Steam.
After receiving a message that your mom is in the hospital, you rush to her aid, but your car crashes and you’re forced to take a stroll through the woods. Little did you know that those woods would have you face off against creatures that will do anything and everything to see you dead.
Why you’ll love it
Despite being an Early Access game, The Cursed Forest is stunningly beautiful. The calmness of the woods with the colours of autumn set the mood for the darker things to come. As you explore the woods and pick up notes, dark and ancient things begin to haunt you at every turn. The Cursed Forest has just the right balance of calm and fright that will leave you nervous throughout the whole game. The Cursed Forest is available for $11.99 on steam.
