At last, October! Halloween is nearly upon us, so why not get yourself into a spooky mindset by playing a few holiday-themed games with your family? Here’s a list of 6 of our favorite Halloween games!
Quick Tip for Parents: There are a lot of video games out there in the horror genre that are pretty intense, especially for younger gamers. Make sure to do some background research, or at least check the ESRB rating, before you buy a game for your family. None of the games listed here are too scary, but you should make your own decisions to find a game that will be fun for everyone.
Let us know in the comments which ones we forgot!
Haunt the House: Terrortown
Platforms: PC, Mac
Rating: E10+ for Fantasy Violence
This short game casts you as an adorable ghost with the ability to possess items and make them behave in various spooky ways. Your goal is to enter crowded buildings and terrify the occupants until they run away. Each item will react differently when you possess it, and I had fun trying out each one and seeing which had the biggest effect.
Costume Quest 2
Platforms: PC, Mac, Linux
Rating: E10+ for Fantasy Violence
Brother and sister Wren and Reynold love Halloween, so when the evil town dentist unleashes monsters to steal everyone’s candy and costumes, the siblings must embark on an adventure to stop him! Costume Quest 2 is a sequel, but you don’t need to play the awesome first installment if you don’t want to. Time travel, costume-building, and extremely silly fight scenes make this game a thoroughly enjoyable experience. Just don’t forget to brush your teeth afterwards.
Stay tuned for the full Pixelkin review of this game, coming soon!
Nancy Drew and the Ghost of Thornton Hall
Platforms: iOS, Android, PC, Mac
Rating: Rated E for Mild Violence
In Ghost of Thornton Hall, Nancy Drew travels to a derelict Southern mansion to search for a woman who went missing during her bachelorette party. There are rumors that the mansion is haunted, of course, and players will get chills as Nancy explores the house. There are secret passages, mind-boggling puzzles, and deadly traps to contend with—as well as cranky relatives of the missing girl, any of whom might be guilty.
Ghost of Thornton Hall is challenging and incredibly spooky. This one is probably too intense for younger kids, but pre-teens and teens will love it.
Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon
Platforms: Nintendo 3DS (also playable on 2DS and 3DS XL)
Rating: E for Crude Humor and Mild Cartoon Violence
Using his trusty Poltergust 5000, Luigi must help Professor E. Gadd to vacuum up all of the ghosts from a series of haunted mansions. Dark Moon is packed with clever puzzles and silly villains, and is a great sequel to the original Luigi’s Mansion game for GameCube. Unfortunately, this game is for handheld consoles only, so it’s a little hard to share as a family.
Wayward Manor
Platforms: PC, Mac
Rating: Not Rated
Like Haunt the House, Wayward Manor casts you as a ghost attempting to terrify the living inhabitants out of a building. In this game, though, you must observe the humans to figure out what they are most afraid of. Wayward Manor is author Neil Gaiman’s first foray into video games, so look out for his famous dark wit. To learn more, check out our review by clicking here.
LIMBO
Platforms: PC, Mac, Linux, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, Xbox 360
Rating: T for Teen, for animated blood and mild violence
LIMBO is a black-and-white 2D puzzle game, in which you play a young boy wandering through a spooky landscape. LIMBO is ethereal and chilling, with sudden scares that will make you jump in your seat. It’s known as a classic in the indie game world, and if you’re brave enough, it might be the perfect way to get ready for All Hallows’ Eve.
