Spooky season is upon us
Halloween is my favorite holiday, and October is my favorite month of the year. Last year I dedicated four weeks of my column to be about storytelling in games that also related to Halloween, but it turns out that’s a pretty niche topic to keep coming up with ideas for over and over. This year I’ve instead resigned myself to watching and playing as many Halloween related movies and games as I can, and I have to say that plan has done a tremendous job of getting me in the spirit of the season.
There are a few games I come back to every year, chief among them being Until Dawn. It’s a great game to play with friends, and it’s scary enough to spook me, but not so scary that I have to sleep with the lights on. I’m a fan of the horror narrative adventure thing Dark Pictures has going on, but admittedly Until Dawn is the favorite I keep coming back to thanks to the characters. The all-star cast featuring favorites like Rami Malek, Jordan Fisher, and Hayden Panettiere really rounds out the whole experience for me.
Another game I never shut up about is The Last of Us, which is not only my all time favorite game but also kind of relates to Halloween because, you know, zombies. Plus, there’s nothing scarier than committing to love someone that the world constantly threatens to rip away from you at any moment. It’s been a few years since I’ve played it, so I’m about due for a playthrough right now anyway. It’s just a matter of whether or not I’m ready to be emotionally destroyed again. Who knows, maybe it might be cathartic.
Then of course there are the horror classics like the Resident Evil series, for example. One of my friends has a tradition where he has friends over and makes them play Resident Evil 7 in VR, but I have always been conveniently absent from those gatherings. I would maybe do it if someone offered me a large sum of money, but other than that, I wouldn’t touch a virtual reality headset that was running a horror game with a ten foot pole.
Now that Overwatch is back in full swing, you can bet your bottom dollar I’m looking forward to play the Junkenstein’s Revenge Halloween event, which in my opinion is the best seasonal event the game has ever had. While the mode is usually starting mid-month, it’s going to be here from October 25 to November 8, likely moved back because of Overwatch 2‘s early October release date. I still may be missing some a good handful of my skins, but at least I have my Mercy witch skin to dress for the season.
We want to know, what’s your favorite game to play in honor of Halloween? Do you have any fond memories of playing spooky games? What’s the best Halloween game to play with friends? Let us know in the comments down below!
