Staff Picks: Scary Games for Halloween
Staying in during the Halloween weekend? Not feeling like watching a horror movie or tired of reading the same old scary books? Why not play something spooky? We here at The Geek Lyfe made a list of games that we think you’d like to play during the scariest night of the year. There’s nothing like playing a game alone, in a dark room, during the night. Just add one of these games and you wont be sleeping ’til morning… If you make it until morning.
Redshirt- Alien Isolation
In space, no one can hear your scream. Well on Earth everyone could hear me pissing my pants while playing Alien: Isolation. As I played as the daughter of Ellen Ripley (hunted by murderous androids, unkillable Xenomorphs and more) I was stuck on the edge of my seat wide-eyed and pale faced more than any other horror game in recent memory. This brilliant game that captures the atmosphere of Ridley Scott’s classic Alien to a scary degree. It sucks you in and doesn’t let go until the credits roll. Running and cowering in storage lockers and under beds watching my motion tracker blip louder and louder as the Xenomorph approached in that damn med bay level has to be one of my most terrifying moments in gaming.
Justin- Demon’s Souls
Demon’s Souls is set in the world of Boletaria, a desolate apocalyptic kingdom. Demon’s souls is a PS3 exclusive RPG released in 2009. I originally picked up the game based on the cover art of a badass knight dude, but I had no idea what I was in for. This game is extremely difficult, yet immensely rewarding, with excellent level design that has you facing horrifying creatures amidst very spooky locales. I can’t think of a better game to fit the spirit of Halloween than a game where you actually play as a spirit of sorts, the “Slayer of Demons”, on a quest to rid the world of a demonic curse. Demon’s Souls will have you running through an abandoned castle filled with zombies, a deserted island fortress with asshole rolling skeleton jerks, and my favorite, the haunted prison tower filled with mind flayers that absolutely make you shit your pants every single time they catch you. If you have the hardware to play this exclusive, I definitely recommend giving Demon’s Souls or either of its Dark Souls successors a shot this Halloween.
Darth Mexican – Among The Sleep
A majority of horror games has a bright eyed, innocent main character who ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time. Among the Sleep is no exception to this, but rather with a slight addition by having the main character be a two year old who can barely run for more than two seconds. Yes, you read that right, this game places the very young protagonist into a world filled of horror that requires the hero to solve various puzzles and sneak past enemies who lurk around every corner waiting to strike. This game does not just rely on jump scares to instill fear in it’s players, they utilize shadows, music, audio cues, scene changes, screen shaking, blurred vision, and so much more to make it clear that you are in a fucked up situation and you’ll need to run to survive. I screamed a good amount of times during my playthrough but honestly was hit in the feels and was horrified by the ending of the game which you may have to google to understand. Plus, the fact that you even have to stop and think out the ending makes this an incredible game!
Gumbercules – The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct
For my Halloween pick, I’d recommend one of the most underrated survival horror games on the market, The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct. In typical survival horror fashion, it’s a game that features the core dynamic of needing to conserve ammo and using a combination of stealth and melee combat to navigate through the levels. What sets this game apart from other horror games, zombie games in particular, is that it manages to make zombies intimidating again. Until I found a fireman’s ax more than half way through the game, I was primarily equipped with a wrench or a baseball bat. These weapons take two hits to a zombie’s head to kill it, and that can be quite a handful if you’re not careful and find yourself surrounded. Graphically, its not the most impressive out there, but the tension created through gameplay and level design makes this game a must-play!
Spocktopus – Silent Hill 4: The Room
When I think of a great game to play during Halloween time my first pick will always be Silent Hill 4: The Room. Now I know most of you will be all like “What? Really? Nobody likes The Room!” But trust me on this one. Although The Room is very loosely a “Silent Hill” game, it’s still got all the great makings of a horror game. Extreme claustrophobia? Check. Ritualistic serial killers? Check. Horrible just plain scary monsters that only Konami could provide? Yup got that too. If you can forgive clunky battle controls, I guarantee you that Silent Hill 4 will be the genuinely frightening game you are looking for this Hallow’s Eve. I mean you can spy on your neighbor for goodness sake! But don’t say I didn’t warn you when you see what’s looking back.
Carlos – Lone Survivor
Lone Survivor sets the mood right from the beginning letting you know the best way to play this game is in a dark room with headphones on. Half of what makes this game great is the phenomenal soundtrack and the traumatizing sounds of the creatures unknown. With a plot that is vague enough to keep you looking for answers in a town filled with these monstrosities walking around, you’ll be sure to get the Halloween fright you were looking for right off the bat. The experiences of this ambient world leave you with a type of fear that you can only describe as mental. Lone Survivor is a great experience even outside of its horror aspect which makes it a great overall game.
Zombieboi – Dead Space
My heart pounding, eyes stinging from the sweat, and mind racing with thoughts of, “Why did I get into this? It’s too late, too dark and I don’t know what is around the corner.” As I inch forward I hear the banging and clink of the air ducts… They are in the air ducts! How am I safe on this ship if they move through the ducts? With the fear spreading from my head to toes I grip my plasma cutter tighter and turn the corner. That’s when I see it, the nercomorph! My heart jumps out of my chest my controller go flying through the room and tell myself that maybe it’s a good idea to play Dead Space once the sun is up and Halloween is over.
Tony AKA Powerforce is the master of playing Fox on Super Smash Bros, he loves him some JRPGs and can not get enough of indie games. Rumor has it that he is actually creating his own game! He is a solid guy in real life and will slit your throat in a table top RPG. Great guy! Loves dogs!
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