Non-Horror
Halloween Games!
October 14, 2024
Hallow's Eve is almost upon us and what better way to get in the holiday spirit than playing some Halloween games! But, if you're like me you're not always in the mood for scary, dark survival horror. Maybe you want to enjoy the vibes of ghosts and goblins run amok outside the genre of horror games...
With that sentiment, I'm gonna go over some non-horror Halloween games that I like to play around October for the vibes. Not all of these are literally "Halloween games" but are just games that have that aura or I got good Halloween memories from. I'm also gonna focus on shorter games that are either relatively easy to emulate (PS2/Dreamcast & older) or usually go for cheap on Steam.
Without further ado, let's go!
SINGLE PLAYER/CO-OP GAMES
King of the Monsters 2: The Next Thing (1991)
An underrated beat-em-up/wrestling game where you can play as a kaiju, tokusatsu, or giant robot ape to save the world from even deadlier aliens! If you like kaiju, I'd recommend taking an hour to beat this quick game and enjoy its wonderful art and animation!
Publisher: SNK
Players: 1-2
Available through: Fightcade
ALIEN VS. PREDATOR (1994)
This arcade classic is one of the best beat-em-ups Capcom has to offer. You get to choose between 4 cool characters (2 Predators and 2 Human Soldiers) and fight through hordes of xenomorphs in some real impressive set pieces. It's pretty short too so should be fun to knock out with a few buddies or just solo.
Publisher: Capcom
Players: 1-3
Available through: Fightcade
Crypt of the Necrodancer (2015)
A musical roguelike that sets you down a tomb of monsters and ghouls. The twist is you have to move to the beat of the music if you want to survive! Super fun game with a killer soundtrack that I have personally replayed for hours.
Publisher: Brace Yourself Games
Players: 1-2
Available through: most platforms (usually cheap)
Death Road to Canada (2016)
This zombie survival roguelike lets you customize your own survivors, whether you want to make your friends or favorite characters. It's like a mix of Left 4 Dead and Oregon Trail. Very fun both solo and with a friend.
Publisher: Rocketcat Games
Players: 1-2
Available through: most platforms (usually cheap)
MULTIPLAYER GAMES
Darkstalkers 3 (1997)
Halloween is just the perfect excuse to play some Darkstalkers. This classic fighting game features an awesome cast of horror-inspired characters with goofy Looney Tunes-esque animation that is a sight to behold. You owe it to yourself to butt heads online or offline in this monstrous fighter.
Publisher: Capcom
Players: 1-2
Available through: Fightcade,
most platforms (Capcom Fighting
Collection)
Twisted Metal: Black (2001)
It's time for something a bit more hardcore. This heavy metal demolition derby game lets you and up to 4 friends smash and crash eachother with some creatively designed murder vehicles! I have good memories playing this on Halloween night with family.
Publisher: Incognito Entertainment
Players: 1-4
Available through: PS2 emulation, PS Store
Team Fortress 2 (2007)
You may be familiar with the FPS, Team Fortress 2, which is still going strong to this day. But, did you know every October they hold a Halloween event where you can play with crazy gimmicks like spells and Halloween-exclusive maps. Checking out the new Scream Fortress update every year is pretty much a Halloween tradition.
Publisher: Valve
Players: 1 (online multiplayer)
Available through: Steam (free-to-play)
Jackbox Party Pack 3 (2016)
This might be an unusual pick but if you like to throw get-togethers, I'd highly recommend one of these packs of party games! This one in particular holds a personal favorite, TRIVIA MURDER PARTY, where you must survive a killer trivia show! The other games in this pack are also excellent but almost every Jackbox pack is guaranteed fun with friends, online or offline.
Publisher: Jackbox Games
Players: 1-8
Available through: most platforms (often on sale)
Nightmare Kart (2024)
While Bloodborne is stuck on the PS4, you can play this inspired fan game: a Bloodborne inspired kart racer with a beautiful PS1 aesthetic! This hilariously charming and free game has a surprising amount of content, even coming with a whole campaign with sick boss fights! You can also enjoy some split screen shenanigans with a friend so I can't recommend it enough!
Publisher: LWMedia
Players: 1-2
Available through: Steam, itch.io (free)
SOME MORE KINDA
HALLOWEEN-ESQUE FIGHTERS
CLOSER
There are still plenty of Halloween games I gotta get around to playing like the Castlevania series, Medievil, and the Metroid Prime games. But, lemme know down below what games you like to play around this most haunted of seasons. Horror game or not, I'm interested to see!
However you celebrate, hope you can take some time to enjoy a Happy Halloween this year!
