The season of the witch is upon us. The lines between the realms of the living and the dead blur. The day of horror and spookiness is here. It is the perfect time to re-visit the best horror games…
Alien: Isolation
Developer(s): Creative Assembly, Feral Interactive
Publisher(s): Sega
The atmosphere of the Alien series is undeniable. It is one of mystery, suspense and blood-curdling fear. This atmosphere has struggled in recent years to be translated into videogame format. Every entry into the series’ videogame adaptation timeline struggling with one major concept, the fear of the Xenomorph itself.
Taking the Xenomorph out of front-and-centre and relying instead on Outlast-esque run-and-cover mechanics over a ‘guns first, questions later’ approach means that Isolation stands out in the crowd.
Combining the memorable character model of the Xenomorph, the bare-bones nature of the tech on hand and simmering and boiling with references to the series and the characters therein, makes Alien: Isolation go-to gaming for any horror fan on Halloween.
Dead By Daylight
Developer(s): Behaviour Interactive, 505 Games
Publisher(s): Deep Silver, Starbreeze Studios
Releasing in 2017 amongst heavy-hitters such as; Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild and Horizon: Zero Dawn, Dead By Daylight does things differently.
With a heavy focus on asymmetrical multiplayer, it tasks a number of players with evading capture by a deranged killer, controlled by another player. Throughout the match, players must work together to gather items and repair infrastructure in order to escape the madmen on the loose once and for all.
The game features a comprehensive upgrade system which allows players to change survivors in-line with their play-style and enables player choice to be taken to its logical conclusion.
Every map contains a way to escape and various places to hide. Beautifully gothic colour palettes overlay and pervade throughout, reminiscent of horror movies of yesteryear.
Launching originally with unique killers and psychos, recent years have seen Dead By Daylight gain licenses for well-known killers like; Michael Myers from the Halloween series and Freddy Krueger from the A Nightmare On Elm Street series. It really doesn’t get much scarier than that…does it?
Friday The 13th
Developer(s): Illfonic
Publisher(s): Gun Media
What would Halloween be without discussing the main copy-cat of the actual Halloween series?
Starting life as an ape-ing of the John Carpenter brainchild, Friday the 13th has gone on to become one of the most recognizable slasher franchises in the sub-genre.
A few attempts have been to bring the hockey-mask machete-wielding mama’s boy to the home console but none more successful than the Friday the 13th game released in 2017.
The game at its core is an asymmetrical multiplayer in the shape of Evolve or Dead By Daylight. Every player takes on the role of a camp counsellor with one player being chosen to be the machete-maniac himself.
Playing as counsellors, you must survive Jason and escape camp Crystal Lake. Playing as Jason, you must enact your revenge and kill all counsellors on-site.
As counsellors, your abilities are limited to hand-held weapons and distractions, with everything used being a stall to allow you to get away rather than actually killing Jason.
As Jason, your arsenal is a much larger and more impressive tools at your disposal. Be it the; teleport, which allows Jason to teleport to anywhere on the map after a cool-down or the ‘killer vision’, which allows Jason to see through walls etc and hear noises in order to pinpoint counsellor positions – needless to say, the counsellors have their work cut-out for them.
Speaking of cuts, there is not a single body-part which can not be sliced or ripped from a counsellor as they try to escape. The game features iconic kill moments such as the head punch from Jason Takes Manhattan and lesser-known kills like the Backbreaker featured throughout the series.
Releasing among the worst rights battle on the last twenty years, the game’s days were always going to be numbered and unfortunately this affected the sales negatively but now is the perfect time to go back to Crystal Lake for anyone who is fan of the series.
The Calisto Protocol
Developer(s): Striking Distance Studios
Publisher(s): Krafton
Taking heavy inspiration from Dead Space. The Calisto Protocol tells the story of a hellish outbreak which turns people into anamorphous beings which barely resemble the human which once inhabited the form. Every location in The Calisto Protocol is detailed, offers a number of different ways to travers and overcome, and new enemies to tackle.
The Calisto Protocol appears at first to be a spiritual successor to the Dead Space series, however as the story progresses, it becomes clear it has its own place at the table.
Bringing anti-gravity back into play and focusing on dismemberment to immobilize your foes may seem familiar, but with every twist-and-turn on offer here, it soon becomes more apparent that The Calisto Protocol takes more pointers from John Carpenter’s The Thing than the 2008 survival-horror series.
Never offering more than you can manage and ensuring that gameplay is at the focus of the experience by removing the HUD entirely and making ‘health’ and ‘focus’ built-in to the suit which the player character wears, pays off by allowing a more immersive experience which is more about surviving through wits and tactics than keeping a weathered eye on small incremental bars.
Until Dawn
Developer(s): Supermassive Games
Publisher(s): Sony Computer Entertainment
A tradition as old as time, is to tell scary stories while the season of the witch is upon us. What better way to do this than celebrate over 40 years of Slasher movie history via a cinematic and immersive horror game?
The story is as tried-and-tested as it comes. A bunch of horny teenagers, a mystery about a former classmate and an isolated location in which to have all the murderous mayhem one can shake a machete at.
Until Dawn knows its roots and respects the traditions of the trade. It deals entirely in jump-scares, misdirection and eerie set-pieces – one could genuinely be forgiven for thinking they are watching an unreleased slasher movie from the late 80’s.
The hook with Until Dawn comes from the fact that all of the character’s survival chances, tie directly to your choice as a player. This makes gameplay tense and rewarding and also allows for multiple playthroughs with different outcomes.
So many games in this genre rely on cheap tricks to scare the audience but Until Dawn keeps it simple with atmospheric storytelling, an engaging cast of characters and a choice-based frame-work which allows you to live-out all of your slasher-survivor fantasies.
No more screaming “don’t go in there!” at the screen, Until Dawn lets you choose to not “go in there”
Bloodborne
Developer(s): FromSoftware
Publisher(s): Sony Computer Entertainment
When discussing horror games and games made for Halloween, From Software may not be the first developer that springs to mind. Most of the Souls series comprises of action-adventure, it is true. With BloodBorne however, this could not be further from the truth.
Taking place in a nightmarish rendition of Victorian Europe – namely London – , called Yarnham and, dealing with a horrific plague, Bloodborne overflows with viscera and Eldritch horrors.
Wearing its Mary Shelley, Lovecraft and, Edgar Allen Poe inspirations whole heartedly on its sleeve. All while telling a mysterious and ghoulish story about the enshrouded “Hunt”.
Bloodborne is atmospheric, spooky and a horrifically good time at any time of the year, especially Halloween.
Five Nights At Freddy’s 4
Developer(s): Scott Cawthon
Publisher(s): Scott Cawthon
Disclaimer: Neither PowerUpGaming nor myself (Jaxson Parker) or any of the editorial team, share, express or condone the view(s) of Mr Cawthon and the following assessment is based entirely on the merit(s) of the videogame discussed herein.
Accompanying the marketing of being the “final chapter” of the series, Five Nights At Freddy’s 4 caps off the story of the bite of ’83, letting us know finally, the outcome of the situation and the remaining condition of the child.
Focusing more on listening and waiting, over keeping track of visual cues through security cameras and animatronic movement. FNAF 4 switches the formula entirely to offer a revolutionary experience for series veterans.
Jump-scares are plenty in this instalment of FNAF.
One bit of advice? Be careful with the flashlight usage.
Dead Space (Remake, 2023)
Developer(s): Motive Studio
Publisher(s): Electronic Arts
When one thinks of horror and science fiction, it is perfectly normal for the brain to jump to Alien or The Thing, however back in 2008, Visceral games changed the game entirely with their entry, Dead Space.
Dead Space is a third-person action-horror survival game following protagonist, engineer Isaac Clarke, as he trudges through the remnants of an old space vessel. On his way, he encounters all manner of wonderfully disgusting creatures and is plagued by psychological visions of his wife.
The game heavily features Dismemberment and anti-gravity technology remain as the most reliable way of dispatching your foes.
The upgrade system is simplistic and beautifully presented. Upgrade stations are available along the way, which also serve as checkpoints for the progress of your game.
The 2023 remake rebuilds the experience wholesale for new-gen hardware.
