Last year we spent the week of Halloween naming off our favorite scary, creepy, and eerie games. We figured why not do it again? Each day a different editor will list off three of their favorite games to play around this time of year.
Something cheap and something rare is the name of the game with my spooky picks. Once more I go for what should be sure to most terrify you, without sugar coating it (well except maybe for my final choice). If these games weren’t making me invest in adult diapers they did make me perk up and go “ooh, now that’s interesting.” Be warned however, though cheap a couple of my titles are Early Access, so they’re not exactly what you would classify as “done.” Take a look at my list below and thank me when you’re institutionalized.
Darkwood (PC)
We kind of have a love/hate relationship with Early Access at Enemy Slime, we feel icky paying for games that aren’t done, yet there is some legitimacy to helping a developer launch and giving them invaluable feedback on their product. So I was on the fence for a long time before throwing some money behind Darkwood, and in the end I’m glad I did it. This little title pairs the survival and building mechanics of games such as Project Zomboid, Rust and Don’t Starve with the narrative storyline of classic survival horror romps such as Silent Hill and Fatal Frame. You find yourself, a stranger to dark, haunted woods in Soviet era Eastern Europe locking yourself in the safety of your home at night to stay away from horrific, terrifying creatures, while you search the areas of the forest during the day and interact with… Well perhaps equally horrific, terrifying locals as you unlock the mystery of the woods. From the friendly Wolfman to the helpful Chicken Lady the story NPCs in this game are just as likely to give you nightmares as the horrors trying to batter in your doors at night. Oh, you’re also dead and decaying too, so you have to deal with that.
Five Nights At Freddy’s (PC)
If you didn’t happen to catch my review of this game then I’ll give you the short end of it: I basically give any Chuck E. Cheese I see a wide berth now as Five Night’s thoroughly corrupted my childhood memories of the place. A night security guard working in a themed pizza joint, you need to keep an eye on the game’s three (well four… well five) animatronic mascots gone rogue. Part Terminator, part Paranormal Activity, these guys will wander from the storage room at night if you don’t keep an eye on them… Or if you keep to close an eye on them… And run to the security room to mutilate your ass. You have very little in the way of protection. Security cameras to keep tabs, flickering lights to keep a few more tabs, and lockdown doors that all steadily drain your power supply for the night. No power naturally = you’re screwed. Sure the mascots are nothing but jump scares, but man are they really effective jump scares. This game is super cheap, and a sequel has just been announced, promising to grey hairs all over again.
Sunless Sea (PC)
Sunless Sea, another Early Access, has a little survival and a little horror but doesn’t fit the survival horror genre, it’s more RPG with a bit of boat simulator and resource management. If that last sentence didn’t scare you off, what it has to offer is pretty neat once you’ve gotten past the slightly complicated and somewhat unclear controls and menus. You captain a ship crew in a steampunk take on the Victorian old world, out for pretty much whatever you decide in your initial choices in making your captain. You could be a scholar, wanting to tell tales from all over the sea, you could be an adventurer looking to carve some fame for yourself. The brilliance of Sunless Sea comes from frankly everything you find at sea. From the lovecraftian inspired monsters and oversized sea creatures fit for Sinbad, to islands with inhabitants that reek of Poe and Stephen King. Paying as much or as little attention to quests, storylines and enemies as you want to, the seas are yours to explore and spooky tales your own to craft.
Keep checking back all week to read the rest of editor’s picks.
