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.
Here we are at another Halloween. While last year I gave you two of my best recommendations, and one which I hoped you tried against your better judgement, this year my suggestions are a little more unorthodox, though I think they all capture the spirit of the season pretty well. So this year, crawl up with a bowl of candy, turn off the lights and try one of these:
Silent Hill 4: The Room (PS2, XBox, PC)
Last year I suggested my favorite horror game of all time, Silent Hill 2. This year I’m putting forth a slightly less stellar nomination – While Silent Hill 4: The Room isn’t quite as brilliant as previous titles, nor has it held up as well, it holds a special place in my memories as the scariest gaming experience I’ve ever had. Now most of you are probably remembering the fourth iteration of Konami’s survival horror title as a slightly underwhelming entry and I would probably have to agree on most grounds. However I have very fond memories of seven other dorm mates and myself cramped into a tiny living area, tensely creeping down dark corridors, dreading what lurked behind every door, nervously peering through windows and peepholes and running shrieking out of the room when we found Robbie the Rabbit was looking back.
Harry Townshend was just an average guy living in an apartment until one day he found he can’t get out. The door is locked, chained and sealed up and no matter how hard he tries, nobody can see or hear him. It’s not until one day when a hole appears in the wall, and Harry crawls through, that he finds himself in the twisted, horrible world of Silent Hill. Now he finds himself uncovering the dark story of orphan boy driven to a horrible act of love and murder. The game departed from previous Silent Hills with its first-person segments set in Harry’s cramped, but seemingly safe, apartment which makes the contrast between the haunted, horrible world of monsters and depravity more stark and terrible. The game starts out brilliantly, though wraps up in an underwhelming fashion with the second half of the game mostly recycling settings and monsters from the first half, but overall it’s still a pretty scary, oftentimes voyeuristic, fun experience.
Zombies Ate My Neighbors (SNES, Genesis)
Now this title embodies the spirit of the season. The dead are rising, aliens have invaded, chainsaw-wielding maniacs are all about, a giant baby is crushing everything its path… Konami’s 1993 classic, Zombies Ate My Neighbors, serves up heaps of B-movie tropes in a run-and-gun shooter than charges you with defending your neighborhood from the undead army of the nefarious Dr. Tongue, rescuing cheerleaders and dogs from a laundry list of classic horror movie monsters. This tongue-in-cheek title, a cult classic in its own right, is made for a late night Halloween play session.
This is a great Halloween choice because it’s one of the few titles on our lists that you can play with the two people. Find a friend and mow down legions of ghouls with novel weapons like squirt guns, weed eaters and soda pop grenades. The game is lighthearted, frantic and pretty damn hard, too. And while it won’t leave you sleeping with the lights on, you’ll find some pretty tense moments trying to outrun the chainsaw-equipped lumberjack slashers chasing you through a hedgemaze. The game was re-released for the Wii Virtual console, so if you feel like resurrecting two horrible old ghouls this season, why not give it a try?
The Cat Lady (PC)
The Cat Lady is a favorite of mine for a lot of reasons, one of which being that I was pretty sure I was going to hate the hell out of it when Jared gave it to me. A point-and-click adventure about a suicidal woman who lives with her cats? There’s no way you can phrase that to make it sound like a fun gaming experience. Instead, what I got was a slightly flawed, but exceptionally intriguing and engaging story that really surprised me. In fact, it was even my number 5 choice for Game of the Year for 2013, and with its dark themes and grim aesthetic it’s also a great choice for Halloween.
In a dreary English flat a depressed, middle aged woman makes plans to kill herself and takes an overdose of sleeping pills. Instead of dying, she finds herself in limbo where a mysterious old woman gives her a chance to live again and make peace with herself by hunting down and killing five evil humans who exist only to cause other people misery. Although I’ve already devoted several articles talking about how much I enjoyed this game, I think it’s an especially appropriate pick for the season as it’s sad, gory and sometimes, surprisingly scary. Even if you think this is something you would hate, I recommend giving it a try. You might be surprised.
And with that we’ve concluded our list for this year. Happy Halloween everybody!
