Yesterday was Halloween, and for the past week or two I have been watching scary movies with my girlfriend to get ready for the spookiest holiday of them all. We started off with The Conjuring trilogy (only the three Conjuring movies, no Annabelle or any of the others). We moved on to Halloween (2018) and Halloween Kills in the theater on Halloween day. We then went to the less scary, more spooky/creepy with The Nightmare Before Christmas.

Many people argue whether The Nightmare Before Christmas is actually a Halloween or Christmas movie. I think it’s both, and that’s awesome because you get to watch it during both seasons. But if I had to choose one holiday for The Nightmare Before Christmas, I would choose Thanksgiving since it’s the middle point between the two holidays.

Another thing I started this month was adding some spooky games into the mix. For the past few Octobers I’ve tried to start Resident Evil: Biohazard but never made it very far past the intro. This year I tried something different. Instead of sticking to one scary game (and failing), I tried out a few spooky to scary games. My goal was to choose some games that would help get into the Halloween spirit.

The Medium

This is by far the spookiest game of the bunch. In The Medium you play as Marianne, who can cross into the land of the dead — I think. I haven’t gotten too far into this one, but it has had some spooky moments already.

I was recently provided a game code for The Medium from the publisher. This game took me back to playing those old school Resident Evil games. Games where you have no control over the camera and once you go off-screen the camera view totally changes. In The Medium you continue to explore these abandoned areas, trying to uncover the story. The camera angles can get a bit annoying at times, I keep finding myself attempting to change the angle slightly with the left joystick (but nothing ever happens).

The main feature in The Medium is the dual-world rendering. I remember the early trailers for this game that showed off the rendering of two different versions of the same world in real time — sort of like in Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart. The difference is in Ratchet and Clank you switch worlds to solve puzzles. In The Medium you must make it through both versions simultaneously, since Marianne is traveling through both at the same time.

The Medium reminds me of a Suspense/Thriller where most of the time nothing happens, but they still keep you on the edge of your seat. So far, it’s more of a spooky puzzle solving game than anything else. The music, tone and look of the game are what really makes it a great Halloween time game.

Carrion

On the other side of the scary movie spectrum we have monster movies. Movies like Alien, Predator, The Thing. Carrion falls into these types of movies, but the cool part is that you don’t play as a human running away from some evil creature. You instead play as the monster, terrorizing humans and this world from every corner.

I was also given a review code for this one. Carrion is also a Metroid-Vania, and I’ve already talked about how much I love Metroid-Vanias. It’s great to play from a different perspective and be the one responsible for all of the chaos unfolding. Carrion definitely gives off some Maneater vibes in the tone of the game, since you are a monster on the loose taking out anyone and anything that gets in your way.

I really enjoy solving the puzzles of where to go next and how to open locked areas. Also, the leveling up and power ups you gain along the journey. There is also an included “Holiday” expansion to the game where you get to terrorize a science facility decorated for the holidays.

Metroid Dread

I’ve been playing Metroid Dread slowly since it’s release a couple of weeks ago. This is my first true Metroid experience, after playing tons of Metroid-Vanias and games inspired by Metroid. Would this be considered another “Metroid-Vania” or just a “Metroid,” since it is an official Metroid game? It’s also nice to see a horror game created by Nintendo.

This isn’t your super scary, edge of your seat type horror game, but any time you get caught (and murdered) by an E.M.M.I. the kill scene is straight out of a slasher movie. It’s also in the way you get chased by the E.M.M.I.s that makes it feel like a straight up horror movie. Any time an E.M.M.I. notices you the chase is on and you must run until you find your way out.

Metroid Dread also features many creatures and monster bosses to fight.

Luigi’s Mansion 3

I started playing Luigi’s Mansion 3 a while back, because it’s my nephew’s favorite game and he let me borrow it. This my first Luigi’s mansion experience and this is definitely a hidden gem made by Nintendo. Maybe it’s because I’ve seen Luigi become a goofy joke in the past decade or longer. He sort of became Mario’s idiot brother.

Sure, Luigi is a big scare-dy cat, but that’s what makes him the perfect character to be stuck in this haunted mansion searching for his lost friends. Although the building is full of ghosts and ghouls, they act kind of silly too. Also, being equipped with a paranormal vacuum cleaner as your weapon is kind of goofy too. I love Luigi’s silly sound effects throughout the game too.

I don’t know about the previous games in this franchise, but Luigi’s Mansion 3 carries a light, silly tone. They make jokes about Nintendo’s Virtual Boy console (look it up if you don’t know what it is). I find myself having so much fun exploring and breaking everything on each floor. Exploring as Gooigi is also a good time. Even though this game is a few years old now, I think it’s one of Nintendo’s best looking first-party games.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons

This game isn’t very spooky at all. However, before we get to the big Animal Crossing: New Horizons updates this week, it was time for one big event. I hadn’t been to my island in Animal Crossing in over a month, but Halloween definitely got me to come back, get rid of some weeds, clean up a bit and take out some roaches in my house. I was able to trade some candy and lollipops with my neighbors and pumpkin Jack for a few new items last night.

I’m now ready for the brand new updates coming to Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Ferdington is back in business! Let’s throw in another 100+ hours.

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Now that the spookiest month of the year has ended, that doesn’t mean I’m going to stop with these spooky games. Of course, I will be jumping back into Deathloop this week, and hopefully beating it. There is always time for a spooky game or two in your lineup. Also, many games can be turned into scary or much more intense games with the use of headphones while playing.

I hope you had an excellent Halloween and got some spooky gaming hours and lots of candy too.