10 Games to Get You in the Halloween Mood

Halloween is one of the best times of the year for gaming and all things nerdy. Not only are some of the best merchandising items available, but games like Overwatch 2 also host themed events with special costumes. If you want to celebrate the season early, the wait for these events can be long.

If you're looking for games that are meant to give you the feeling of the spookiest time of the year, you have plenty of options, and it can be difficult to distinguish the tricks from the treats. Here are some games that are guaranteed to make you feel spooky.

1 The Texas Chain Saw Massacre

Few horror films are as iconic as the 1974 classic, "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre," and the game of the same name puts you in the shoes of either the Slaughter family themselves or one of the victims trying to escape. For many people, horror movies are synonymous with Halloween, so something that immerses you in such a film is the perfect ingredient.

With multiple maps to explore and various characters to play, the game excels at capturing the feeling of the original film, with particular attention to detail given to the Slaughter family's house map. If you jump in with your friends, it's guaranteed to be a chillingly good pastime that may even be more fun than you expect.

2 MediEvil

MediEvil has everything you could wish for in a game to satisfy your longing after October 31st. You play as the undead knight Sir Daniel Fortesque, battling enemies ranging from zombies to malevolent pumpkin plants. The experience oozes with delightfully ironic portrayals of horror clichés, never taking itself too seriously, and is a great option if you prefer Halloween to be not too scary.

Originally released in 1998 for the PlayStation, MediEvil received a complete remake for the PlayStation 4 in 2019, making it easier than ever to pick up and play. Whether you're trying to dodge murderous scarecrows or battling ghosts, MediEvil makes you feel like a true ghostly hero.

3 The Mortuary Assistant

There aren't many games with as disturbing a premise as The Mortuary Assistant, where you take on the role of the titular character. You are tasked with figuring out which of the corpses under your care is possessed by a demon. You'll spend your time deciphering clues and trying not to be so frightened that you need to take a break and remind yourself that the fictional video game demon can't harm you.

The game is a rare horror treat that remains equally terrifying even upon repeated playthroughs. This is because the demon changes bodies it lurks in every time you play. If Halloween for you means being terribly frightened, then The Mortuary Assistant will keep you in fear until Christmas.

4 Ghost Master

If you're getting tired of always being the hunted and not the one doing the hunting, then Ghost Master is a puzzle-strategy game where you take control of a fleet of vengeful ghosts. Each level is a new location where you must drive away the mortals by utilizing the abilities of your undead staff. With settings ranging from hospitals to houses on chicken burial grounds, the environments are varied enough to keep you engaged.

Ghost Master is perfectly cheesy, but it has real gameplay substance in its spectral bones. Each ghost you recruit has their own abilities, upgrade options, and ways they can be deployed. Many of the levels have specific objectives that require genuine planning, as well as optional tasks that reward you with new spooks. It will take time to truly master Ghost Master, but it is time well invested.

5 Dead By Daylight

Watching classic horror movies on Halloween is a long-standing tradition, and many of these horror films have been adapted into video games over the years. Dead By Daylight is unique in that it features characters and locations from various franchises such as Alien, Saw, and even Halloween itself - the movie, not the holiday. Whether you want to experience playing as a horror icon like Michael Myers or escape from them as a survivor, Dead By Daylight has you covered.

With characters from game series like Silent Hill, the game doesn't lack nostalgic franchises. As an asymmetrical multiplayer game, you can team up with three friends to escape the clutches of the killer or play alone and hunt down survivors. Nothing else contains as much horror nostalgia in one package.

6 Luigi's Mansion 3

For the most part, horror games are not suitable for the whole family, but there are certainly horror games that are well-suited for children. One of the best examples is Luigi's Mansion 3, an action-adventure puzzle game where you play as the often overlooked brother of Mario. As you navigate through a haunted mansion, you must use a vacuum cleaner inspired by Ghostbusters to free it from ghosts, while your undead animal companion, Polterpup, accompanies you.

Bright, colorful, and full of charm, Luigi's Mansion 3 manages to show you how frightened Luigi is by his encounters with the ghosts and the hotel's atmosphere without presenting these things as frightening to you. Whether you're playing with family or alone, this is a delightfully spooky way to get into the right mood.

7 Pumpkin Jack

A 3D platformer, Pumpkin Jack, allows you to play as Jack, the Pumpkin Lord, with a pumpkin head. It's hard to imagine something that screams Halloween more than so much pumpkin in one package. Fulfilling gameplay meets lush graphics to create a perfect holiday experience.

Pumpkin Jack doesn't overstay its welcome, proving that a game doesn't need multiple playthroughs to be great. You could easily see everything the game has to offer in one session, but it allows you to replay levels to see what you missed. That's a great excuse to come back every Halloween and get into the mood for carving a pumpkin.

8 Haunting Starring Polterguy

An homage to the year 1993, Haunting Starring Polterguy lets you step into the shoes of Polterguy, a street thug turned poltergeist. Seeking revenge against the Sardini family for owning the company that produced the faulty skateboard that caused your death, you haunt them and drive them out of their home, from one house to another.

You achieve your eerie goals by possessing household objects and either trapping them to use them for future scares or taking direct control to terrorize the yuppie family. For instance, you could turn a carpet into quicksand or transform a chair into a tooth-gnashing monster attempting to devour them. Your only real obstacles are a dwindling energy bar, which replenishes through high-quality scare moments, and the family's chihuahua, who doesn't exactly appreciate your presence.

9 The Evil Within

One of the best survival horror games of recent times, followed by a fantastic sequel in The Evil Within 2, you will explore a disturbing psychiatric hospital and fight against monsters you'll wish you had never seen. If you're longing for the original Resident Evil games, you're in luck. The Evil Within is not only inspired by them but was also developed by the creator of Resident Evil himself, Shinji Mikami.

With a captivating atmosphere and a deep storyline, The Evil Within is a great series in its own right and an exciting way to prepare for more horrors. Known for being more challenging than many other modern survival horror games, it will keep you on the edge of your seat the entire time.

10 Costume Quest

Costume Quest fulfills all the criteria one could wish for in a enchantingly nostalgic Halloween game. As a turn-based role-playing game, it follows the story of twin siblings Reynold and Wren, who are tasked by their mother to make friends in a new neighborhood on Halloween. By dressing up in adorable costumes, your abilities in battle change depending on what you're dressed as, whether it's a robot or the Statue of Liberty.

You will battle against monsters, collect candy or get tricked, and collect new costumes in Costume Quest. It offers a perfect Halloween experience and has a sequel ready for you to dive into. It captures just the right tone to remind us of what it was like celebrating Halloween as a child and will ignite your love for this holiday.