7 horror video games perfect for Halloween
Halloween is only a few days away, and what better way to celebrate than picking up some good horror video games? There’s nothing quite like it, and there’s even an extra scare factor because you’re the one in control.
Horror has always been a genre that has appealed to queer gamers, which is why a lot of the community sees Halloween as Gay Christmas. It’s spooky, everyone can dress as outrageously as we want, and it’s actually morally acceptable to watch heterosexual people die after having really bad sex. Like we said, Gay Christmas.
And so, with this Gay Christmas aka Halloween, let’s celebrate by showcasing some pretty damn good horror video games.
Because we are called Gayming Magazine, we’ll be sure to not only include bone-chilling adventures, but something with just a little sweetness to it too. We’ve got you, fruits.
Stay Out Of The House
We won’t insult you by asking whether you’ve ever wanted to be kidnapped by a serial killer cannibal with a bag on his head. We just assume that’s a big no for you. Tough luck though, because that’s exactly what happens in Stay Out of the House, a new terrifying adventure from Murder House developers, Puppet Combo.
A stealth-based horror slasher, Stay Out Of The House is inspired by stealth immersive sims such as Alien Isolation and requires players to rely on their surroundings to help navigate their escape. The Butcher, a cannibalistic slasher, has taken you for his own and locked you in a cage. You have one goal: get out of there alive.
Stay Out Of The House combines low-poly visuals reminiscent of the PS1 era, as well as a cast of villains that’ll remind you of old slasher films like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. A perfect combination of horror and stealth.
Scarlet Hollow
After the death of your aunt, you find yourself stepping into Scarlet Hollow – a town that looks pleasant enough on the surface, but actively makes you feel as though you’ve put on a jumper that feels two sizes small. There you’ll uncover mysteries and horrors, and perhaps even make friends along the way?
Developed by the wife and husband team of Abby Howard and Tony Howard-Arias, at its heart Scarlet Hollow is about dealing with the damage of what people you’ve never met before have left behind. This leads to some interesting places, especially when you realize that your family has affected the small town in ways that go beyond comprehension.
Oh, and did we mention that there are queer romance options too? And that queerness directly plays into the horror of tradition? Hell to the yeah.
Currently the game has 3 episodes, with a 4th looking to release sometime soon.
SIGNALIS
Sci-fi horror just hits different, which is why we’re so excited to play SIGNALIS when it releases this October 27.
Set in a scary, sci-fi world where terror lurks around every corner, players play as Elster, a technician Replika searching for her lost partner and her lost dreams. Sounds a little queer if you ask us.
However Elster’s task isn’t going to be easy. In SIGNALIS you’ll have to solve puzzles and navigate a dystopian, nightmarish, retrotech worlds full of creatures that want nothing more but to rip you apart. And that’s if they’re feeling generous.
A pixel art-style, psychological survival horror, and cosmic dread that’ll have you reaching for pastel-coloured video games for comfort? SIGNALIS is the game you’ll want to be playing this week.
The MISSING: J.J. Macfield and the Island of Memories
As far as our knowledge goes, there isn’t a game that’s quite like The MISSING: J.J. Macfield and the Island of Memories. Not only does it combine macabre puzzles, survival horror and self-mutilation – it does it all while neatly weaving in a queer narrative that is both hopeful and heartbreaking in its execution.
In The MISSING you play as JJ, a young woman who is looking to find her long lost friend, Emily. Along the way JJ discovers she must make progress by ripping herself apart – literally. There are various traps like giant saws, knife-wielding spiders and even monkeys that take sick pleasure in smashing you to pieces if you dare get close. To say you’re vulnerable and helpless is a severe understatement.
Even with the horror and self-sacrifice that awaits players, what makes The MISSING such a powerful video game is the amount of joy and love it manages to show. Love can often be used as a way to twist the knife in games such as Silent Hill, but not this time. It is Emily and JJ’s love for one another that makes the game so compelling, and one certainly worth your time.
Fears to Fathom: Home Alone
Now here’s a game that you shouldn’t play while living alone, and we’ll give you three guesses on why from the title alone.
Rayll, an indie developer who excels in creating truly terrifying horror video games, first started their journey with Fears to Fathom: Home Alone. In this 15-minute tale of terror you play as a young teen called Miles. Miles has been left at home while his parents are away. It isn’t anything new. Just sit back and do your homework and wait for the night to end.
Only there’s a slight problem: someone’s in the house and they want to hurt Miles. This is the story of how he survived the night which means you need to guide him out of harm’s way to do just that. No pressure.
And if this particular scenario doesn’t work for you then don’t worry, Fears to Fathom is a collection – there’s plenty more to play!
Let’s MEAT Adam
Let’s MEAT Adam is the first of two games from developer Soulsoftea and is, to be frank, a masterpiece in conveying queer horror and the superficiality and white supremacy that runs through certain communities within the LGBTQ+ space. It’s sequel, Let’s MEAT Adam 2 also does a great job at this, but for this list? We really wanted to highlight the beginning.
A compelling puzzle-based gay horror visual novel, Let’s MEAT Adam puts players in the shoes of the titular role: Adam! And as you may expect from a title like this, Adam has plenty of opportunities to MEAT a sticky end if you don’t play your cards right. This can be particularly frustrating if you, like us, absolutely suck at puzzles. But once you get it all figured out, there’s a lot of heart (and guts) to be found in this story.
And if you’re just here to be scared and lustful over the big muscular goat man with a HUUUUGE coc – ahem, knife – then you do you. Either way you’re going to be a happy, horny gamer.
Dead by Daylight
Dead by Daylight may not be the most scary game – unless you’re going up against a PC Nurse with Starstruck and Lethal Pursuer – in the world anymore, but we can’t deny that it is such a staple in the horror genre for video games that it’d be wrong not to include it.
An unrivalled asymmetrical multiplayer game, Dead by Daylight is the queen of the horror genre and is massively popular among the LGBTQ+ community. This is largely due to its numerous Survivors and Killers, with both groups including some of the most well-known icons from horror franchises like Halloween and Scream. What’s not to love?
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