What to play this Halloween, plus last-minute costume ideas and spooky movie recommendations
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This article is brought to you by No More Room in Hell 2.
The ghouls and goblins are out, but you've heard enough about the US midterm elections already. Let's talk about something fun: Gruesome horror!
Did you know? It's perfectly acceptable to buy Halloween candy and eat it all yourself while drowning out the plaintive knocking of trick-or-treaters with surround sound headphones. See below for a selection of horror game deals and lesser-known staff picks, plus a handful of scary movies we think you should put on your to-watch list.
If you're making the effort to actually go out on Halloween, you'll also find a selection of last-minute costume ideas that'll have people saying "did you come up with this on your own?" in a way that suggests they'll lose respect for you if you say yes.
Halloween deals
A selection of deals from this week's Steam Scream Sale and beyond.
- Amnesia: The Bunker | $4.99 (80% off) on Steam and GOG
- Hunt: Showdown 1896 | $11.99 (60% off) on Steam
- No More Room in Hell 2 | $22.49 (20% off) on Steam
- The Outlast Trials | $11.99 (70% off) on Steam
- Grim Fandango Remastered | $2.24 (85% off) on Steam and GOG
- Resident Evil Requiem | $48.99 (30% off) on Steam
- Resident Evil Village | $9.99 (75% off) on Steam
- Sons of the Forest | $8.39 (72% off) on Steam
Staff picks
A selection of lesser-known horror games to check out this Halloween.
Labyrinth of the Demon King
(Steam) Gruesome, gnarly, first-person dungeon crawling amid the worst castle in all of Feudal Japan—come for the rancid vibes, stay for the shockingly high melee combat skill ceiling. Our 2025 horror game of the year has only improved since I fell in love with it, adding new weapons and an NG+ mode. —Ted Litchfield
Super Lone Survivor
(Steam) An unsettling and underplayed indie horror cult classic with shades of Silent Hill: The Room and David Lynch. This 2022 edition adds new features to the 2012 original; I only played and reviewed the original, but the Super version doesn't look like anything but an improvement. —Tyler Wilde
GTFO
(Steam) Tense co-op Dead Space where every gun thunders like a cannon and attracts as much attention from the freaks roaming an oppressive space prison. By far the most nerve-racking multiplayer FPS of this type I've played—a nice change if you've played so much Left 4 Dead or Darktide that you can chatter your way through them without actually fearing for your life. —Wes Fenlon
Lure
(Steam) Horror fishing games are everywhere these days but Lure stands out because it's good, it's free, it'll take you less than five minutes to play it—and I still guarantee it'll scare you. It'll make you laugh, too! All that for the low cost of completely free? I don't think you can say no. —Christopher Livingston
Last-minute costume ideas
Need a costume fast? Here are four ideas for outfits that are technically costumes.
Max Payne
Materials:
- A piece of paper with Sam Lake's face printed on it
- String and tape
Instructions: Print Sam Lake's face on a piece of paper, cut it out, and affix it to your face with string. (You may want to poke out the eyes so you can see, but should do this before putting on the mask.)
Environmental storytelling skeleton
Materials:
Instructions: Put on skeleton costume and skull mask. Sit limply near any 1980s computer terminals or toilets you see.
Private equity investor
Materials:
Instructions: Don vampire cloak and fangs. Use terms and phrases like "hacking the attention economy" while discussing things they absolutely do not apply to.
AI-generated game asset
Materials:
- Silicone fingers that roughly match your skin tone
- A ring
- Armature wire
- Fishing lure eyes
- Optional: Fingerless gloves
Instructions: Thread a piece of armature wire between the ring and your finger, then wrap it around the silicone finger to loosely secure it to your hand. (File down the ends of the wire if they're sharp.) For a more secure finger and more convincing effect, wear fingerless gloves you don't mind stretching out a finger hole on. Apply fish eyes as desired.
Note: Someone who sees the above AI joke may stop to tell you that, actually, AI has improved a lot recently and you should try it. If this happens, simply leave and go to a different party.
Scariest game vote-off
Help us determine the scariest PC game ever
Last week, I invited PC Gamer readers to nominate scary games to pit against each other in a series of polls. I've put 16 of those games into a tournament bracket, and we'll battle them each day this week, starting Tuesday, with reader polls. Here's the schedule; I'll add links here as each article is posted.
- Tuesday: Round 1 — 16 games
- Wednesday: Round 2 — 8 games
- Thursday: Round 3 — 4 games
- Friday: Final — 2 games
- Saturday: The scariest game revealed
What to watch
Scary, gory, or creepy movies we think you'll like.
The Exorcist 3
(YouTube, Amazon) I recently learned this sequel, directed by Exorcist novelist William Peter Blatty, was a bit of a cult fave, and it lives up to the reputation. All-time crazy guy actor Brad Dourif (Chucky, Gríma Wormtongue) delivers incredible serial killer monologues while Blatty's haunted Catholic imagery and long takes punctuated by bursts of violence gives the impression that this guy actually met Satan one time and is still pretty messed up by it. —Wes Fenlon
Noroi: The Curse
(YouTube, Amazon) Before directing more mainstream hits like Sadako vs. Kayako, Koji Shiraishi delivered some of my favorite Japanese horror films, including Carved: The Slit-Mouthed Woman and found footage thriller Noroi: The Curse. You can't go wrong with any of them, but Noroi's uncomfortable home video realism and documentary-gone-wrong premise put it right up there with The Blair Witch Project among found footage horror's greats. — Andrea Shearon
Aniara
(Amazon) A spaceship is knocked off course, sending its passengers inexorably toward the depths of space. A spectacularly gloomy Swedish-Danish production; meandering, but visually captivating. —Tyler Wilde
Exit 8
(AMC+, Amazon) Resident Evil and Iron Lung got most of the press this year when it comes to horror game adaptations, but don't sleep on Exit 8 (based on indie game The Exit 8). Trapped in a repeating series of subway tunnels, a young man has to figure out the rules so he can reach the only exit. It's tense and spooky, and technically very impressive given that it's shot in a long series of unbroken takes. Most of all, it perfectly captures the feel of playing a horror game. —Christopher Livingston
Zombies quiz
How well do you know your videogame zombies? Test your undead expertise below!
Sumber: PC Gamer