Samantha Lienhard's Blog, page 48

Celebrating All Things Spooky: The Lost Night

We cover all sorts of games during October that vaguely fall under the umbrella of “spooky,” but some games are perfectly suited for Halloween.

The Lost Night is an example, a short RPG that made me think I should have saved it for Halloween itself.

The basic idea is that you’re trying to find your way out of a spooky, Halloween-themed town filled with ghosts.

When a ghost attacks you, you fight in shoot ’em up style combat, dodging their projectiles while you shoot down miniature copies of the ghost to deal damage. Each type of ghost has its own movement pattern, which you’ll want to learn.

Combat rewards you with candy, which you can spend at vending machines scattered across the map to heal yourself and buy permanent stat upgrades. The ghosts get stronger as the game progresses, so those upgrades are definitely worthwhile.

Many obstacles block your path, and you’ll need to complete small tasks to proceed. For example, one NPC has lost a book, and will stand in your way until you find the book and it return it. In this way, it has you running back and forth across the map to unlock new areas.

Unfortunately, it starts to feel tedious after a while. Between the maze-like design of the town and the increasing difficulty of battles, I was tired by the time I reached the end even though it only takes a couple of hours to beat.

The Lost Night is cute, and I love its ideas. It also has a wonderful Halloween atmosphere that’s perfect for this time of year. It’s just a little too tedious for me to give it a wholehearted recommendation.

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Celebrating All Things Spooky: Silent Hill News Extravaganza

What could be more fitting for Celebrating All Things Spooky than the revival of Silent Hill?

I was nervous going into the Silent Hill Transmission broadcast Wednesday evening, but now I’m cautiously optimistic.

Despite my skepticism about the numerous Silent Hill rumors that had been floating around, Konami really did announce multiple Silent Hill projects, the first of which had been widely rumored for a while: a Silent Hill 2 remake.

Silent Hill 2 remake

Silent Hill 2 will be remade by Bloober Team for PS5 and PC.

I’ve played most of Bloober Team’s horror games, and while they haven’t reached the heights of Silent Hill, it’s felt to me like they’ve been dying to make a Silent Hill game for a while now. Between that and the reports that they’re working closely with the original creators, I think the Silent Hill 2 remake has the potential to be amazing.

The trailer looks beautiful, except for James’s face.

I don’t know what it is. Something about his face just looks off to me. He doesn’t look like what I’d imagine James Sunderland in modern graphics would look like. Everything else looks great, so maybe I’ll get used to his face after a while.

Confirmed changes are an over-the-shoulder camera and a rebuilt combat system.

Personally, I’m hoping they keep the story completely intact without any changes and that the gameplay changes retain the atmosphere of the original.

A Silent Hill 2 remake would have been exciting enough on its own, but that was only the first of the projects announced.

Silent Hill: Townfall

The next game announced was Silent Hill: Townfall, developed by No Code and published by Annapurna Interactive. No Code developed Stories Untold and Observation (not to be confused with Bloober Team’s horror game Observer), both of which I enjoyed. I found some aspects of Observation to be tedious, but the way the story unfolded in Stories Untold has me intrigued to see what No Code might do with Silent Hill.

It’s hard to get a good read on what Townfall will be like, but fans have found the secret message “Whatever heart this town had has now stopped” hidden in the trailer.

From my experience with No Code’s previous games, I’d guess Townfall will be more of a narrative-focused game than survival horror, but we’ll see.

Now, Konami actually had even more announcements than those we’ll discuss here. They announced a new movie, new merchandise, and “a new interactive streaming series where the entire community shapes the canon of Silent Hill” called Silent Hill: Ascension, which sounds… interesting, but not like the sort of thing I’d enjoy.

So let’s jump ahead to the last big announcement, which closed out the showcase.

Silent Hill f

They ended by announcing Silent Hill f, a brand new Silent Hill game that some sites are describing as a spin-off but sounded to me like the next mainline title.

The trailer is creepy, but one thing stood out to me more than anything else: Ryukishi07 is the writer.

If you remember my review of the first chapter of Higurashi last year, you’ll know why I’m excited. Ryukishi07 is most famous for Higurashi and Umineko. Seeing his name attached to a major project like Silent Hill was a shock, but a welcome one.

We know very little about Silent Hill f right now, just that it’s set in 1960s Japan. I don’t know how a Silent Hill game set in a different country than the town of Silent Hill will work. I don’t know how, if at all, this will tie in with the rest of the series.

(I saw a couple theories that the flowers in the trailer could be tied to White Claudia and Aglaophotis, which would be an extremely cool way to tie them together.)

I’m also not sure what to make of it being developed by NeoBards, whose biggest claim to fame right now is having developed Resident Evil: Resistance and Resident Evil Re:Verse, but at least I have confidence that the story and atmosphere will be top-notch.

The designs are also being handled by Kera, who worked on NG, so that’s another positive.

So while I have a lot of questions about Silent Hill f, I’m definitely intrigued by it and much more optimistic than I was going into the broadcast.

How do you feel about the recent deluge of Silent Hill announcements? Has Silent Hill truly been revived?

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Celebrating All Things Spooky: 5 Spooky Games You Can Beat in 15 Minutes or Less

Instead of talking about a single game today, I want to take a look at five short ones.

And by short, I mean short.

Each game on this list can be finished in 15 minutes or less.

So let’s take a look at five bite-sized spooky games you can play in between longer titles!

Grime House

The sole traditional survival horror game on this list is Grime House, a horror game that appears to have been designed in Paint.

You have a top-down view and walk over items to use or interact with them, and you find a gun that lets you engage enemies in simple combat. Although the house you’re trapped in is small, it makes the most of its few environments to set up a classic survival horror gameplay loop of exploring and backtracking to gradually unlock more rooms.

The movement controls occasionally gave me trouble, but overall I had a lot of fun with this one.

10mg: Sealed Estate

Apparently there’s a whole collection of games out there called 10mg, or 10 minute games. One of these titles is a horror game called Sealed Estate. You become trapped inside a mysterious estate, being hunted by an unknown monster, and must find a way out.

The controls are very simple. You can walk and sometimes click things, and you eventually get a flashlight.

It feels more like a puzzle game than anything else, as you need to use your flashlight to get past obstacles (mainly creepy eyes), while scattered notes tell the story. Near the end, the mouse controls stopped working properly for me, which made it frustrating, but overall it was a decent atmospheric experience.

Prison of the Magi: Chapter 0

The next game I played was Prison of the Magi: Chapter 0. This one is a first-person adventure game with cosmic horror themes.

It makes good use of lighting, with a very pretty (although grayscale) visual style. There isn’t much to do in this chapter, though. You collect items, but I couldn’t find any way to do anything with them. Maybe they’re intended to be used in the full game.

Unfortunately, a good portion takes place in a maze. It was annoying, particularly since I managed to reset my progress a couple of times. I’m not sure how the save system works, since it seemed to me hitting the save button never showed any effect, but sometimes it saved and sometimes it didn’t.

According to the demo page for the full game, Prison of the Magi will be an open world horror game, so I don’t think this is one I’ll play.

Vampire Night Shift

On the lighter side of spookiness is Vampire Night Shift, a short game about a vampire working at a convenience store.

It’s designed to look like a Game Boy game, and you can even download a copy to play on a Game Boy emulator.

You walk around, talk to people, and complete simple tasks during your shift, like stocking shelves or helping customers. It’s a cute game. That’s the main appeal here. It’s just cute.

There Are Ghosts In These Stalls

Finally, I checked out a horror game shorter than any other on this list: There Are Ghosts In These Stalls, written for a two-minute horror game jam.

It took me slightly longer, closer to five minutes, but this is a tiny one nevertheless. You are in a haunted bathroom, and your goal is to focus on symbols in order to mark them on the inside of the stall.

Despite its extremely short length and simple premise, it has an unsettling atmosphere that made its ending so much more effective. It’s only a few minutes long, but it got me good in the end.

Conclusion

So if you’re looking for something shorter to play this Halloween season, these are a few you might want to keep in mind. I especially recommend Grime House and There Are Ghosts In These Stalls.

Meanwhile, we do not have Ace Attorney news to take an emergency break for (much to my disappointment), but we should end today with actual legitimate Silent Hill news thanks to a Silent Hill broadcast tonight. I am filled with fear.

And don’t forget that you can win a prize at the end of October just by leaving comments all month long, as explained in the Celebrating All Things Spooky contest rules here!

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Celebrating All Things Spooky: ITYH: A Horror Otome

Today we’re talking about an otome, but don’t worry, I haven’t gotten the month wrong.

ITYH: A Horror Otome is a creepy, unsettling visual novel that involves both horror and romance.

It follows Camille, a teenage girl intent on finding love, who sets her sights on the mysterious loner Osgoode. Despite him coldly rebuffing her at every turn, she persists in her attempts to get him to notice her.

And then things go terribly, terribly wrong.

ITYH is set in modern times but has a gothic horror feel throughout. It’s a wonderfully disturbing read with a growing romantic progression that often had me thinking it was sweet despite being uncomfortable at the same time. Both main characters feel flawed and realistic, and the unsettling atmosphere always had me on edge.

Click for implied ITYH spoilersIt’s wonderful at creating sympathy for a monster without losing the sense that he is a monster and maybe you shouldn’t feel too much sympathy.

There is one main ending, with early bad endings you can get along the way. Additionally, completing the main ending unlocks one more ending that branches off early on.

That ending and part of the main ending leave some details unexplained, but it seems these come from a cut route the developer plans to use for another story, so that should be interesting to see.

I know I haven’t gone into a lot of detail here, but that’s because ITYH is fairly short and a lot of impact comes from the surprise and anticipation of what might happen next. It should take a couple of hours to finish, depending on how fast you read.

So if you like horror and dark romance stories, ITYH: A Horror Otome is definitely one you should consider.

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Celebrating All Things Spooky: Alone in the Dark

Following the Alone in the Dark reimagining announcement earlier this year, Steam had a fantastic sale on the earlier Alone in the Dark games, so I picked up the bundle (four games for $1.49) and decided to play the original Alone in the Dark this October.

Alone in the Dark is one of the earliest survival horror games – possibly the earliest.

So as a game released in 1992, it feels… old. I got used to the tank controls quickly enough, but I had a hard time adjusting to double tapping up to run. Actions are also a bit clunky, as there is only one key for actions, so you have to open the menu each time to choose which action you want to perform (ex. search, fight, push).

I never quite got the hang of combat, but that’s not too bad, because combat is fairly de-emphasized. In fact, monster encounters felt like puzzles more often than not, as many have a trick so that you can avoid fighting.

You play either Edward Carnby or Emily Hartwood investigating the strange mansion called Derceto after the suicide of its owner Jeremy Hartwood. I played as Emily, a decision motivated by not realizing I was on a character select screen when I started the game. It doesn’t matter much.

Exploration and puzzle-solving are central to the experience, in true survival horror fashion. So if you like that sort of gameplay loop of backtracking to solve puzzles to unlock more areas, that aspect of Alone in the Dark still holds up.

Saving often is important, since you can die easily, but you can save whenever you want. You also have limited inventory space (determined by item weight) and no storage box, so I got used to dropping used items everywhere.

There are plenty of notes and books throughout the mansion that shed light on the story. I’d somehow forgotten in the time since the reboot’s announcement that Alone in the Dark is Lovecraftian, so it was a pleasant surprise when the game started dropping names from Lovecraft. These documents you can read are also fully voiced, which was entertaining.

Alone in the Dark only takes a few hours to beat, and it definitely shows its age, but it was fun to see such an early example of survival horror.

Speaking of which, don’t forget you can win survival horror games and other great prizes in this year’s contest just by sharing your thoughts on games like Alone in the Dark! Check out the contest rules for more information.

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Celebrating All Things Spooky: Spirit Hunter: NG

Two years ago, our Celebrating All Things Spooky celebration concluded with a look at Death Mark, the first entry in the Spirit Hunter series.

Today, it’s finally time to talk about the sequel, Spirit Hunter: NG.

NG largely stands on its own. It occasionally references Death Mark, but you’d be just fine playing it first.

Like its predecessor, it blends visual novel and adventure game elements. Death Mark had a strangely Ace Attorney-esque feeling to it for me, but NG does not. While it’s still split into chapters focusing on investigations into different spirits, it felt more to me like one continuous story.

Part of this comes from how partners are handled. Instead of always introducing new characters with each case, your partner characters feel more like they’re part of the overarching story. You’re able to switch which partner you’re investigating with and often need to do so in order to proceed. The game even alerts you if you’ve reached a dead end with your current partner.

The only thing I disliked about this is that the dialogue doesn’t change if the current partner has been with you for the whole investigation or if you switched; they’ll talk as if they were there the whole time. Since you can switch fairly freely, though, trying to account for every situation would probably be too complicated.

Confrontations with the spirits have also changed. Instead of using items in a battle with the ghost, you’re put into a critical situation where you must pick the right answer from a list or use the correct item to interact with the ghost or the environment.

On one hand, this new confrontation system makes the solutions a bit easier to figure out, but on the other hand, a wrong choice results in a game over. It lets you retry from the start of the confrontation, though, so you never lose too much progress.

In general, NG felt more straightforward than Death Mark. You still need to investigate for clues and solve occasional puzzles, but the emphasis is more on the story.

Fortunately, the story is very good. It’s a dark, creepy story that progresses nicely as you investigate each spirit. There were some pretty twisted moments, although only a couple of the new spirit stories were as dark as those in Death Mark. On a similar note, NG is not very scary. When the game begins, you set the level of scares, which basically means whether or not random spirits will appear in the environment while you’re investigating. Even on “Scary Mode,” though, these aren’t too frequent. Only a handful of moments in NG actually made me jump. But even though I found it more creepy than scary, I enjoyed the story a lot.

I pursued the good ending, but I made multiple saves in case I want to replay for the other endings someday. Spirit Hunter: NG is a great game, and I’m even more excited now for the third Spirit Hunter game (aka Shibito Magire), confusingly titled Death Mark II for the west.

Aksys announced an All Aksys Online Event for October 20 at 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET, so maybe we’ll get a Death Mark II release date there!

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Celebrating All Things Spooky: Dark Shadows

It’s a rare occasion – today’s blog post is a review of something other than a video game.

You see, yesterday I finished watching Dark Shadows.

Dark Shadows is a soap opera that ran from 1966 to 1971. It took a dramatic turn in 1967, when, facing cancellation, the writers introduced a vampire in a last-ditch effort to save the show.

That vampire, Barnabas Collins, not only saved Dark Shadows and triggered a permanent shift into dealing with overtly supernatural storylines, but also had a dramatic influence on sympathetic vampires in popular culture from then on.

Its been ten years since I started watching Dark Shadows, after having heard stories about it from my mom and grandmother.

We started from the introduction of Barnabas, and the show was so entertaining that it wasn’t long before I picked up the complete series (which comes in the lovely coffin-shaped box picture above).

And now we’ve reached the end.

How do I review a show with over 1000 episodes? Reviewing individual story arcs would probably make more sense for the sorts of reviews I usually do, but for now I want to talk about the show as a whole. Dark Shadows is a strange, magical phenomenon.

Being a daily soap opera, it’s a show that sometimes feels like the world’s longest NaNoWriMo project, as if the writers were desperately making things up as they went, but at other times produces scenes so compelling, I can only dream my writing will have the same effect someday. It’s a show that rarely had time to reshoot scenes, so mistakes and mishaps are left intact, yet that often adds a sense of endearing earnestness to the characters.

It’s a show where just because a character is dead doesn’t mean they have to be gone, and even a character who is gone forever might still have their actor appear in a new role. It’s a show where you can go to the past or a parallel timeline and see faces you know in new roles as a new supernatural threat rears its head.

I watched Barnabas go from a villain to an antihero to a hero and everything in between. I watched Julia go from a Van Helsing stand-in to one of the most important characters on the show. I watched characters come and go, and sometimes stick around to become new members of the core cast.

1795, 1897; these trips into the past showed just how much potential Dark Shadows had, with the ability to introduce a cast of mostly-new characters played by the same actors and pull you into their storylines as thoroughly as anything in the present.

There are certainly times when Dark Shadows flounders a bit – although I actually quite liked the infamous Leviathan plotline and its take on H.P. Lovecraft, the conclusion of that story arc was definitely a struggle.

Click for Dark Shadows Leviathan storyline spoilersThe writers clearly wanted to kill off Jeb, but it seemed like they couldn’t figure out how to do it. Destroying the box means Jeb will disappear too! But no! He’s holding onto his existence through sheer force of will. But wait, a ghost is going to kill him out of revenge! But no! Angelique stopped the ghost. But wait! She only stopped him so she can kill Jeb herself. Now he can spend episode after episode running from the shadow curse. But no! She’s seen reason and tells him how to remove the curse. He transfers the curse to Nicholas and now he’s fine. But wait! Nicholas sends Sky Rumson to kill him in revenge!

Unlike a lot of fans, I thoroughly enjoyed the Leviathans, but that span of episodes where the writers kept trying to kill Jeb was one of the most painful stretches to watch for me.

(Though Barnabas killing Sky afterwards was a fantastic Barnabas scene that really shows how sinister he can be even as one of the good guys.)

Even when it struggled, it always got back on its feet again. 1970 Parallel Time was a terrific blend of a supernatural murder mystery with other elements like their take on Jekyll & Hyde, and everything leading up to 1840 had me more invested than I had been in hundreds of episodes. Partway through the 1840 plotline, I found myself wondering how the show could possibly be near the end when it still was so good.

(Granted, there are parts of the 1840 plotline that make no sense, but it was fun and had some truly entertaining villains. It’s also the closest we’ll ever get to Barnabas Collins: Ace Attorney.)

Then came the final plot arc, an abrupt shift into 1841 Parallel Time that felt like an attempt at a soft reboot, the sole time we were given a new cast of characters without even a single character from the main timeline to follow. And for me, it didn’t work. The characters were less interesting, the episodes felt repetitive, and they somehow didn’t manage to make either the curse or the love triangle (quadrangle?) compelling, despite being a show that had thrived on curses and love triangles for years.

But even then, there were still glimmers of brilliance. It makes me think that, if the show hadn’t been cancelled, they might have been able to get on their feet again after all.

I love Dark Shadows. It’s hard to believe that this journey is finally over. And it isn’t, really. I mentioned starting from Barnabas’s introduction, which means I never saw those early 200-some episodes. It might be fun to see where it all began, especially since some parts were referenced later.

And then there are audio dramas and books and all the other ways the saga of Dark Shadows has continued in the years since.

Dark Shadows had to be included in this year’s Celebrating All Things Spooky. It’s too close to my heart for me not to mention it. So if you love gothic horror, and if the idea of a supernatural soap opera appeals to you, or if you’ve always heard about the original Dark Shadows but never checked it out, you really should. If the complete series in its coffin-shaped box is too much to start with (understandable), then I’d recommend Dark Shadows DVD Collection 1, which begins with episode 210 and the introduction of Barnabas (yes, it’s such a turning point for the show that Collection 1 starts there).

Alternately, if you’re not as obsessed with having physical media as I am, the entire series is also available through Prime Video. Season 1 also starts with episode 210. The pre-Barnabas episodes are also on Prime, but under the title Dark Shadows: The Beginning.

And whether you’re a longtime fan or just got into the show, please come talk to me about Dark Shadows! I haven’t mentioned it often on the blog, but it’s one of my favorite topics and biggest inspirations. And if you did want to see individual reviews of the Dark Shadows storylines, that’s something I’d definitely consider.

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Celebrating All Things Spooky: Towayami

Today’s review is Towayami, a horror adventure game with a unique twist.

Towayami is set in a small town engulfed in a deep, impenetrable darkness.

It’s been cut off from the rest of the world, and no one is coming to help.

You play a character trying to find a way out and perhaps learn the truth about what caused this darkness.

Since the darkness is so all-consuming, no one can see anything. Fire and lamps do nothing at all.

As a result, you play with a black screen.

I’m not exaggerating.

An official and accurate screenshot

The upper corner lets you know where you are, and your cursor changes when your hover over something you can interact with. Right-click lets you examine things, while left-click lets you interact. It’s important to examine everything first, since some spots are dangerous.

In this way, you need to slowly examine each black screen to find items and use them to explore.

There are occasional sound cues, as well, which I would have liked to see more of, but most of the game is handled through careful clicking.

This was a very strange game to play. I went from feeling completely disoriented at the start to having a mental image of how places were laid out, enough to backtrack without too much difficulty. At the same time, I found it somewhat frustrating – it felt like pixel-hunting, albeit without actually being able to see the pixels.

My playthrough took me about two hours. From the ending screen, I learned I had missed some things along the way, but I don’t think I’ll go back for them. Nevertheless, Towayami has to be one of the most unique horror games I’ve played.

If you’re interested in horror games, stick around for more reviews and discussions throughout October, and don’t forget to check the introductory post to learn about this year’s contest and the prizes you can win!

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Celebrating All Things Spooky: The Midnight Scenes Series

For our first spooky review this October, I’m actually going to discuss three games, a trio of short adventure games in a series called Midnight Scenes.

Midnight Scenes is framed as a fictional TV show, with each game presented as a new episode.

Each is fairly short and can be completed in a single sitting. They’re completely standalone, with no connections between them (aside from the fictional show).

Let’s go through each of them in turn.

Midnight Scenes Episode 1: The Highway

The first game is titled The Highway and follows a woman stranded along the highway. It is a fairly basic adventure game with a few simple puzzles to solve and takes about 10 minutes to complete. It has a creepy atmosphere, but I found the end to be somewhat underwhelming.

Midnight Scenes Episode 2: The Goodbye Note

Though the Steam version doesn’t list its full title, the second game is called The Goodbye Note. This one puts you in the shoes of a scientist getting on a plane, with a frame story from the perspective of a letter he’s writing, in which he apologizes to his wife for not telling her the terrible truth about his trip.

I found the suspense in this one to be much stronger. It has an interesting story and a gripping build-up. I did feel like the letter gave away a bit too much a bit too soon, which dampened some of the horror, but overall it’s my favorite of the three. It was also longer, taking me around 25 minutes.

Midnight Scenes: The Nanny

The first one without a number, probably because each game is a standalone story, the third and so far final Midnight Scenes game is titled The Nanny. It’s the longest of the three at around 30 minutes long.

While this one starts out fairly calm, it builds a creepy atmosphere quickly. It also has the strongest ending, with some truly unsettling moments. I’d hoped for more story details to build toward the conclusion, which is why the second game is my favorite, but The Nanny is quite a good little horror story nevertheless.

Conclusion

None of the three games feature complex puzzles or complicated mechanics, but they’re simple slices of horror aiming to deliver an unsettling atmosphere. Strangely, only the second game allows you to save; I’d hoped to see that carry over to the third game, but at least they’re short enough that it doesn’t matter too much.

As of now, these are the only games in the series, but due to their format, I wouldn’t be surprised if the developer makes more Midnight Scenes episodes in the future. In the meantime, if you’re looking for a bite-sized horror adventure game, the three Midnight Scenes games are worth checking out.

Now our spooky celebration is in full swing! Join in by leaving a comment below, and check the introductory post to learn more about the event and this year’s contest!

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Celebrating All Things Spooky 2022 Begins!

October is here, and that means it’s time to celebrate ghosts, ghouls, and every manner of spooky thing with a new Celebrating All Things Spooky month!

So let’s get into the sales, the contest, and what you can expect to see this year.

Sales

I’ve got a special promotion to kick off the spooky season. From now until Friday, you can get a free ebook copy of The Zombie Mishap, my comedy novella about two scientists who accidentally create a zombie and set out to stop it before anyone finds out. Since it’s a comedy, it’s on the lighter side of things, so consider checking it out even if horror isn’t usually your thing!

Meanwhile, ebook copies of The Book at Dernier and It Came Back will be on sale for $0.99 each for the rest of October. These two are both horror novellas, with The Book at Dernier being cosmic horror about a scholar investigating a strange incident in a small town and It Came Back dealing with the supernatural curse of a demon stalking its victims in dreams.

Remember, the free promotion of The Zombie Mishap will last through this Friday, October 7, while The Book at Dernier and It Came Back will be on sale through October 31.

Contest

Between now and Halloween, you also have a chance to win a prize at the end of the month just by leaving comments and interacting! The contest rules are slightly different than they were last year, so be sure to read them carefully.

Prizes:

Not It: Spookiest Edition (gift sent through Steam)Silent Hill 4: The Room (gift sent through GOG)Resident Evil Village (gift sent through Steam)Dead Age (Steam code)Five Nights at Freddy’s: Sister Location (Steam code)Lakeview Cabin Collection (Steam code)eBook copy of The Book at DerniereBook copy of It Came Back$15 sent through PayPalYou pick a game for me to review!

If you choose the review option, your chosen game must be something I either own or is easily obtainable, which you can discuss with me beforehand. It must be a single game, not a collection (although the chosen game can be part of a collection). I will start playing it in November.

Rules

No purchase is necessary.Only comments and retweets made between October 3, 2022 at 12:00 PM EST and October 31, 2022 at 11:59 PM EST will be counted.1 non-spam, non-anonymous comment on any Celebrating All Things Spooky blog post = 1 point.Retweeting any Celebrating All Things Spooky tweet from me = 1 point.You must use an email address or website URL (or include another way of contacting you) in your comment so I can contact you if you win.The top 3 point earners will win prizes.The person with the most points will get their first pick of the prizes. The person with the second most points will pick second, and the person with the third most points will pick third.In the event of a tie, tied winners will be contacted at the same time. A tie for third place will allow for more than 3 winners. If tied winners choose the same prize, duplicate prizes will be possible.The winner will be contacted by November 2, 2022.Content

I’ve got an exciting lineup of spooky game reviews planned, so here’s hoping you learn about some new horror games you might have overlooked.

Like in our mystery game celebration earlier this year, I’ll leave open the possibility of having a non-themed post once a week in case some especially exciting news comes out in October (like if Capcom wanted to announce a new Ace Attorney game, just saying).

Now it’s time to begin our month-long celebration of games and other media that are spooky, creepy, or otherwise fitting for October! Do you plan to play any special games for Halloween this October?

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