Spooky games fit for a socially distanced Halloween

Our writers talk through lockdown game options to cure your boredom

George Boatfield
31st October 2020

Lockdown looms yet again but our writers celebrate the spooky season with their favourite horror games.

Resident Evil VII - George Boatfield

It’s been three years since I began Resident Evil VII. THREE YEARS!!! This is far too long to spend completing any game, but please show mercy, for the developers at Capcom did not. After all, I have stubbornly - stupidly - opted to complete the game entirely in the realm of Virtual Reality...

While Resident Evil VII does skimp on ‘hand presence’ in it’s VR mode, there’s no doubt that it’s mould-ridden haunted house setting nevertheless provides an effective showcase for PS VR. The experience is genuinely, tangibly frightening in ways that 2D, non interactive media simply cannot match. Seeing one of the menacing members of the Baker family stumble towards you, fully aware of their height and position in space, elicits a reflex response that typical gaming simply cannot come close to matching.

I find desensitisation via media to often be overplayed, but I genuinely belive this game has given me a thicker skin when it comes to enduring horror as a genre.

I won’t lie - a portion of my reticence comes from the somewhat inconvenient setup and management of the PS VR cabling and camera tracking. That said, I find desensitisation via media to often be overplayed, but I genuinely believe this game has given me thicker skin when it comes to enduring horror as a genre. So if you’re feeling brave enough to tackle the nightmarish spaghetti cables of PS VR this Halloween, you’re well on the way to preparing for the nightmarish Resident Evil VII.

The Evil Within - William Allender

The abundance of spare time I was reluctantly gifted with during lockdown meant I finally got round to playing a game I had always been too scared to play - The Evil Within

The perfect Halloween game, The Evil Within balances atmospheric gameplay, intense combat and terrifying sequences all while remaining pleasantly story driven. This third-person survival horror game was released in 2014 and directed by Resident Evil series creator Shinji Mikami (a master of Halloween horror). 

Brave gamers play as protagonist Sebastian Castellanos as he is dragged around a nightmarish world packed full of horrific creatures and mind-bendingly distorted locations. My desire to progress the story and reach that satisfyingly frightening conclusion meant that I got sucked into this world of horror, adding more layers of realism to this already horrifying game. The graphics being almost life-like further reinforced this truly frightful experience. 

I highly recommend this game, especially over Halloween, as it is such a fresh and welcoming take on the horror genre. So pick up your headset, turn your volume up and switch your lights off as you prepare for a unique Halloween experience with one of the finest horror games made in recent years. 

[Featured Image: IGDB]
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