Boo! It’s officially a spooky month, and not only that, but we’re nearly on the big day itself. Whether you’re an Addams Family Values sort of person or more Halloween H20, there’s something for everyone in this candy-crusted time of year. Our Itch.io Halloween Special will take you through some of the most interesting games we found on Itch for this year’s season of skeletal surprises and boorish boos.
Follow the links for each game to play along for yourself, and don’t forget to support the original creators on Itch if you enjoy what they’ve done.
Creature Packs by Kenforest – Fiendish Food Service
First up on our list of the weird and the wonderful comes Creature Packs by Kenforest. This slightly gross first-person puzzle game was made during the 72-hour Ludum Dare 56 game jam and was crafted under the theme ‘tiny creatures.’
In this game, you have to cook various orders for some sort of mysterious clientele. These orders primarily consist of various creepy crawlies, but you have to construct them by using a blender, vending machine and microwave.
All of your orders come from the creepy dude on the TV screen, and there are no actual jumpscares, but the overall gross nature of the game, the interesting way it handles puzzles, and the general dark and horrific feeling, make this an easy top-pick for Spooky Halloween games for 2024.
Mint’s Hints by Grant Marrs – Furry F*ckers
Next up, Mint’s Hints is aiming itself squarely at the ‘creepy kid’s show’ audience by being a parody of Blue’s Clues (duh.) As usual, there’s a lot of juxtaposition between the bright and colourful characters and the horrific things they are alluding to, doing, or saying.
Mint’s Hints is another first-person adventure game, and while it doesn’t manage to live up to something like Chip’s Tips from The Dread X Collection 3, it’s at least a different perspective. The first part of the game is mostly about solving puzzles, but the end of the first chapter culminates in a chase sequence against the blood-covered furry gits who make up the main antagonists.
It’s pretty clear that this is leading to a longer gaming experience, assuming that it’s successful and popular enough, at least. Personally, this isn’t one I’m liable to be revisiting as the aesthetic isn’t doing anything all that new, and that final chase sequence annoyed me enough to actively drop the game from my watchlist. Still, if you grew up on Blue’s Clues, maybe the nostalgia-creep combo will be enough to entice you.
Bad Parenting 1: Mr. Red Face by 2002 – A Bit Close to Home
Now we come to Bad Parenting 1: Mr. Red Face by 2002, another first-person narrative horror title (because that is most of the indie horror scene these days, let’s be honest) but this time with a super interesting narrative and visual style.
As with many horror titles on Itch, the graphics are simplified, but the interesting use of graphical filters and the cool way characters have been designed really sells it. The story, on which I won’t go into too much detail, deals with a kid whose parents have a failing relationship. While your mother works every hour she can, your father sits home and drinks, and you, their young child, are left in the middle.
This one will only take you around 15-20 minutes of time to beat, but it’s well worth sitting down and getting invested in. The story goes to some interesting places, and the realization that came at the end of the storyline was jolting in the best possible way for a piece of horror media.
Night Reception by EYS – Don’t Quit Your Day Job
Say it with me now: Night Reception is a first-person horror adventure game by EYS that plonks you down unceremoniously behind the desk of an out-of-the-way motel for the night shift. You have to split your time between maintaining the place and helping to check in or serve your guests to keep them happy.
As the night progresses, creepier and creepier things keep happening until you’re not really sure how it’s all going to work out. It’s another game that makes good use of pacing and atmosphere to pull off the scares, though much like Mint’s Hints, it falls flat on its face by the last act.
The ending is a little underwhelming, but worse than that, it’s tedious to retry if you fail. I went into this one thinking it had tons of potential and left feeling like a lot of that potential was squandered. Still, if you get lucky, you might have a smoother experience than I did.
