Halloween spreads through the Epic Games Store newsfeed like a zombie virus hunting for a host. The moment the clock strikes midnight on October 1, our site begins to mutate.

Regular stories reach out, desperate to pull you in. Our features lurch forward, hungry to sink into your brainnnnnns. Beware the guides—their promise of gaming glory comes at a hefty price! And the Epic Games Store Halloween Sale? It beckons with a siren song, only to drag you under with its rusty hooks and slashed prices…

Survival demands preparation. Fortunately, we’re here to help. Below, you’ll find our curated collection of Halloween content from the spookiest month of the year—a grimoire of games writing that presents tales of the goriest, deadliest, jumpscariest games on the Epic Games Store. 

 

Fearsome features

This October, the Epic Games Store’s news (blood) hounds braved the biggest, spookiest titles of the year. 

We talked to the development team behind SILENT HILL f, a new chapter in the series’s long history that explores rural Japan for the first time. The team’s local knowledge brings life to Ebisugaoka, a forgotten mountain town with labyrinthine streets stalked by living nightmares. The new game allowed the developers to embrace modern melee combat, making for a striking title in more ways than one. 

As Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 looms, we looked at the World of Darkness, the shared universe that birthed a line of tabletop RPGs, video games, and more. We hear from the current custodians, The Chinese Room’s Alex Skidmore and White Wolf’s Jason Carl, about building the long-awaited sequel to 2004’s cult classic.

There’s nothing weedy about our Plants vs. Zombies: Replanted interview. We dig into the roots of the classic Popcap tower defense game and discover a few new shoots poking up. Roguelike? Multiplayer? Read about the horticultural icon, here. 

 

Gory stories

Cursed to forever write about great games… 

Hey, anybody see a ghost? We have a detailed look at the Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed firehouse, the gaming recreation of the iconic GBHQ. How can such a spooky place feel like home? Find out!  

Got a game with a photo mode? Now’s the perfect time to use it to create horrifying works of gaming art. Read “Framing fear in photo mode” for a short, sharp intro to the art of screamshots. We can’t stop your hands from shaking, though. 

The depths of the ocean are the most uncanny place on Earth. Beneath takes you deep into a Call of Cthulhu-inspired horror FPS, and we talked to the brothers behind the game. Unsettling insights into all sorts of horror await.  

Horror doesn’t need to be cosmic. Them invites you into one child’s long night on his own, playing a 2D platformer in a seemingly haunted house. Swapping between genres and viewpoints, it’s a great example of how a small game can make a big impact. 

For an even more old-school approach, Vlad Circus: Curse of Asmodeus is a tingle-filled point-and-click adventure game. Madness lies within the puzzley pixels, as you navigate twin timelines and your own revulsion to its macabre moments. 

And for the brave among you, we have a concentrated blast of, um…lurking lists, a challenge to any alliterative artist such as myself. 

There’s a list that’ll satisfy your horror cravings, whatever they may be, for we have rounded up and categorised games for each fearful vibe. What’s the goriest game, which one has the most jump scares? Find out, or face the consequences of not knowing—dare you risk the dreaded FOMO? 

If you’re too scared to go alone, discover the creepiest co-op games, and bring a friend (or friends) along. 

Once a year, we allow horror movie fan Brian “Spooky Grandpa” Crecente to reach into his crypt full of frightening films and pair them up with a perfect game, resulting in a twisted tangle of cinematic thrills and gaming chills. He smiles. He nods. You scream! 

Our last list on the left looks at the explosion of mascot horror in the past decade, from the original Five Nights at Freddies to all the games that followed. 
 

The Epic Games Halloween Sale

And finally… 

There’s a spooktacular sale bubbling away in our cauldron. Head over to the Epic Games Store Halloween Sale to strike a bargain for some bargains, or consult our buyer’s guide to the sale’s library of horror—and non-horror, of course. We aren’t monsters.

Happy Halloween, everyone!