8 games to play for Halloween: from the spooky to the downright scary

In case you haven’t noticed, Halloween is just around the corner. If you’re already set on going out with friends and partying, or trick-or-treating with kids, then we wish you a very merry GLHF. But if you don’t have any plans for the night, perhaps you could consider getting comfy with some Halloween-friendly games handpicked by the Games in Asia team.We have titles ranging from good old fashioned horror to the I-think-I-see-dead-people kind of scary. After all, just because you’re staying in doesn’t mean you can’t be in-season, right?

Charlie’s Picks: Scare yourself silly

Dead Space

Genre: Third-person shooter
Platform: PC, PS3, Xbox 360

What it’s about: You’re Isaac, an engineer who boards a giant but strangely deserted spaceship called the USG Ishimura after receiving a distress signal. The ship, as you’ll soon learn, is full of horrifying monsters, and you’ve got to cut your way through them to escape using only weapons that were designed as mining tools and a very thin supply of ammo.

Why you should give it a try: I enjoyed the sequels less, but the original Dead Space is a masterpiece of survival horror. You’ll really feel trapped, isolated, low on supplies, and hopelessly outnumbered as you blast your way through the USG Ishimura, and when the game isn’t scaring you silly, it’s a great time.

F.E.A.R.

Genre: First-person shooter
Platform: PC, PS3, Xbox 360

What it’s about: Saying too much would spoil the plot here, but you’re a spec-ops agent on a team tasked with investigating a paranormal threat.

Why you should give it a try: This game is straight-up scary. Its atmospherics and scares are strongly inspired by Japanese horror films — right down to the terrifying, maybe-dead girl — and that’s a good thing. The game itself is also good fun (and it looks great on a PC even today), but play this one in the dark with headphones on and prepare to wet your pants.

Amnesia: The Dark Descent