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Tag: what-to-play

  • 13 great horror games for horror wimps to play

    13 great horror games for horror wimps to play

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    October is spooky season, and the urge to settle in with some pumpkin-scented candles with a seasonally fitting game is at an all-time high. But while there are plenty of horror games out there for the brave and the bold, what are the scaredy-cats to do this Halloween season?

    Never fear — we’ve collected a very lucky 13 horror-tinged games that are perfect for the horror-curious and those who just want some light spooky vibes instead of bloodcurdling intensity. Our selections range from light atmospheric eeriness to heavier, creepier scares (but still not outright terrifying!). Each one is ranked by a horror wimp’s rating (if you’re a hardcore horror fan reading this list, we know our level 8s are probably your level 2s), with a more in-depth description of just what type of scares you can expect.

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    Petrana Radulovic

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  • 14 great games to try if you loved Baldur’s Gate 3

    14 great games to try if you loved Baldur’s Gate 3

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    Baldur’s Gate 3 is an incredible role-playing game experience, a gift for RPG fans and a wonderful introduction to the genre for newcomers. It’s got everything a good RPG needs: memorable characters, exciting, strategic battles, and a textured world to get lost in as your party goes questing across the map. It’s a showcase for just how good RPGs are when they really connect, and fortunately for us, there’s plenty more where that came from.

    So, in the event that Baldur’s Gate 3 has inspired you to explore the genre further, here’s a list of games that similarly nail the RPG experience in ways that will leave you itching to get back to the character you’ve created — provided, of course, you didn’t immediately roll a new one to take into Baldur’s Gate 3 all over again.

    Fire Emblem: Three Houses

    Image: Intelligent Systems, Koei Tecmo Games/Nintendo

    Where to play: Nintendo Switch

    If your favorite parts of Baldur’s Gate 3 were the turn-based combat, the character interactions, and the branching narratives, then Fire Emblem: Three Houses might scratch that itch. The actual gameplay itself doesn’t have a lot of story-defining choices, since you pick a set path in the first moments of the game. But that choice does grant three completely different ways the game can play out (and a fourth secret one), as well as variations in which characters come along with you and survive till the end. There’s also a lot of options for character interaction built into the game mechanics. Not only do you, the player, build a rapport with the characters, it’s literally part of the game to pair characters off in different interactions so they can build their bonds outside the battlefield and support each other while in combat. And yes, that means romances. So. Many. Romances. —Petrana Radulovic

    Divinity: Original Sin 2

    Divinity Original Sin 2 key art

    Image: Larian Studios

    Where to play: Windows PC, Mac, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch

    Larian Studios’ previous game is a natural next step for Baldur’s Gate 3 fans, as it’s about as close as you can possibly get to “more of the same” without waiting for a sequel. There’ll be some adjustment — as it’s not a D&D adaptation, the rules are different and combat here has a different set of quirks you’ll have to learn to navigate — but the transition is surprisingly seamless. Most importantly, Original Sin 2 has what Baldur’s Gate 3 nails in spades: a rock-solid focus on character and permissive design that encourages you to come up with oddball solutions and surrounds you with a cast of characters you’ll think of fondly. Shoutout to the homie, The Red Prince. —Joshua Rivera

    Pillars of Eternity

    digital artwork from Pillars of Eternity of warriors fighting zombie types.

    Image: Obsidian Entertainment/Paradox Interactive

    Where to play: Windows, Mac, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch

    One of the first big attempts at a throwback to the Baldur’s Gate franchise is still one of the best. Pillars of Eternity tells a sprawling tale with a great hook — children are suddenly being born without souls — as a mystery meant to draw you into its strange fantasy world and characters. A little more old-school in its design, but with the option to crank down the difficulty if story is why you’re here, Pillars of Eternity’s biggest strength is in its elegant narrative, in which the answer posed by every quest intersects with at least two other equally interesting quests. It’s easy to lose an evening navigating the game’s tangled web of short stories, but what a tremendously satisfying way to get lost. —JR

    Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire

    Pillars of Eternity 2 key art, depicting a party of fantasy heroes on a boat fighting off a kraken.

    Image: Obsidian Entertainment/Versus Evil

    Where to play: Windows, Mac, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One

    If there’s one thing I enjoy more than Pillars of Eternity, it’s Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire. Whereas the first game took place in an atmospheric if derivative take on a classic fantasy continent, Deadfire puts you in control of a customizable ship on the high seas. Along with The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, Spiritfarer, and the recent Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew, Deadfire is proof that archipelagos make for perfect video game worlds: As you build your party of travelers, you’ll encounter vastly different factions, cultures, and ways of life, both linked and separated by the waves between them. Exploring the world of Deadfire feels at once like a singular journey and a collection of potent short stories, all connected by vivid writing and myriad chances to role-play. —Mike Mahardy

    Wasteland 3

    An isometric view of a wintry compound with trucks leaving it in the video game Wasteland 3

    Image: inXile Entertainment

    Where to play: Windows, Mac, PlayStation 4, Xbox One

    If you can stomach the hyper-goofiness of its post-apocalyptic storytelling, Wasteland 3 stands among the best that the CRPG genre has to offer. Its script and character writing leave a lot to be desired, but in terms of structure, Wasteland 3 is as open as they come: You pursue three major quest lines across a ruined Colorado, all the while building up your headquarters and recruiting a massive party of survivors. If inventory management and improving your team composition are your favorite aspects of CRPGs, Wasteland 3 is a dream. And while there are compelling story beats strewn throughout, it’s the mechanics and systems that make inXile’s 2020 release sing. —Mike Mahardy

    Marvel’s Midnight Suns

    Spider-Man, Blade, Ghost Rider, Magik, and other Marvel heroes pose on a street at nighttime in a cinematic still from Marvel’s Midnight Suns.

    Image: Firaxis/2K Games

    Where to play: Windows, Mac, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One

    After a dozen or so hours investing in your party in Baldur’s Gate 3, they start to feel like superheroes. Battles hinge on incredible (and very fun) stunts that can excite the storyteller in you narrating the whole fight. Marvel’s Midnight Suns is entirely built around that feeling, a strategy game where winning a battle largely depends on you figuring out the most dramatic move possible every turn. It’s also got a character creator for your original protagonist and lots of fun RPG-style conversations between said fights too, so the social butterflies among us won’t feel left out. Just don’t come looking for romance, which unfortunately is not part of the experience. —JR

    Planescape: Torment

    Cover art from Planescape: Torment shows a blue dude with gold-clasped locs.

    Image: Black Isle Studios/Interplay Productions

    Where to play: Windows, Mac, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, iOS, Android

    Going back to the original Baldur’s Gate games is a very different experience from Baldur’s Gate 3, as they come from an entirely different era in game design that may or may not speak to you in the same way. In spite of its similarity to those older games, Planescape: Torment, a sister title to the OG Baldur’s Gate games, is worth giving a shot. In it you play The Nameless One, a man with no memories in search of his identity and the reason he can’t seem to die. Taking place in Dungeons & Dragons’ Planescape setting — a sort of interdimensional halfway point in the multiverse, where anything could be a door to Someplace Else — Planescape: Torment is among the most bizarre, existential, and contemplative RPGs ever made. It’s a game where combat barely matters (seriously, just play on easy and put all your stats in Wisdom and Charisma), but deciding who The Nameless One becomes as he learns more about himself is everything. —JR

    Torment: Tides of Numenera

    Torment: Tides of Numenera screenshot with party members standing in front of a glowing stargate type portal

    Image: InXile Entertainment

    Where to play: Windows, Mac, PlayStation 4, Xbox One

    Maybe you tried Planescape: Torment and found it too clunky. Or maybe you loved it and want more. In the way that Pillars of Eternity was a spiritual successor to the original Baldur’s Gate games, Torment: Tides of Numenera is a new attempt to recapture the magic of Planescape: Torment with more modern sensibilities. In this game, you play as the Last Castoff, a sort of rejected avatar for a being known as the Changing God, who has achieved immortality by hopscotching across bodies like yours. What’s up with that? What else has this Changing God done, and who else have they left in their wake? Tides of Numenera retains the focus of its inspiration, emphasizing role-play over combat, using the mystery of an immortal being and an indelible science fantasy setting to probe at troubled characters and ask big, sweeping questions about fate and existence. —JR

    Dragon Age (all of ’em)

    Dragon Age: Inquisition - green storm in sky

    Image: BioWare/Electronic Arts

    Where to play: Windows, Mac (for earlier entries), PlayStation 4 (Dragon Age: Inquisition), PlayStation 3, Xbox One (Dragon Age: Inquisition), Xbox 360

    For over a decade, the RPG void left between Baldur’s Gate 2 and Baldur’s Gate 3 was filled by Dragon Age. Beginning with 2009’s Dragon Age: Origins, the Dragon Age games mixed dark fantasy with bright, snappy characters to create one of the most beloved fantasy RPGs in recent memory. Each game has a slightly different flavor — Origins is the closest to the “classic” RPG feel, where combat strategy is just as important as role-playing through an epic plot, while Dragon Age 2 focuses more on straightforward action and smaller character drama, and Dragon Age: Inquisition splits the difference with the most modern design of the three. Play all or one, in any order you choose. Each has its strengths, and all of them have at least one character destined to become your favorite. —JR

    Disco Elysium

    Harrier Du Bois and Kim Kitsuragi stand side by side in key art for Disco Elysium

    Image: ZA/UM

    Where to play: Windows, Mac, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S

    If you appreciate how a game will throw your best-laid plans out the window with one failed dice roll, then Disco Elysium is the obvious follow-up to Baldur’s Gate 3. Not only do your choices have the same level of impact, but both games embrace creative problem solving in the way only a good role-playing game can. Disco Elysium lets you talk your way out of (but usually into) trouble in some mind-bending ways. Although it’s a more modern setting than Baldur’s Gate 3, both games relish their moments of bleakness. Paladin-type role-players may struggle with the inner demons of Disco Elysium’s amnesiac main character, but he’s the hero for those who revel in messy choices. —Chelsea Stark

    Shadowrun: Dragonfall

    shadowrun returns hero

    Image: Harebrained Schemes

    Where to play: Windows, Mac, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, iOS, Android

    Yeah, fantasy is cool and all, but what if you want a Baldur’s Gate 3-style adventure in a sick Blade Runner-ass setting? Shadowrun: Dragonfall is your answer. A relatively short and self-contained RPG set in Shadowrun’s totally rad, magic-but-also-cyberpunk universe, you play as a shadowrunner (a mercenary, but cooler) hired to join a crew for one big score. It goes sideways of course, and once you escape the chaos, there’s only one question on your mind: Who set you up and why? Perfect for anyone who wants to trade swords and spells for guns and cyberdecks (and also spells). What’s more, if you love it, there are two more games widely available (and optimized for consoles): Shadowrun Returns and Shadowrun: Hong Kong. —JR

    Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

    Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic - Darth Malak artwork

    Image: BioWare/LucasArts

    Where to play: Windows, Mac, Xbox One, Xbox 360, Nintendo Switch, iOS, Android

    Another big appeal of RPGs is getting the chance to traipse around a very familiar setting and seeing what trouble you can get into. In Baldur’s Gate 3, that’s the Forgotten Realms of Dungeons & Dragons. But let’s say you wanted to do that in Star Wars — lucky for you, there’s Knights of the Old Republic. Made by BioWare, the folks behind Dragon Age, KOTOR (that’s what the cool kids call it) is set thousands of years before the prequel trilogy, at a time when both the Jedi and Sith were numerous and at war. This setting gives KOTOR a flavor that’s impossible to find in modern Star Wars, as one of the premier RPG developers was given free reign to define its own corner of the universe and infuse it with all the charm of its acclaimed role-playing games — and a killer mystery to boot. —JR

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    Joshua Rivera

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  • 10 great indie games you might have missed in 2023

    10 great indie games you might have missed in 2023

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    It’s been one of those strange, busy years where any of Polygon’s top 10 games of the year could have made the No. 1 slot. Heck, you could expand that outward to include the top 20. There was a wealth of great games throughout the year, making it impossible to keep up with everything — even here at Polygon, where many of our jobs are to keep up with video games. That’s why we’ve created this list of 10 games you might have missed, all from indie studios. They cover a bunch of different genres, from a goofy multiplayer game to an inventory management roguelike.

    Like with Polygon’s list of the top 50 games of the year, there are plenty of fantastic games that slipped through the cracks. Think we’ve missed any extra-special indies from the past year? Drop your favorites in the comments.


    Bread & Fred

    Image: SandCastles Studio/Apogee Entertainment

    Developer: SandCastles Studio
    Where to play: Windows PC

    Bread & Fred is a game you’re going to want to play with a friend. (Only one of you needs a copy of the game, thanks to Steam’s Remote Play Together.) You’ll play as two penguins tied together on a short rope, tasked with climbing a snowy mountain. It’s hard! The rope is very short, meaning there’s little wiggle room. Communication is key to timing each jump precisely — or you might fall down the mountain once again with a splat. So yes, Bread & Fred is hard, but it’s not impossible. Better yet, its challenge is pretty hilarious when playing with a friend you’re comfortable shouting at — or with. The animations have a slapstick element, making the already silly premise even funnier. —Nicole Carpenter

    American Arcadia

    Inside an office, there are several computer screens lit up. In the bottom right-hand corner of the screen, there’s a hand holding a cellphone.

    Image: Out of the Blue Games/Raw Fury

    Developer: Out of the Blue Games
    Where to play: Windows PC

    Trevor, an office drone, wakes up one morning and learns his bosses are conspiring to kill him — and also that his entire life is built on a lie. American Arcadia is set in a ’70s-inspired metropolis called Arcadia, but something’s up with Arcadia: It’s a Truman Show-type widespread deception designed to trick thousands of people into living guilelessly for the entertainment of others. But that’s not American Arcadia’s only trick. One minute you’re bouncing across platforms like any other side-scrolling platformer. The next, you’re solving puzzles from a first-person perspective. Video games don’t often deploy multiple perspectives. Here, the shift is jarring but effective; it puts you on edge — kind of, one imagines, like learning the truth about Arcadia. —Ari Notis

    El Paso, Elsewhere

    El Paso, Elsewhere - A protagonist shoots his way through a brightly lit hotel room

    Image: Strange Scaffold

    Developer: Strange Scaffold
    Where to play: Windows PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X

    If you can’t get enough of Max Payne, you won’t want to miss El Paso, Elsewhere. When vampires and werewolves arrive in a mysterious, supernatural motel, vampire hunter James Savage takes them head-on. What you get is a third-person shooter that revels in PlayStation-era graphics and explosive gameplay, with a narrative that sets the stakes especially high. You see, Savage’s ex is a vampire that’s about to perform a ritual — in that El Paso motel — to end the world. Within the mayhem of El Paso, Elsewhere, there’s a beautiful story about addiction and heartbreak that grounds the game’s physical demons within its metaphorical ones.

    Yes, I made a Max Payne comparison — and you’ll see that a lot when reading about El Paso, Elsewhere — but the game is something wholly itself. It’s not to be missed. —NC

    A Highland Song

    A girl runs up a mountain in the Scottish Highlands in A Highland Song. A deer rushes up in front of her.

    Image: inkle

    Developer: inkle
    Where to play: Nintendo Switch, Windows PC

    A Highland Song is one of those 2023 latecomers, sneaking into this year’s release calendar on Dec. 5. From the creators of 80 Days and Heaven’s Vault, it’s not a game to be missed. The stylized art style perfectly renders the Scottish Highlands, where Moira is exploring in order to get to the sea. It’s one of those games, like A Short Hike, where the journey is much more important than the destination. Set to music from Scottish folk artists TALISK and Fourth Moon, A Highland Song has so many lovely, warming moments, even when you’re sheltered up in a cave to escape the cold. —NC

    MyHouse

    A game made on top of Doom, called MyHouse. A person points a gun at a house.

    Image: Veddge

    Developer: Veddge
    Where to play: Windows PC

    MyHouse.wad is a pretty boring Doom mod. I’m no game designer, and I’m hesitant to repeat a tired line about modern art, but come on: I could have made this! The map is just a typical suburban split-level home. There’s nothing to do but scurry around polygonal furniture, look at tacky domestic art, and shoot some generic Doom enemies. I suspect — if I’m being honest — its elevated reputation stems from its tragic backstory.

    A Doomworld user named Veddge released MyHouse.wad on the site’s forum back in March. Veddge was clear from the beginning that MyHouse wasn’t his mod; he’d just polished it up. The original version belonged to Veddge’s childhood friend Tom, who had recently passed away. To honor his pal, he decided to touch up the map into operable shape and share the file with some hardcore Doom nerds — the sort of folks who might appreciate this amateur but lovingly made map.

    I appreciate the good intentions. I just can’t understand why anybody would find this normal house all that interesting. I mean sure, the rooms keep moving. And sometimes there’s no way out. And other times I wake up in an empty hospital. But this is just a normal, boring Doom mod. There’s nothing to see here.

    Unless none of this is true. —Chris Plante

    Videoverse

    Videoverse screenshot showing a fictional video game console that looks like a bulky Nintendo 3DS, as well as some magazines, soda, and a calendar on a desk.

    Image: Kinmoku

    Developer: Kinmoku
    Where to play: Mac, Linux, Windows PC

    Videoverse is a game for those of us nostalgic for the early internet and its intimate communities. When I was a kid, I spent my free time digging into niches on Neopets and talking to strangers about shared interests in AOL chat rooms. I made friends in forums, creating an online world sometimes more enticing than my own real life. Videoverse is all of those things on a fictional forum dedicated to a dying MMO, and it perfectly captures the drama and sadness of letting go. All at once, Videoverse has recreated the frivolous, beautiful, dramatic, and profound ways technology has influenced my life, and maybe yours, too. —NC

    A Space for the Unbound

    A row of houses in which the centered one is yellow, rendered in pixel art. Several people stand in front of the homes. (Screenshot from A Space for the Unbound)

    Image: Mojiken/Toge Productions

    Developer: Mojiken
    Where to play: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X

    Set in rural Indonesia, A Space for the Unbound is a slice-of-life story of high school sweethearts Atma and Raya, who have a bucket list to fulfill. While A Space for the Unbound is an intimate look into a teenage relationship in ’90s Indonesia, it’s also the backdrop for a larger supernatural power that’s threatening reality — the end of the world. That framing makes for an interesting dichotomy between the scope of the stories: everyday moments paired with otherworldly drama. It’s one of those games that’s so earnest that’s it’s easy to overlook any flaws or bugs while captured by the stakes of the world and its characters. A bonus for pixel art fans: The game is gorgeous! —NC

    Tape to Tape

    Screenshot from Tape to Tape showing a bunch of hockey players on the ice. One team is wearing orange, the other black.

    Image: Excellent Rectangle/Null Games

    Developer: Excellent Rectangle
    Where to play: Windows PC

    A hockey game, but make it roguelite! Tape to Tape is in early access, so it hasn’t had its full release just yet. But what it is now is very fun: a game about building a hockey team by hiring players and managing the team. Play in games, of course, with different — not actual hockey-legal — abilities, upgrades, and bribes. Tape to Tape screams ’90s Wayne Gretzky’s 3D Hockey, but a lot more wacky. As in other roguelites, losing is fine: It’s an opportunity to upgrade your tools of the trade and get further next time.

    Grab some hockey fans in your life for online multiplayer (with Remote Play Together) or on split screen. —NC

    Moonring

    Screenshot from Moonring, showing retro pixel boat. On the side, there’s a text input screen.

    Image: Fluttermind

    Developer: Fluttermind
    Where to play: Windows PC

    Don’t let the old-school visuals fool you: Moonring is one of 2023’s richest video game experiences. Created by Dene Carter, a co-creator of the iconic RPG Fable, the colorful adventure gives players the expansive freedom popularized by games of the 1980s — when graphics played second fiddle to creativity and scope. Trade with unsavory types. Partner with questionable cults. Converse with practically everyone.

    Perhaps most importantly for our readers, this Ultima-inspired roguelike is free. Like, free free. At that price, Carter may get his wish of introducing the old ways of game design to new audiences. “I hope Moonring recaptures some of the spirit of those days for you,” Carter writes on the Moonring Steam page. “For those who did not, I hope that the more modern conveniences you find in this game allow you to catch a glimpse of what we did 40 years ago.” —CP

    Backpack Hero

    A screenshot from Backpack Hero, with a mouse on the bottom of the screen. The backpack is open up top, showing three items, including a sword.

    Image: Jaspel/Different Tales, IndieArk

    Developer: Jaspel
    Where to play: Nintendo Switch, Mac, Windows PC

    When I can’t sleep, I consider the mysteries of the universe. Like, who came up with the whiskey sour? “Whiskey is amazing, but what if we added raw egg whites?” Backpack Hero’s creators took a similarly audacious approach with the classic dungeon crawler, splicing the genre with the Tetris-like inventory management popularized by Resident Evil 4. Much like the foamy cocktail, the results are delicious.

    Generally, I’m hesitant to list back-of-the-box bullet points, but I’m tickled by how big the creators have made a game about backpack organization: There are over 800 items and 100 enemies, you can play as five different heroes, and the dungeons are procedurally generated within a overworld map the player constructs. Like its hero mouse, Backpack Hero punches way above its weight class. And it will keep you up at night, because there’s always time for one more run. —CP

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    Nicole Carpenter

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  • The 25 best games on Game Pass

    The 25 best games on Game Pass

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    Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass subscription service is having another banner year in 2023, with over 450 games now available for console players and over 400 for PC players.

    The service has recently been bolstered with the addition of two huge Xbox Game Studios exclusives, Starfield and Forza Motorsport, while Cities: Skylines 2 is a big-deal day one addition for the PC crowd. Atlus’ JRPG classics Persona 4 Golden and Persona 3 Portable made their debut on Xbox consoles earlier in the year, and Tango Gameworks’ surprise release Hi-Fi Rush told a cathartic rock ’n’ roll story with clever mechanics. Blockbuster titles are well represented with the likes of Assassin’s Creed and Hitman, cult favorites like Lies of P popped up, and Game Pass has continued its strong tradition of curating the best of the indie world with the likes of Cocoon. Even Grand Theft Auto 5 — and its extremely popular online mode — has returned to the service once more. That’s a lot of “free” video gaming to be done!

    With the sheer size and the bounty of choice it offers, Game Pass can be a bit overwhelming to digest. But we’re here to help. Here are the 25 PC and Xbox Game Pass games that you should be checking out if you subscribe to Microsoft’s flagship service.

    [Ed. note: This list was last updated on Oct. 24, 2023, adding Cocoon, Lies of P, and Party Animals. It will be updated as new games come to the service.]

    Assassin’s Creed Origins

    Image: Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft

    Assassin’s Creed Origins has always been good — but it was only in hindsight, three years after its release, that I began to consider it great.

    It’s a phenomenal concoction of historical tourism, sci-fi storytelling, and open-ended combat. It also displays a confidence that the more recent Assassin’s Creed Odyssey and Assassin’s Creed Valhalla can only partially match. Whereas the two most recent entries embrace the insecure ethos of “content” that has so defined the last decade of open-world games, Origins is content to leave vast swaths of its world empty and to let things burn slowly, in ways both narrative and explorative. Its map unfurls over deserts, mountains, oases, and sun-swept cities slowly being buried in sand, all while its two central figures (Bayek and Aya) navigate one of video games’ most compelling romances.

    It’s not completely averse to daily challenges and cosmetic DLC packs. But it’s the rare open-world game that trusts my attention span. It understands that pastoral beauty and tragic storytelling, successfully interwoven, are worth more than any number of distractions its successors can throw at me. —Mike Mahardy

    Assassin’s Creed Origins is available via Game Pass on Windows PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.

    Chicory: A Colorful Tale

    The player character leaves Chicory’s home in Chicory: A Colorful Tale

    Image: Greg Lobanov/Finji

    Chicory: A Colorful Tale tells the story of a small dog who accidentally inherits a magical paintbrush. As you travel around the black-and-white open world, you use your new paint powers to bring color back to the environments. Everything is your canvas, and you can color it all to both solve puzzles and customize the setting to your liking.

    The gameplay of Chicory is cute and relatively simple, even as you unlock new powers. But the reason it made it to the No. 2 slot on Polygon’s 2021 Game of the Year list is the story it tells about the destructive powers of self-doubt — the way it cruelly infects even the greatest artists out there.

    Chicory is a game that’s not about coloring in the lines or even making something beautiful. It’s about making something — painting something, in this case — that you are proud of, that makes you happy. And if that creation also brings joy to those around you? Hey, that’s great too. —Ryan Gilliam

    Chicory: A Colorful Tale is available via Game Pass on Windows PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.

    Cities: Skylines

    Cities Skylines

    Image: Colossal Order/Paradox Interactive

    There’s a reason Cities: Skylines is often held up by literal city planners as the pinnacle of the genre: It doesn’t fall into the trap most city-builders do of treating all its resources and systems as mere data points on a list, gaming by way of a spreadsheet. Cities: Skylines is the real deal, letting you get into the weeds of urban micromanagement and understanding how and why metropolises morph in response to the needs of their citizens. (It’s also proof that planned cities are a crime against humanity.)

    Cities: Skylines forces you to grapple with the beautiful, messy truth of what your citizens are: people. In other words, Eric Adams, please play Cities: Skylines! —Ari Notis

    Cities Skylines is available via Game Pass on Windows PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.

    Citizen Sleeper

    A Sleeper stares out over an expanse in The Eye in Citizen Sleeper

    Image: Jump Over the Age/Fellow Traveller

    Citizen Sleeper is a hyper-stylized tabletop-like RPG set in space. In a capitalist society, you find yourself stuck on a space station. You’ll need to manage your time, energy, and relationships to survive the collapse of the corporatocracy and the anarchy that follows. You’ll roll dice and make decisions to get paid and help those around you.

    Aside from its interesting setting, Citizen Sleeper features a vibrant cast of impactful characters, making each interaction memorable. It follows an excellent trend of table-top inspired games to encourage you to find your own objectives, and to revel in the story when things fall apart. It’s packed with tense decisions, great writing, and striking visuals. —Ryan Gilliam

    Citizen Sleeper is available via Game Pass on Windows PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.

    Cocoon

    The insect-like protagonist of Cocoon pauses before a bridge in a desert environment

    Image: Geometric Interactive/Annapurna Interactive via Polygon

    A mysteriously beautiful, exquisitely paced puzzle adventure from some of the minds behind Limbo and Inside, Cocoon shares those games’ wordless delivery and stark aesthetic. But it’s more abstract and contemplative, and perhaps even more involving. It’s a game of pocket universes, one inside another, inhabited by buglike techno-organic life-forms — including the player character, a scurrying little beetle-thing. The conceit is that you can step up out of one reality and move it around another on your back, in a gently glowing sphere that also interacts with the world around it, before diving back in — or swapping it for another entirely.

    Like so many puzzle adventures, it’s essentially a game of locks and keys, plus the occasional ingenious boss fight. But like the very best of them — Fez, for example, or PortalCocoon plays games with perception and reality that rewire your brain in pleasantly tortuous ways. —Oli Welsh

    Cocoon is available via Game Pass on Windows PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.

    Crusader Kings 3

    The lifestyle screen in Crusader Kings 3

    Image: Paradox Interactive via Polygon

    Imagine if Succession unfolded between the years 867 and 1453, in the throne rooms, banquet halls, and torchlit back corridors of European castles. Monarchs rise and fall, small-time fiefdoms become bona fide kingdoms, and nonmarital children exact revenge after decades of being shunned. Crusader Kings 3 is the story of the Roy family if we could pick any character, see them through to their death, and assume control of their orphaned heir — at which point, we can completely alter the course of the dynasty through petty gossip and underhanded murder attempts.

    In Paradox Interactive’s vast suite of grand strategy games with complex systems that give way to thrilling emergent storytelling, none have made me cackle with glee quite as much as Crusader Kings 3. In one playthrough, I wed my firstborn son to the daughter of a powerful neighboring king, only for said daughter to declare a holy war on me one decade later. In another, I strong-armed one of my vassals into remaining loyal, shortly before knighting his cousin and sworn rival; I didn’t want to be a jerk, but my characters were jerks. I was just following the script down the path of least resistance.

    Much like Succession, Crusader Kings 3 is at its best when tensions finally boil over between the emotionally stunted members of a dysfunctional family. Unlike Succession, though, Crusader Kings 3 never has to end. —Mike Mahardy

    Crusader Kings 3 is available via Game Pass on Windows PC and Xbox Series X.

    Death’s Door

    The titular Death’s Door in Death’s Door

    Image: Acid Nerve/Devolver Digital

    Death’s Door is a cute little Soulslike game. You play as a raven who works as a kind of grim reaper for the bureaucratic arm of the afterlife. It’s your job to adventure in the world and claim the lives of a handful of bosses. The world of Death’s Door is charming, as are its characters, with excellent dungeons to explore and puzzles to solve. There are also giant enemies who will test both your skills and patience.

    Still, Death’s Door has a friendly air around it. It wants you to succeed, and does a nice job easing you along with easy-to-read enemy and boss patterns. It’s a great, challenging Game Pass game to cut your teeth on before venturing into even more difficult titles. —Ryan Gilliam

    Death’s Door is available via Game Pass on Windows PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.

    Doom (2016)

    Doom (2016) - fighting the Baron of Hell

    Image: id Software/Bethesda Softworks

    2016’s Doom builds off of one of the oldest franchises in gaming history with speed, acrobatics, and an absolutely killer soundtrack. Doomguy moves extremely quickly, swapping between a variety of guns, grenades, melee attacks, and a giant chainsaw to blow up demons off of Mars.

    The game is bloody, metal as hell, and surprisingly funny. Doom makes you feel like a god, capable of clearing any hurdle the game could throw at you, and it doesn’t offer a single dull level in its lengthy campaign. —Ryan Gilliam

    Doom (2016) is available via Game Pass on Xbox One and Xbox Series X.

    Forza Horizon 5

    The #1 T100 Toyota Baja 1993 Barn Find location in Forza Horizon 5

    Image: Playground Games/Xbox Game Studios via Polygon

    Forza Horizon 5 is the latest racing game to land on Xbox and Game Pass. It’s a visual feast filled with some of the most realistic-looking cars you’ve ever seen. But anyone who loves any of these Forza games will tell you that the Horizon series is so much more than its graphics.

    Horizon 5 takes place in a fictionalized Mexico, and gives you the freedom to drive around a massive map in whatever car you want. You can drive a nice sports car while off-roading, or drive a hummer off a massive ramp.

    Forza Horizon 5 gives you the freedom and choice to drive how and where you want inside a legion of incredible cars. —Ryan Gilliam

    Forza Horizon 5 is available via Game Pass on Windows PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.

    Grand Theft Auto 5

    Grand Theft Auto 5 - Trevor firing a submachine gun with flames around him

    Image: Rockstar North/Rockstar Games

    Grand Theft Auto 5 is one of the most celebrated games of the last decade. In that time, it has appeared on three different generations of consoles, seen numerous graphical improvements, and gotten new modes, like its sweeping first-person alteration.

    The main story focuses on three criminals from three very different backgrounds bumbling their way through numerous heists in the city of Los Santos — a fictional version of Southern California. And in order to tell the stories of Michael, Franklin, and Trevor, the game implements a feature that allows you to swap between the protagonists at will, offering a new perspective on the city and letting you play multiple roles per heist.

    Grand Theft Auto games usually live long past their time, but GTA 5 has remained especially relevant due to GTA Online, the sprawling MMO-like experience that Rockstar Games created inside the world of San Andreas. It’s the massive GTA 5 sandbox — plus a little extra — without any of the constraints found in the story mode.

    The parts of GTA 5 that annoy — such as the more misguided aspects of its American commentary, or the occasional tailing mission — are distant memories compared to the chaos you can cause every five minutes. If futzing around a semi-realistic metropolitan area is something you really enjoy, it’s hard to imagine anything on this list entertaining you for as long as Grand Theft Auto 5 will. —Ryan Gilliam

    Grand Theft Auto 5 is available via Game Pass on Xbox One and Xbox Series X.

    Halo: The Master Chief Collection

    Halo: The Master Chief Collection product art

    Image: 343 Industries/Xbox Game Studios

    The Xbox brand might never have taken off without the Halo series, the first-person shooters that helped to popularize local competitive multiplayer on consoles before taking the party online after the launch of Xbox Live. The Master Chief Collection package includes multiple Halo games, all of which have been updated to keep them enjoyable for modern audiences.

    But what’s so striking about the collection is how many ways there are to play. You can go through the campaigns by yourself. If you want to play with a friend but don’t want to compete, there is co-op, allowing you to share the games’ stories with a partner, either online or through split-screen play. If you do want to compete, you can do it locally against up to three other players on the same TV, or take things online to challenge the wider community.

    These are some of the best first-person shooters ever released, and they’re worth revisiting and enjoying, no matter how you decide to play them. Sharing these games with my children through local co-op has been an amazing journey, and this package includes so many games, each of which is filled with different modes and options. It’s hard to imagine ever getting bored or uninstalling the collection once it’s on your hard drive.

    This is a part of gaming history that continues to feel relevant, and very much alive. —Ben Kuchera

    Halo: The Master Chief Collection is available via Game Pass on Windows PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.

    Hardspace: Shipbreaker

    A yellow-gloved worker cuts up a starship in orbit in an early screenshot for Hardspace: Shipbreaker

    Image: Blackbird Interactive/Focus Entertainment

    Hardspace: Shipbreaker is another game poking fun at corporate greed and its general indifference toward the working class — seen in other excellent building games like Satisfactory. But Hardspace takes it further than just tongue-in-cheek poking by asking: What happens when the workers have had enough? Hardspace: Shipbreaker’s pro-union message is a delightful backdrop for an incredibly deep and stress-filled puzzle game.

    As a Shipbreaker, your job is to break apart and recycle small spaceships. With your handy welding tools and futuristic gravity tethers, you’re able to carefully carve up these once-great hulks and repurpose them for the future. Sometimes that means throwing all the metal plates into the furnace to be melted down, and other times you’ll need to comb through the skeletons, grab salvageable items, and extract them still intact.

    As you improve your skills, the game will test you with harder and larger ships. Suddenly, you’ll have to start worrying about the active nuclear reactors that are still in these vehicles, or pressurized cabins that explode if you open them in the wrong order.

    And all of this danger circles Hardspace: Shipbreaker back to the conversation it starts at the very beginning. Hardspace is a game about focus, and how taking your eye off the ball for even a second can end in explosive death, or worse: a career spent toiling under forces that couldn’t care less about you. —Ryan Gilliam

    Hardspace: Shipbreaker is available via Game Pass on Windows PC and Xbox Series X.

    Hi-Fi Rush

    Chai traverses the colorful open world of Hi-Fi Rush

    Image: Tango Gameworks/Bethesda Softworks via Polygon

    Rhythm games, for players who prefer to shoot, dodge, punch, and jump on their own time, can be a tough sell. But such is not the case with Hi-Fi Rush, the action game from Ghostwire: Tokyo developer Tango Gameworks. It provides an array of visual cues to help rhythmically challenged players, but crucially, it doesn’t require that protagonist Chai attacks according to the game’s metronome. Instead, its rhythm elements are an optional layer to interact with, offering score chasers something to aspire to. For everyone else, the game’s vibrant world, rock n’ roll storytelling, and entrancing traversal stand well enough on their own. It’s a cathartic triumph of a game. —Mike Mahardy

    Hi-Fi Rush is available via Game Pass on Windows PC and Xbox Series X.

    Hitman World of Assassination

    Agent 47 standing on a balcony overlooking an atrium in Hitman 3

    Image: IO Interactive

    Hitman, Hitman 2, and Hitman 3 are some of the best sandbox puzzle games ever made. As Agent 47, you’ll climb buildings, sneak around parties, and murder spies and debutantes with all manner of tools. Hitman World of Assassination includes the campaigns from all three of the games in IO Interactive’s recent World of Assassination trilogy, giving you more than a dozen maps to play on. Just last week, it also added Freelancer mode, which functions like a roguelike as Agent 47 kills his way through four major crime syndicates, fleshing out his safehouse as he goes.

    The Hitman series may be about violence and murder, but it manages to stay lighthearted and fun with its wild physics and silly scenarios. It’s the perfect series to goof around in if you feel like being stealthy, or just want to see what happens when you drop a giant chandelier on a crowd of snobby jerks. —Ryan Gilliam

    Hitman Trilogy is available via Game Pass on Windows PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.

    Lies of P

    A shaggy man with a sword seen from behind in third-person gameplay runs into a spooky crystal-filled city in Lies of P

    Image: Neowiz

    One of 2023’s most delightful surprises, Lies of P is a Soulslike starring a noticeably hot Pinocchio, of all things, from relatively unheralded Korean developer Neowiz. It turns out to be one of the most original and interesting takes on the genre from outside FromSoftware — although more so in its strong storytelling and themes than its gameplay, which is heavily influenced by Sekiro and Bloodborne in its aggressive, rhythmic focus on parry-and-thrust.

    As Pinocchio lies and battles his way around a crumbling Belle Epoque town that’s been overrun by its servant class of automatons, Lies of P’s grim tale bends to the player’s choices in ways that convince and intrigue. This works particularly well with Pinocchio’s dual nature as a half-human half-puppet who can be modified with gameplay-altering tools; Lies of P presents an illusory society that you can tinker with and change, just as it tries to manipulate you. —Oli Welsh

    Lies of P is available via Game Pass on Windows PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.

    Mass Effect Legendary Edition

    aiming at a Reaper ship in Mass Effect: Legendary Edition

    Image: BioWare/Electronic Arts

    The Mass Effect franchise was gigantic for the Xbox 360 era, but it didn’t transfer to future platforms well — purchasing and downloading the entire story became confusing and expensive when moving to the Xbox One and Xbox Series X. But 2021’s Legendary Edition finally made the entire Mass Effect trilogy accessible in one package.

    The story follows Commander Shepard, a futuristic military hero, who’s tasked with gathering a collection of alien misfits for a variety of missions. Each game is wonderfully crafted, with stand-alone stories and breakout characters that don’t rely on the series’ wider narrative. As a trilogy, the games build on each other with meaningful choices that carry over to the next entry, giving weight to your choices.

    The Legendary Edition is the way to experience Mass Effect, and it’s a must-play whether you’re on your first run to save the galaxy or your fifth. —Ryan Gilliam

    Mass Effect Legendary Edition is available via Game Pass on Windows PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X, but only for those that have Game Pass Ultimate.

    Party Animals

    A gorilla, pig, and corgi fling through the air in Party Animals

    Image: Recreate Games/Source Technology

    Look, it’s not rocket science. Sometimes you just want some truly dumb, violent nonsense to play with your friends, and fulfilling that need is just as important for a well-rounded subscription service like Game Pass as serving up expansive RPGs and intriguing indies. Party Animals is a multiplayer party brawler about cute critters knocking the stuffing out of each other. That’s it. It’s not Smash Bros., and nor does it pretend to be; it’s more like an aggressively cute Gang Beasts, or a Fall Guys that’s just about fighting. It’s a little slow, but that just makes it easier to revel in its soft-bellied slapstick. Turn your brain off and enjoy. —Oli Welsh

    Party Animals is available via Game Pass on Xbox One and Xbox Series X.

    Pentiment

    Screenshot of Andreas Maler in a boat surrounded by jesters from Obsidian Entertainment’s historical adventure-narrative RPG Pentiment.

    Image: Obsidian Entertainment/Xbox Game Studios

    Pentiment is the most immediately striking and recognizable game on this list. Inspired by the art of classic manuscripts, Pentiment sucks you into its beautifully designed version of 16th-century Europe, when books were still being written by hand in monasteries.

    You play as Andreas, a young artist looking to make his fortune in an ever-changing world. And as you explore a small village and the grounds surrounding it, and go to work drawing magnificent pictures in custom manuscripts, you’ll meet new people and further flesh out Andreas’ personality and background.

    The story will take you through murder, scandal, and a variety of other dramatic events in Andreas’ life. But the plot is secondary to the game’s incredible style and dialogue. —Ryan Gilliam

    Pentiment is available via Game Pass on Windows PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.

    Persona 4 Golden

    The main character of Persona 4 Golden glows with energy while wearing special eyeglasses

    Image: Atlus via Polygon

    Persona 4 Golden follows a boy who goes to stay with his uncle and cousin in a small Japanese town. But almost immediately after his arrival, a serial killer starts murdering civilians, all of which have an unknown thread connecting them.

    As with all Persona games, Persona 4 Golden allows you to play out your time in school, improving your character’s social stats and friendships before diving into dungeons to help further the plot. But the cast of characters in Persona 4 Golden is unlike any other in the series, offering some of the most memorable party members in any RPG.

    Now on Xbox, Persona 4 Golden looks wonderful and plays beautifully. It’s a smart turn-based RPG that’s loaded with conversations to be had and mysteries to solve. —Ryan Gilliam

    Persona 4 Golden is available via Game Pass on Windows PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.

    PowerWash Simulator

    PowerWash Simulator - someone is cleaning a red helicopter with a power washer.

    Image: FuturLab/Square Enix

    PowerWash Simulator is the perfect game to sit on your couch and space off to. As the name suggests, you’re a professional power washer, and your job is to use your washing tools to obliterate grease, grime, and goop off of vehicles, buildings, and even entire playgrounds.

    There are some minor upgrade and currency systems, but PowerWash Simulator mostly takes a minimalistic approach — you power wash stuff, no more, no less. Sure, you can take special jobs where you wash something wild like a Mars rover, but it’s really just about making things clean. And while it might sound like boring yard work, it’s actually quite meditative.

    Blasting the black film off of a colorful slide provided me with one of the biggest serotonin bursts I’ve gotten from any piece of media in years. It’s a delightful, peaceful game that never fails to relax me after a long week. —Ryan Gilliam

    PowerWash Simulator is available via Game Pass on Windows PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.

    Slay the Spire

    In Slay the Spire, I play as one of three unique characters, in order to fight my way through a randomly generated map filled with battles, treasure chests, and RPG-like encounters. Combat is similar to that of a turn-based RPG, but instead of selecting attacks and spells from a menu, I draw cards from each character’s specific pool of cards. These cards allow me to attack, defend, cast spells, or use special abilities. Each character has their own set of cards, making their play styles radically different.

    I also learned to buck my expectations for the kinds of decks I should build. The key to deck-building games is constructing a thematic deck where each card complements the others. In card games like Magic: The Gathering, this is easy enough to do, since you do all your planning before a match — not in the moment, like in Slay the Spire. Since I’m given a random set of cards to build a deck from at the end of each encounter, I can’t go into any run with a certain deck-building goal in mind. I have to quickly decide on long-term deck designs based on what cards are available to me after a battle. The trick with Slay the Spire is to think more creatively and proactively than the typical card game requires. —Jeff Ramos

    Slay the Spire is available via Game Pass on Windows PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.

    Stardew Valley

    A quiet farm in Stardew Valley. The field has several three by three grid plots of land, growing crops like radishes, kale, and strawberries.

    Image: ConcernedApe/Chucklefish

    Stardew Valley is quaint, but in the best way possible.

    You start the game by inheriting a farm from your grandfather, and you then move to a sleepy town to take over the diminishing acres. For the next 10, 20, 50, 100-plus hours, you work to turn that farm into a modern utopia.

    This is easily the most relaxing game on Game Pass. All you do is plant seeds, care for animals, mine some rocks, and befriend the villagers. There’s plenty of drama to be had — with the Wal-Mart-like JojaMart and an army of slimes trying to stop you from mining — but at the end of the day, you’re still going to pass out in your farmhouse and get ready to plant more strawberries the next morning. —Ryan Gilliam

    Stardew Valley is available via Game Pass on Windows PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.

    Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge

    Screenshot featuring Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, and Michelangelo fighting enemies in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge.

    Image: Tribute Games/Dotemu

    Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge is already a classic Turtles brawler. If you could’ve overheard a bunch of kids talking about their dream TMNT game while playing the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles arcade cabinet at a local pizza bar in 1989, or Turtles in Time in 1991, this is the Turtles game they’d be imagining.

    But over 30 years later, Shredder’s Revenge implements some features that distinguish it from the days of the coin operated arcade. There’s a world map, side-quests, new heroes, experience points, and online matchmaking that help modernize the throwback trappings. Shredder’s Revenge manages to balance itself nicely between the world of retro and revamp.

    With only 16 “episodes,” it’s the perfect Game Pass game to jump into with some pals at a sleepover — as long as there’s pizza, of course. —Ryan Gilliam

    Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge is available via Game Pass on Windows PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.

    The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim Special Edition

    A dark granite structure emerging from the snow on a distant mountain peak in The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim

    Image: Bethesda Game Studios/Bethesda Softworks

    The Elder Scrolls 5, better known as just Skyrim, is a classic. And while you can play it on almost any console or device known to humankind at this point, it’s still worth playing on Game Pass if you’ve never given it a chance, or are just craving another journey in its sprawling world.

    Like most Bethesda RPGs, Skyrim is a first-person game with a giant, living world. There are dungeons to crawl, stories to uncover, and a variety of guilds to join. But you can also go off the beaten path and discover your own fun in Skyrim — it rewards you for being curious. It’s the kind of Game Pass game that you can play for hundreds of hours and never get bored. —Ryan Gilliam

    The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim Special Edition is available via Game Pass on Windows PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.

    Vampire Survivors

    Vampire Survivors guide: Combinations and evolution chart

    Image: Poncle

    Vampire Survivors wants you to “become the bullet hell.”

    The only control you have over the game is what character you select, what items you choose during your run, and where your character moves. Depending on your weapons of choice, knives, whips, flames, magic bolts, bibles, or holy water fly out of your character in every direction, decimating hordes or pixelated movie monsters, earning you cash for your next adventure.

    Though extremely simple on its face, Vampire Survivors is one of the best games of 2022. It perfectly walks the line between peaceful and stressful, requiring the perfect amount of attention for success. It also facilitates growth through skill and through roguelite progression, ensuring that each run is a bit different from your last. —Ryan Gilliam

    Vampire Survivors is available via Game Pass on Windows PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.

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    Ryan Gilliam

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  • 5 short horror games to play this Halloween season

    5 short horror games to play this Halloween season

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    Halloween is nearly upon us, and what better way to prepare for the spookiest holiday of the year than to dive deep into the best stories the horror genre has to offer?

    We’ve got you covered if you’re looking for the best horror movies or horror TV to watch on Netflix (or the best horror movies generally). But what about video games? 2023 has been a terrific year for horror games so far, from modern remakes of classics like Resident Evil 4 and Dead Space to new titles like The Outlast Trials, Dredge, Amnesia: The Bunker, and more.

    We’ve pulled together a list of some of the best short horror games to play with only a few days left before Halloween. Whether you’re looking for a chilling psychological horror experience or frantic splatter-core nightmare, these are some of the best games to play this season.


    Helltown

    Developer: WildArts Studio
    Average time to play: 1h 30m
    Where to purchase: Steam, itch.io

    If you like folk horror movies like The Wicker Man and Enys Men, you’ll love Helltown. Developed by Nicolas Lamarche and Gabriel Bolduc Dufour, Helltown follows the story of a postman assigned to deliver packages to a secluded rural neighborhood called Little Vale. After their first day on the job, things quicky take a sinister turn as disturbing visions manifest into an insidious plot rife with demonic cultists and unspeakable horrors. An open-world horror exploration game, Helltown offers multiple endings and collectibles and is the perfect game for those who enjoy sinking into the unknown.

    No one lives under the lighthouse

    Developer: Marevo Collective
    Average time to play: 2h
    Where to purchase: Steam

    Fans of slow-burn psychological horror with oppressive atmospheres and an emphasis on strong sound design should definitely check out No one lives under the lighthouse. Much like Robert Eggers’ The Lighthouse, starring Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson, this game puts players in the role of a lighthouse keeper who assumes stewardship of a small island off the coast of the United States after the former keeper deserts their post. Unlike that aforementioned movie, you’re all alone; with no one else to keep you company as you tend the light of the tower and conduct chores around the island. Or are you?

    That Which Gave Chase

    Developer: Aslak Karlsen Hauglid
    Average time to play: 1h
    Where to purchase: Steam, itch.io

    In this experimental first-person horror game, players assume the role of a sled dog musher hired by a mysterious scientist to safely escort him across the frozen plains of the arctic to a remote research facility. Along the way, the pair encounter increasingly strange and disturbing phenomenon that calls into question the scientist’s motivations, if not the entire expedition as a whole. Can the scientist be trusted, and what’s up with all these strange visions?

    Mothered – A Role-Playing Horror Game

    Developer: Enigma Studio
    Average time to play: 2h
    Where to purchase: Steam, itch.io

    In this role-playing horror game (see the title?), you are Liana, a young girl recovering from a life-saving operation. Upon returning home, she awakes one morning expecting to meet her mother, only to instead be greeted by what appears to be a mannequin-like figure resembling her mother. What’s going on here? As the week wears on, Liana will have to unravel the mystery behind her peculiar situation before time runs out.

    The second game from Jamie Gavin, a Galway-based game developer who works under the pseudonym “Enigma Studio ‘’ alongside composer Karl Barnes, Mothered is the middle entry in a loose trilogy of games set to conclude this year with November’s Echostasis. If you enjoyed this one, you should definitely check out Mothered: Home — the “DLC sequel” is even available to play for free via the Haunted PS1 “Spectral Mall” Demo Disc.

    Stay Out of the House

    Developer: Puppet Combo
    Average time to play: 4h 30m
    Where to purchase: Steam

    Benedetto “Ben” Cocuzza is a game developer known for unique low-poly survival horror games inspired by ’80s VHS aesthetics and classic slasher horror movies. Taking cues from The Texas ChainSaw Massacre and The Hills Have Eyes, Stay Out of the House is a stealth game where players assume the role of a young woman kidnapped while on a road trip with her boyfriend across the border of Oklahoma. In order to escape, players will have to sneak their way through the maze-like interior of a masked madman’s dilapidated house without alerting either him or his deranged family members.

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    Toussaint Egan

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