Halloween Gaming 2026
Every year I try to do a little bit of gaming specifically tied to the Halloween season. Usually this consists of retro games that fit the theme, and this year is certainly no different, but I’ve been playing or plan to play a handful of newer titles, and some newer indie games as well. So without further adieu, here’s what’s been on my Halloween gaming playlist so far!
Creature Kitchen Itch.io, Steam page
This is my favorite of the bunch, by far! It’s a a cozy/creepy indie game, and I found it infinitely charming. My wife and I played through this over the course of two nights, and were left dying for more, but so far there’s really nothing else that plays quite like it. In this game you find yourself in charge of a small house in a spooky woods. There’s ghosts, cryptids, raccoons, ravens and more that show up, and it’s up to you to figure out what they want, then cook it for them and serve it. There’s a log book in the kitchen, and if you use the Polaroid camera to snap a photo of a creature, the log book will fill in with information about them and what kinds of things they like to eat. You’ll need to find recipe cards in order to know how to make things, and once you find a type of ingredient it will be forever stocked in the fridge or haunted pantry.
There’s a puzzle element to the game in that most places around the house are locked, and only after satisfying the characters you have access to will they drop you a key that will unlock a door leading to more recipes, ingredients and creatures. It’s a simple game cycle that kept me hooked all the way through. The graphics are extremely charming, with PS1 style graphics and a great art style, all the creatures and cryptids look fantastic and everything has a charming yet mildly creepy vibe to it. It’s on Steam and Itch.io and I highly recommend checking it out.
Frankenstein The Monster Returns (NES)
This came from a blog post I found from Rabid Rodent, who made a pretty great list of Halloween NES recommendations. https://rabidrodent.neocities.org/article/halloween-nes/ I’d never heard of this Frankenstein game, or at least it had never really registered with me, but after reading that it was kind of Castlevania-esque, I decided to give it a try. I played it all the way through, but with heavy use of save states, because when Rabid Rodent said this game was “absurdly difficult” he was not overstating things. They really seem to want to punish you in this game, I can’t imagine using the sparse checkpoint and limited continue system they have here and getting very far without needing to bang my head in frustration.
But if the absurd difficulty doesn’t put you off, it’s got great atmosphere as you cut down lots of monsters as you try to rescue Emily from the clutches of Frankenstein. I always love finding some new NES games I haven’t tried before, and was pleasantly surprised at how good this game looked and played, even if it seemed to actively hate me.
Vacant https://doublecrow.itch.io/vacant
Vacant is a short, free, creepy point and click adventure you can play in your browser, or download. You play as a young girl subbing in as a cameraman for a YouTuber’s paranormal investigation show. The two of you are exploring an abandoned hotel in the middle of nowhere, where years before a large group of people mysteriously went missing with no clue as to where or why. If you’re in the mood for a short, creepy tale, this is pretty good. There’s no puzzles to solve, you’re really just wandering around exploring. It’s only about 30 or 40 minutes to play through, so a nice Halloween snack kind of game! I came across this game and a few other indie titles from a blog post recommending them, but I can’t seem to find it now. I’ll update this post if I come across it!
Blackout https://freshgames.itch.io/blackout
Look at this, another short, free, atmospheric point and click adventure! This game can also be played in your browser or downloaded. You play as a girl who wakes up on the deck of a house with no memory, but when you go inside, a party seems to have turned dark and deadly. The art style has a nice cartoony look to it, it reminds me a bit of a Lucasarts style game. This game has puzzles to solve and an inventory of things to collect, but nothing is very complicated or hard, just enough to make you think of what you should use where. There’s a few fun story twists near the end, too. Once again, this game takes around a half our or 40 minutes, so an easy one to fit in to your Halloween celebrations.
Residen Evil Requiem
I haven’t played a Resident Evil that is new in a REALLY long time. Like, I had a pre-order for Resident Evil 4 on Gamecube, and that might be the last one I played when it released! But for Halloween my wife and I sat down with the demo for Requiem, and man was that thing scary but really fun! So when it went on sale recently, I picked it up for Switch 2! We’re super early on, I mean we’re just getting to the part the demo covered, but I’m really looking forward to it!