October has just arrived, and the Halloween celebrations are already underway. The spooky season is the perfect time for fans of all-things scary to indulge in horror to their heart’s content. From watching horror movies every night to making friends with the local ghosts, October is a great time to participate in your favorite frightening festivities.
Unfortunately for others, some Halloween experiences can be too intense to enjoy or off-limits for various reasons. I watch horror all-year-round (shoutout to Suspiria and Midsommar) and love celebrating Halloween with my friends, but I grew up in a family that always banned the holiday. The most horror I ever experienced until High School was a fleeting experience with Luigi’s Mansion on the GameCube (that crying baby left me scarred for years).
Even if you don’t celebrate Halloween or enjoy scary things, you don’t have to feel left out during the spooky season. For those that want a way to participate, here is a list of 9 Nintendo Switch games that fit the mood of the month without being too terrifying in its themes. No jump scares, no excessive gore – just memorable times in mysterious places.
Thumper
Thumper continues to be one of the most original experiences I have ever had in video games. On the surface, it’s another rhythm game where you time your actions to the indicators that appear on the screen. That might not sound all too unique, but it’s everything surrounding these simple mechanics that elevate the experience to a whole new level.
You play as a silver beetle bound by a track that’s perpetually traveling forward into an ominous dark void. Ominous barriers and enemies that litter the tracks serve as your rhythm indicators. As you time your actions to these obstacles, your movements amplify the industrial soundtrack of the levels with hard-hitting clangs, whizzing turns, and fluttering wings. All of this “rhythm violence” is wrapped up in a mesmerizingly abstract and psychedelic presentation.
Thumper is one of my favorite video games of all time (and the only 10 I’ve ever given since I started writing for NinMobileNews). It’s an immersive experience front-to-back thanks to its trippy presentation and challenging gameplay. Its unnerving atmosphere and mysterious premise make it a definite fit for this not-so-scary list. Read our full review of Thumper here.
Slay The Spire
Of all the games I’ve purchased this year, Slay The Spire continues to be the one I revisit the most. It’s a singleplayer card game that mixes roguelike elements to create an effortlessly addictive deck-building experience. I’ve played Hearthstone for years, and the last thing I ever wanted to do in that game is to build a deck from scratch. Slay The Spire‘s continuous deckbuilding, delightful relic system, and exciting class abilities make this a super addictive title.
Aside from the game’s fantastic gameplay, Slay The Spire excels at crafting a world that breeds curiosity. Who are these mysterious heroes? Why do all these creatures inhabit this mysterious tower? Why are we trying to defeat the monsters occupying the highest levels? What is the “spire” anyway? You might get some answers, but the mystery never truly ends.
Slay The Spire is an enjoyable card game, and one of my favorite Switch titles of the year. Its mysterious environments and unique creatures make it a wonderful experience that perfectly complements the curious nature of the spooky season.
INSIDE
INSIDE is on this list because of its fantastic ability to immerse players in its oppressive and unnerving world. It follows the story of a mysterious boy who breaks into a heavily surveilled factory for seemingly no reason. Once inside, the boy discovers a set of deeply troubling circumstances. Something horribly wrong is happening, and you can’t help but root for this boy to escape.
Unlike LIMBO‘s horror-focused elements, INSIDE’s Orwellian themes and scripted set-pieces make it more of a thriller in my mind. Playdead makes their games as immersive as possible by not including any form of UI, text, or dialogue in their experiences. INSIDE is made even more unsettling by the game’s sparing use of color throughout its various levels. There is so much effort invested in ensuring that INSIDE’s atmosphere and environments are captivating from start to finish.
INSIDE seeks to stick with you long after you’ve reached the game’s end. Its linear and short nature makes it a great game to play in one sitting. INSIDE was one of my favorite Switch titles of last year, and you can read our full review of the game here.
Review Copy Provided by Playdead
Oxenfree
Part of the appeal of some horror films is watching the characters make decisions to escape whatever nightmare is unfolding on screen. Oxenfree follows the story of a group of teenagers hanging out on a remote island when things take a turn for the worse. To its benefit, Oxenfree is more than just your average “haunted” island story. Strange things are happening here, and it doesn’t take long for reality to shift and not appear as it seems.
Oxenfree is a fun spooky story, even though it can take itself a little too seriously. Some characters can be annoying, too. Thankfully, the main character is so well-written and charming that I wanted to see the entire adventure to the end. Oxenfree has its fair share of eerie environments, supernatural elements, and an ongoing mystery that piqued my interest even more.
I remember playing it for the first time with a dear friend, and eventually buying it for myself off the Nintendo eShop because I found the art style so delightful. I had a good time with Oxenfree, and I think about my time with it fondly despite its issues. Oxenfree fits this list quite well as the cheesy, but not scary, “horror” game to enjoy.
Little Inferno
Out of all the strange games the developers at Tomorrow Corporation have created, Little Inferno stands out as the oddest. At first glance, it’s a fun little game about buying things and burning them in a fireplace. It doesn’t take long to realize that this game is a not-so-subtle criticism of the unfulfilling void that is constant consumerism.
Little Inferno lands on this list because it’s pretty creepy. Other than the fact that you spend the majority of your time making combos out of the things you burn, the catalogs you can purchase from are unnerving on their own. From the “Totally Recalled Toys” to the “Existence, Now” catalogs, there’s plenty of freaky products to buy and burn for fun.
It’s a neat little game with an interesting underlying story. I remember buying Little Inferno on a whim and completely losing myself for hours. Its uncanny elements make it a great addition to this not-so-scary list.
Hollow Knight
Hollow Knight is a fantastic Metroidvania that excels at creating an incredibly realized world with meaningful characters and thoughtful set-pieces. Once you get the hang of exploring the labyrinthian halls and platforms of Hallownest, the game does a fantastic job of compelling you to keep exploring everything about its unusual world.
Hollow Knight features a hand-drawn art style with a thematic consistency in its colors, atmosphere, and environments. It isn’t exactly creepy, but there’s a real sense of wonder in exploring the many areas hidden deep inside Hallownest. Along the way, you’ll meet plenty of adorable and unique characters that leave an impact on your adventure.
Hollow Knight‘s eerie aesthetic and fascinating world make it a perfect game to get wrapped up in during the spooky season. It’s already a fantastic game (with the Silksong expansion already announced!) and a great fit for the Halloween season.
Severed
Out of all the games on this list, Severed might be the most colorful and vibrant of the lot. Just because something is vivid doesn’t mean it can’t fit the dark and moody themes of the spooky season, though. Severed follows the story of a young girl, Sasha, who finds herself in a haunted alternate reality where her family has gone missing. Sasha meets with mysterious creatures who aid her along her journey to save her family and escape this evil parallel world.
Severed might be a fun touch-based first-person dungeon crawler, but it also grapples with serious themes of death and loneliness. Severed addresses these themes subtly and respectfully, giving the experience a more meaningful impression. These topics are visited while you crawl through dark and dangerous dungeons inhabited by heinous monsters. Fighting these uniquely-designed monsters is a blast.
I’m usually not a fan of touch-based combat, but Severed manages to make it an enjoyable experience thanks to its unique combat mechanics and upgrade system. Severed’s vibrantly creepy environments, unique enemies, and heavy themes make it a special experience that I think fits well on this list. You can read our full review of Severed here.
Review Copy Provided by Drinkbox Studios
Happy Halloween!
You can enjoy the spooky season without being spooked. Each one of these games is great, and I would recommend each one of them regardless of the season. What did you think of the list? What are some not-so-scary games you would add? Leave your replies in the comments.
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