Ghouls, monsters, cursed worlds, mysterious taverns, and things that go bump in the night. If the spooky season snuck up on you and you’re looking for a game to get you into the Halloween spirit, B.C.’s video game industry has you covered. Home to an impressive range of studios that burst with creativity, the province has produced everything from campy horror tributes and supernatural survival adventures to psychological mysteries and gothic role-playing epics. These titles provide spooky settings, dreadful tasks, mysteries to solve, and a healthy dose of dark humour, perfect for the season.
Slayaway Camp (Blue Wizard)
Blue Wizard’s 2016 game Slayaway Camp puts a tongue-in-cheek spin on classic 1980s slasher movies through its combination of recognizable horror storytelling and clever puzzle gameplay. Players navigate a series of increasingly complex isometric levels, sliding through maze-like environments and working around obstacles, police officers, and other hazards. Each level requires careful planning and logical thinking, with new mechanics introduced throughout more than 200 challenges, all in a retro homage packed with vintage horror flick references, over the top B-movie aesthetic, and plenty dark humour.
Crypt of the NecroDancer (Brace Yourself Games)
Crypt of the NecroDancer is a unique blend of rhythm game and roguelike dungeon crawler that turns every adventure into a musical challenge. Developed by Brace Yourself Games, players must explore procedurally generated crypts, battle monsters, and uncover treasure, all while moving and attacking in time with the beat of the soundtrack. Miss a beat, and you could find yourself in trouble as enemies continue their relentless march through the dungeon. As the title suggests, what sets the game apart is its infectious, acclaimed soundtrack and inventive gameplay. Each creature moves to its own rhythm, encouraging players to learn patterns, think strategically, and keep pace with the music. With a variety of playable characters and near-endless replayability thanks to randomized levels, Crypt of the NecroDancer is an engaging adventure brimming with energy, challenge, and style.
Don’t Starve (Klei Entertainment)
Don’t Starve – Klei Entertainment
Equal parts survival challenge and gothic fantasy, Don’t Starve throws players into a mysterious wilderness where resources are scarce, danger lurks around every corner, and survival is never guaranteed. The game follows scientist Wilson as he navigates a strange world filled with eccentric creatures, supernatural threats, and endless opportunities for discovery. Rather than guiding players every step of the way, Don’t Starve encourages experimentation and resilience. Gathering resources, crafting tools, and managing hunger, health, and sanity are all essential to making it through another day. Its distinctive hand-drawn art style, Tim Burton-inspired aesthetic, and procedurally generated worlds create an experience that feels both whimsical and unnerving.
Space Tyrant (Blue Wizard)
A darkly humorous strategy game, Space Tyrant puts a villainous twist on the classic 4X formula. Also by Blue Wizard, the game casts players as an aspiring galactic overlord, tasked with building fleets, conquering star systems, and outmanoeuvring rival powers in a race for interstellar dominance. The game’s sci-fi villainy combines empire-building, exploration, and tactical decision-making. Random events, unlockable abilities, and roguelike progression ensure that no two campaigns feel exactly the same. A humorous strategy game, Space Tyrant is fast-paced, accessible, and a “bad guy” game perfect for the spooky season.
The Hex (Daniel Mullins Games)
The Hex – Daniel Mullins Games
A murder mystery, a genre-hopping adventure, and a meditation on video games all at once, The Hex is unusual, clever, and unsettling. The game begins in a seemingly ordinary tavern where six former video game protagonists gather after receiving a chilling warning: one of them will commit a murder before the night is over. Unravelling the mystery means stepping into each character’s past and experiencing the game worlds they once inhabited.
What follows is a constantly surprising journey through multiple genres, from platformers and shooters to adventure games and puzzle sequences. As the stories unfold, the boundaries between the characters, their games, and reality itself begin to blur in increasingly strange ways, an excellent Halloween pick if you enjoy mysteries and psychologically twists more than traditional jump scares.
Inscryption (Daniel Mullins Games)
Inscryption – Daniel Mullins Games
A genre-defying horror game that combines deck-building strategy, roguelike progression, and escape-room-style puzzles into a deeply atmospheric experience. Players find themselves trapped in a shadowy cabin, facing off against a mysterious gamemaster in a series of tense card battles where every decision can mean the difference between victory and defeat. As you build your deck and uncover new cards, the game’s unsettling world gradually reveals itself through hidden clues and unexpected twists.
While its card battles are engaging in their own right, Inscryption truly stands out for its layered storytelling and sense of mystery. What begins as a dark card game soon transforms into something much stranger, blending puzzle-solving, psychological horror, and metafictional surprises in ways that continually upend expectations. Inscryption is stylish, inventive, and impossible to predict.
Darkest Dungeon (Red Hook Games)
Darkest Dungeon – Red Hook Games
If you’re looking for a game that captures the feeling of creeping dread, Darkest Dungeon delivers in spades with its distinctive art style, atmospheric narration, and unforgiving gameplay. Set in a world of crumbling manors, cursed ruins, and eldritch horrors, the game challenges players to assemble a team of heroes and venture into dangerous dungeons where every expedition carries meaningful risk. Rather than focusing solely on winning battles, Darkest Dungeon asks players to manage the emotional strain of adventuring. Stress, fear, and adversity can be just as dangerous as the monsters themselves, creating a tense and memorable experience.
The magic of Halloween is incomplete without stepping into another world for a while. Whether through atmosphere, storytelling, or gameplay, these B.C.-made titles each tap into that feeling in their own way, offering plenty to explore as October draws to a close.
Cover image: Darkest Dungeon (Red Hook Games)
