Spooky Switch games thread

[bellydrum]

It's October. The air is brisk, the leaves are turning brown, and Luigi is considerably jumpier than normal.

What are some of your favorite spooky games to play around this time of year? I'll start with a few.


Luigi's Mansion 3




After a challenging first playthrough in late 2019 (some of those puzzles, man), my fondness for the game grew in retrospect. The game makes me genuinely laugh. It also perfectly encapsulates the experience of visiting a haunted house - will something jump out at me if I pull back this curtain? Is this weirdly empty wall hiding a secret door? Did that T.rex skeleton... move?

While my initial playthrough was challenging, I've found myself feeling the desire to revisit it. Tonight my SO and I got comfy while I settled into a new playthrough purely out of nostalgia.


Hollow Knight




As close to a perfect game as I've ever played, next to Bloodborne. This is one of the most atmospheric and immersive experiences you can have on the Switch, from the crushing suffocating tunnels of Deepnest, to the lush, verdant mosses of Greenpath.

What about you, fami? Do you feel a pull towards any particular game this time of year?

 

[Rowsdower]

At some point I’m going to start my copy of Resident Evil: Revelations 2.

 

[bellydrum]

At some point I’m going to start my copy of Resident Evil: Revelations 2.

Wow, I totally forgot I had that. I should redownload it and actually play it this time.

 

[Mr_No_U]

Alien Isolation is fantastic on Switch

 

[FossilPhantom]

I just played through Famicom Detective Club: The Girl Who Stands Behind. It was great to start October with a Ghost Story/Murder Mystery. I played through The Missing Heir when it first launched, and both games are great if not a little obtuse. I definitely recommend them!

 

[Mr_No_U]

Spoopy

 

[Tanooki]

The Child’s Sight is one of the most discomforting games I’ve played. I can’t attest to how long it is, since I’ve never been able to push myself to make it very far, but I’m fairly certain it’s only a short journey. Essentially it has you playing the role of a child in a crib at night, and there is some sort of evil entity in your room. You have to try to close your eyes long enough to fill a sleep meter, but there are several events (ie. turn on the light when you hear the closet door open, turn off the light when you hear your dad walking down the hall) that you need to solve in a timely manner. Every level takes place in the same area, but introduces a new element to the puzzle that makes it harder to fall asleep.

Play this in the dark at night, and it’s sooo unsettling. You never want to open your eyes when you hear the monster come in.. but you need to if you want to survive.

Resident Evil 4 is another game I found really unsettling. No matter how many times I play it through, I always take pause whenever I hear the zealots but don’t see them anywhere. The game has really good sound design, which helps creates such a hostile, unwelcoming atmosphere.

 

[parasite2]

Alien Isolation is fantastic on Switch

Ahh you beat me, I came here to say this. Please everyone play Alien Isolation, it's an amazing port of a great game. Very underrated game.

According to Digital Foundry the image quality is better on Switch than Playstation

 

[eli]

On the account of spooky:

Little Nightmares: Complete Edition and Little Nightmares II

The first one is a very good game, I haven't got around finishing the 2nd one yet but what I played is also fantastic.

I can vouch for Alien Isolation.

 

[Skittzo]

The Child’s Sight is one of the most discomforting games I’ve played. I can’t attest to how long it is, since I’ve never been able to push myself to make it very far, but I’m fairly certain it’s only a short journey. Essentially it has you playing the role of a child in a crib at night, and there is some sort of evil entity in your room. You have to try to close your eyes long enough to fill a sleep meter, but there are several events (ie. turn on the light when you hear the closet door open, turn off the light when you hear your dad walking down the hall) that you need to solve in a timely manner. Every level takes place in the same area, but introduces a new element to the puzzle that makes it harder to fall asleep.

Play this in the dark at night, and it’s sooo unsettling. You never want to open your eyes when you hear the monster come in.. but you need to if you want to survive.

Resident Evil 4 is another game I found really unsettling. No matter how many times I play it through, I always take pause whenever I hear the zealots but don’t see them anywhere. The game has really good sound design, which helps creates such a hostile, unwelcoming atmosphere.

Hooooly shit that sounds right up my alley. And it's $2 right now, done!

I also tried Among the Sleep which has you taking the role of a toddler but haven't had much time yet on that one. It's very, very creepy though.

 

[Pineapple Pizza]

Detention is a unique, atmospheric horror game heavily influenced by Taiwanese/East Asian culture, religious elements and mythology. Based on 1960s Taiwan under martial law, in this 2D, atmospheric horror side-scroller, the player controls characters who venture into a school beset by hostile supernatural events, to uncover stories behind the haunted place. The game features unique graphics and gaming experiences.

 

[ITSMILNER]

I picked up the Amnesia collection on Switch for really cheap last time it was on sale so I may give that a go.

 

[Skittzo]

Anyone picking up Fatal Frame 5? I've never actually played one of these but I'm almost definitely getting this.

 

[Tendo]

Not exactly spooky but Blasphemous is on sale right now for 9 bucks in the us shop and has a great gothic horror vibe. The color pallette also often reminds me of cold fall days. And the game is awesome.

 

[A. G. Cook]

Super Castlevania IV has always been that game I go back to during spooky season. While the initial release in Japan was on October 31, 1991, I didn't play the game until December of 1991 for the US release. It was a Christmas gift that year and one of my very first SNES games. Coming into this entry of the series as a fan of the NES games, I knew what to expect out of Castlevania, but I didn't quite expect to the level the quality to make such a huge jump. The art style, the atmosphere and the music are crafted so incredibly well and come together in such a polished package, it's hard to deny that a lot of love was put into this product. While SCIV is essentially a remake of the first game, at the time that didn't even enter my mind. I was a young kid just enthralled by this epic, gothic adventure.

I still consider Super Castlevania IV one of the greatest games ever made, with an amazing original soundtrack that has aged incredibly well. The feelings that come rushing back to me of my childhood and nostalgia for this game anytime I play it or listen to the music are intense, and I'm glad I was able to experience this game on release.

I just finished an annual October play through of the game, something I've been doing regularly since 2008. Before then, I would play it at least once year but never during spooky season. Seems only fitting and it still keeps that connection with my childhood alive. I can't believe this year is the 30th Anniversary, seems like only yesterday I was tearing off the plastic wrap on that cardboard box and inserting that big grey cartridge into my fairly new next generation system. If you haven't played it before or looking to jump back in, it's available on Switch through the first Castlevania Collection, which is a steal at $20.

Super Castlevania IV OST (via Internet Archive)​

 

[Chimpychi]

Has there been any update to Happy Game?

 

[Clix]

Ahh you beat me, I came here to say this. Please everyone play Alien Isolation, it's an amazing port of a great game. Very underrated game.

According to Digital Foundry the image quality is better on Switch than Playstation

I really want to play this game as Alien is one of my favorite movies. But I can’t. I think I will poop my pantalones.

 

[Lampa]

Now that Corpse Party is getting a western release, that might be a good one too.

Other than that, Raging Loop.

 

[Kitty Paws]

I second Raging Loop.

Speaking of visual novels, I also strongly recommend Death Mark, a horror VN with some adventure elements that has a great unsettling atmosphere, as well as wonderfully creepy environments (the school <3) and ghost/monster designs, along with a mysterious and engaging plot.

Its sequel, NG, is also very good.

 

[juuso]

Oxenfree should count, right? It's also just a brilliant game I'd recommend anyway.

 

[Waluigilicious]

Perhaps not spooky in the traditional sense, but I'd love to give indie games Little Inferno, Human Resource Machine, 7 Billion Humans and Binding of Isaac a shout.

 

[bellydrum]

Oxenfree should count, right? It's also just a brilliant game I'd recommend anyway.

Oxenfree is totakly a spooky game! My SO and I just beat it earlier this year. It's short, but really good.

 

[Lampa]

Oxenfree should count, right? It's also just a brilliant game I'd recommend anyway.

Ohh absolutely, one of the best storytellings and atmospheres in a game. Can't wait for the sequel, going to be my new bed time Switch game.

 

[dingbat]

Paratopic is a great little game with a concise runtime. Not very pricy either. Definitely recommend for a pleasantly unsettling hour to hour and a half.

 

[Argot]

Please purchase Famicom Detective Club: The Girl Who Stands Behind on the Nintendo eShop

 

[Twinsen]

Please purchase Famicom Detective Club: The Girl Who Stands Behind on the Nintendo eShop

I will

 

[Pandora]

Please purchase Famicom Detective Club: The Girl Who Stands Behind on the Nintendo eShop

I was genuinely surprised at how spooky feeling it is and the air that game had, the missing heir less so than it but still another good recommendation. Really felt after playing them it would add a lot to nintendo's line up of titles if they pursued a new one with this tone. sidenote, nice avatar btw.

 

[Mina]

FDC: The Girl Who Stands Behind is legit a fantastic recommendation for a spooky game. I was legitimately unnerved by it a few times. The titular mystery is really intriguing.

Then after you play that buy The Missing Heir too. Not for October, but because it’s also great.