I'm playing some spooky games for Halloween and giving away games for each one I finish with.

Halloween is around the corner, and I've accumulated a handful of indie horror games through giveaway wins and bundles. Choose which one I should play! I'll start from the top of the list this weekend and work my way down.

EDIT: I am playing the whole list, top to bottom, in voting order. I'm also adding two spooky game giveaways for each game I finish with!

Beat Rise of Insanity: Monstrum (Level 2+)
Beat Rise of Insanity: The Coma: Recut (Level 2+)

Beat BAD END: Neverending Nightmares (Level 2+)
Beat BAD END: The Last Door - Collector's Edition (Level 2+)

Put Inner Chains on hiatus: Dead Alliance (Multiplayer Edition + Full Game Upgrade) (Level 2+)
Put Inner Chains on hiatus: Husk (Level 2+)

Put Stairs on hiatus: Dead Age (No Level Restriction)
Put Stairs on hiatus: The Works of Mercy (No Level Restriction)

DNF'd Husk: Inner Chains (Level 2+)
DNF'd Husk: The Padre (Level 2+)

Beat Insert Paper: This Strange Realm of Mine (Level 2+)
Beat Insert Paper: Omen Exitio: Plague (Level 2+)

Beat My Bones Remastered: STASIS (No Level Restriction)
Beat My Bones Remastered: The Charnel House Trilogy (No Level Restriction)

Beat Without Escape: White Noise Online (Level 2+)
Beat Without Escape: House Number 666 (No Level Restriction)

Update 1: Rise of Insanity

So I started earlier than this weekend and went ahead and played through the first game: Rise of Insanity. It was spooky and had some quality jump scares, so basically exactly what I wanted when I made this list. The writing was serviceable (though it's clear the subtitles and voice acting used completely different scripts), and I saw the ending coming a mile away. Still it was worth a playthrough. The environments looked nice, and I always give bonus points to games with native Linux releases. Verdict: 👍

Update 2: BAD END

A VN about a VN, where the character in your VN dies if he makes the wrong choices in the VN he plays. A neat little mystery, but not scary in the slightest. Enjoyable if you want a short mystery VN. Verdict: 👍

Update 3: Inner Chains

I'm putting this one on hiatus on account of technical issues. I'm playing the game on a Linux computer through Steam's Proton compatibility layer, and unfortunately it doesn't work perfectly with all games (yet!). The cutscenes in this game do not play, so I'm skipping it for now since I don't want to play an incomplete version of it. I still put up giveaways though!

Update 4: Stairs

I played for a good 45 minutes and really liked what I played, but the game is buggy. It initially didn't save correctly and I had to restart the game from the beginning after my first break, which is a huge turn-off (and makes me save-anxious for the rest of the playthrough). It also didn't trigger some stuff in the second area (e.g. the photo sidequests). It's hard to know if these issues are from the game itself or because I was running it on Linux, but reviews point to the former. I'm moving on from this even though I thought it was off to a nice slow-burn start with its story. Much more atmospheric and less jump-scare reliant than others. I'll probably come back to it once Proton/the game has had more time to cook.

Update 5: Husk

I really wanted to like this one. I thought the environmental design was really nice, with lots of models and detail. The whole thing had a Silent Hill feel to it. I'm also enjoy walking simulators, which this game very much feels like (with some rudimentary interaction and combat). Unfortunately, the game was an exercise in tedium. Sneaking is bad, combat is bad, the levels are all linear and railroaded so it feels like you're just moving along the predefined path. At the beginning this was fine, but it starts to drag this out and then get mazey with its level design. There's a hazy maze cave section that's ultra-tedious, followed by a shipping container maze, then a factory maze, at which point I stopped playing. I wanted to like this, but unfortunately it was more tedious than fun. Verdict: 👎

Update 6: Insert Paper

Turns out this one isn't really horror, at least not in the traditional sense. It's an experimental walking simulator. I didn't love it, but it was short, and I'll give it points for concept. Verdict: 👍

Update 7: My Bones Remastered

Pretty graphics, very short, mostly incomprehensible story, with a sincere message from the dev at the end. I feel bad giving this a thumbs down given that it's clearly a labor of love from a single dev (who clearly has some environmental design skills), but there's not a whole lot there. My two playthroughs (to see the different outcomes of the choice) took 15 minutes total. Verdict: 👎

Update 8: Without Escape

Not overt horror, more atmospheric spookiness. I liked the graphics, but the puzzles were non-sensical and the story was odd and unfulfilling. I used a guide at several points and was glad that I did. Verdict: 👎