Halloween is on its way, so if you plan on going out and still need a costume, there are only 5 days left! 😱 As for me, I’ll be staying in and enjoying some candy while watching Halloween classics and gaming. There are several Nintendo Switch games that I think are suitable for celebrating Halloween, and I’ll be listing them here. Most of them are more cute than scary, but I’ll try to include some more macabre options here and there. 👻
Animal Crossing: New Horizons
The Animal Crossing series has always had adorably fun holiday events linked to our calendars in real time. The Halloween event has apparently started already, but there’s still time for you to get in on the fun! Unlock recipes and purchase candy & costumes every day until the 31st, which is when you can distribute candy to the villagers (5 PM to 12 AM). In exchange for the candy you provide, villagers will give you spooky themed items and recipes!
Dragon Caffi
Personally, I’m not too into the horror themes of Halloween, and much prefer the costumes and candy part. We reviewed Dragon Caffi a while back, which is a game full of delicious sweets! You go around helping people, and they’ll give you mouthwatering recipes as a reward. Eating store-bought candy is great, but maybe you’ll be inspired by the beautifully drawn desserts in Dragon Caffi and make your own! The game is only $7.99 USD (currently on sale for $6.39) and I think it’s definitely worth playing. 🥰
Ooblets
I just started to play Ooblets the other day, a game where you collect adorable creatures and have them participate in dance-offs instead of battles. The game’s Halloween event has already started and will last until November 15th. You’ll need to pick up the free pumpkin bucket in front of the Town Hall and equip it under the clothing tab to start collecting candy. Every day you can get candy from the people in Badgetown if you have the bucket equipped. Unlike Animal Crossing, time in the game doesn’t correspond with the real world, so you can probably get enough candy to exchange for all of the adorable Halloween costumes and decorations before the event expires. 🎃
Beacon Pines
Beacon Pines is another great game we’ve reviewed, and the mysterious events that occur in the town of Beacon Pines may put you in the right mindset for a spooky Halloween. With gorgeous art and fantastically voiced narration, the game tells the story of a boy named Luka, whose mother has vanished. When he investigates the strange incidents with his best friend, they discover that the town’s secrets may put them in danger. Things will almost certainly go wrong for Luka and his friends, but branching storylines will allow you to change their fate – hopefully for the better.
Spiritfarer
From what I understand, some believe that this time of year is when the barrier between the human and spirit worlds is weakest, allowing spirits to “cross through the veil” and come to our world. In Spiritfarer, you play as a ferrymaster – a Spiritfarer – that will care for spirits and befriend them before ultimately releasing them to the afterlife. There are several major content updates that have been added to this “cozy management game about dying,” and I’ve heard a lot of great things about it.
Wytchwood
Wytchwood is another game we’ve reviewed, and this story isn’t quite as cozy. You play as a witch who has lost their memories and all of the recipes in their grimoire. To get them back, you’ll have to make a deal with the devil goat and gather a dozen souls for them. Relearn the recipes that belong in the grimoire, gather ingredients, and craft items that will aid you in your quest. The witch is a morally ambiguous protagonist, and will help some people while harming others to get their way. Trouble is…brewing…so be prepared…
Ghost Parade
Ghost Parade was one of the many great games mentioned in our Indonesian Switch games article a while back. A little girl wanders into an eerie forest and gets lost. She becomes involved in a supernatural battle to save the forest and its ghostly inhabitants. Befriending 30 spirits inspired by Indonesian mythology, the girl will use each of their special abilities to navigate the forest. The game is a challenging platformer that may make you shriek like a banshee when you mess up, but when you do well I’m sure you’ll be in high…spirits. 👻 😉
Cozy Grove
Cozy Grove is a simulation game where you play as a Spirit Scout who has just arrived on a haunted island. There are spirits on the island who will ask you to complete requests for them. Time in Cozy Grove corresponds with time in the real world, and the game allows you to play it in short bursts every day with limited quests. You can also find and collect spirit animals, craft decorations for your shelter, and go fishing! The Fall Festival event provides you with the opportunity to acquire fall themed clothing and decorations, and it lasts from October 20th to the 31st. 🍁
Strange Horticulture
We have also reviewed Strange Horticulture, a game with occult themes in which you’ve inherited a plant shop. As you are new to the plant world and you were left with an incomplete plant encyclopedia, you’ll have to use the clues people provide to locate new plants on the map. Customers will come in and request specific plants by name or by describing it. You’ll need to choose the right plants to keep clients happy. While you work on your shop and learn more about your plants, there are murders with occult influences happening all around you. Your ability to solve puzzles and brew the right elixir with your plants may determine which ending you get. This mystery could be a…thorn…in your side, but I believe you can rose rise to the occasion!
Howloween Hero
Currently on sale for $4.99 USD, the recently released Howloween Hero looks like a cute and fun game to pass the time with on Halloween. Play as a puppy who wants to paw-ticipate participate in trick or treating. Choose your canine’s costume and find even more outfits for the little scamp as you run around the neighborhood begging for candy. Halloween can be a “heckin’ good” time, but be careful – rumors of a monster stealing children’s hard-earned candy are going around. Find out if those rumors are true, or if people are…barking…up the wrong tree. 🐶
Luigi’s Mansion 3
Mario and Luigi can surely use a vacation (rescuing a princess is hard work!), but when they arrive at the Last Resort Hotel, Luigi finds himself alone when Mario and his friends vanish. Help Luigi get some good exorcise exercise as he climbs each floor of this towering menace of a hotel and removes its ghosts. You can alternate between Luigi and his counterpart Gooigi in single player, or you can have a friend play as Gooigi in two-player co-op mode! Besides the hotel, the game also has an attraction known as the ScareScraper, which allows for eight players to participate in local or online co-op gameplay! Without the help of some friends, Luigi may not stand a…ghost…of a chance! 👻
Absolute Tactics: Daughters of Mercy
Absolute Tactics: Daughter of Mercy is a rather gruesome turn-based tactics RPG that we reviewed last month. It’s full of gore and has some creepy antagonists for you to face. Outside of the regular story missions, there are also some optional missions in which you can grind and acquire special items. There are multiple difficulty levels, including one where you need to outrun the Grim Reaper in each stage. If you want a challenge, choose that mode, or the separate “survival mode” where you must defeat as many waves of enemies as you can until you’re overrun. It’s a dark game that may work well for those looking for a bloodier tactics game to play on Halloween.
OBAKEIDORO!
Starting today, players who subscribe to Nintendo Switch Online can play a free trial of OBAKEIDORO! through November 1st. It’s another game option with multiplayer – up to four players can enjoy it together. Gameplay involves a monster chasing humans around; apparently, you can choose to play as the monster or as one of the humans. Each match has a three minute timeframe in which the humans have to work together to escape from the monster. Regardless of which side you’re on, there are skills that you can use to help you win the match. For some additional content, check out the DLC options. Most of them cost money, but there’s a Castlevania Collaboration DLC that’s free. And OBAKEIDORO! will also be on sale for 50% off ($9.99) until November 14th, so you may want to check it out for some inexpensive family fun!
Pokémon Battles!
Finally, for some good wholesome fun on Halloween, you may enjoy battling your friends and family using all ghost-type teams of Pokémon. Maybe next Halloween you can even use the recently revealed ghost Pokémon, Greavard, who will appear in Pokémon Violet/Scarlet:
If you want to take a break from gaming, check out the Pokémon website’s pumpkin carving patterns! Whether you game or not, I hope you all have a Happy (and safe!) Halloween! 🎃👻🍬
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