Gamertell

It’s October, which mean video game publishers are making sure that any spooky or Halloween-themed games they have are ready to make their debut. While horror games, or games with spooky themes and characters, aren’t unusual, there tends to be a surge in their release as October draws near. After all, we saw Dead Space Extraction (Wii) and Undead Knights (PSP) both make their debut on September 29, 2009.

It makes sense, if you think about it. If you don’t have plans to attend a party or attempt trick-or-treating on October 31, then there’s a good chance you’ll be sitting at home with nothing to do. You could always watch one of the many horror movies that will likely be airing, but playing a brand new game is certainly a better alternative.

So, let’s look at the games that have been, or are being, released in October, 2009. We’ll try and keep this list updated throughout the month, in case another new release sneaks in.

Undead Knights
System: PSN
Price: $39.99
Genre: Action
Release Date: The UMD came out September 29, 2009, but it debuted on the PlayStation Store as a download on October 1, 2009. So it technically counts.
Premise: You’re an undead knight who was brought back to life by a corrupt and evil king. So, you decide the best course of action is to strike back and take him down. You get to summon your own zombie army to help you accomplish this goal, of course.

Obscure: The Aftermath
System: PSP
Price: $29.99
Genre: Horror Adventure
Release Date: Like Undead Knights, the UMD was released at the end of September, 2009, but it appeared on the PlayStation Store on October 1, 2009
Premise: The sequel to Obscure, this follows the high school survivors from the previous game in their new life in college. Black flowers that can create lucid dreams start appearing all over campus, and spawn terrible things. You have to help the survivors make it through alive again.

The Jolly Gang’s Spooky Adventure
System: Windows PC
Price: $6.99 at Big Fish Games.
Genre: Adventure
Release Date: October 3, 2009
Premise: The Jolly Gang has a mystery to solve. Apparently, there’s a ghost inhabiting a psychic’s apartment, and they have to investigate it and figure out what is going on.

Fishdom: Spooky SplashFishdom: Spooky Splash
System: Windows PC (Though a Mac version is reportedly on the way.)
Price: $19.95 at most sites. Playrix Games has it on sale for $9.98 until November 1, 2009.
Genre: Puzzle with some simulation elements.
Release Date: October 6, 2009
Premise: You play Match-3 puzzles so you can purchase fish and accessories for a Halloween-themed aquarium. Not exactly the most chilling game on the list, unless you pretend the fish are all like the one from that South Park Halloween episode.

Creepy Slots
System: iPhone/iPod Touch
Price: $0.99
Genre: Puzzle (Slot Machine)
Release Date: October 7, 2009
Premise: It’s a slot machine game, only creepier. Instead of trying to line up cherries, bars or 7’s, you’re trying to line up ghosts, eyeballs and black cats.

A Witch’s Tale
System: DS
Price: $29.99
Genre: Action-RPG
Release Date: October 13, 2009
Premise: Apprentice witch Liddell has accidentally unleashed the Witch Queen, most evil witch ever in an attempt to become an amazing witch without studying. Now, with the help of a vampire guardian and magical dolls, she has to journey throughout the magical world to seal the Witch Queen up again.

Ju-on: The Grudge
System: Wii
Price: $29.99
Genre: On-rails horror simulation
Release Date: October 13, 2009
Premise: It’s a haunted house on your Wii. But not just any haunted house, the one from the movie The Grudge, known in Japan as Ju-on. A second player can join in to make scary things happen quicker to the person playing.

Campfire Legends: The Hookman
System: Windows and Mac
Price: $19.99
Genre: Puzzle (Hidden Object)
Release Date: October 14, 2009
Premise: A hidden object game where you must help a woman who’s stuck in the woods where the Hookman, the figure from urban legends, is lurking about..

Goosebumps Horrorland
System: DS
Price: £19.99
Genre: Casual horror-themed mini-game collection
Release Date: EU: October 16, 2009. It isn’t out in North America until November, 2009.
Premise: Players get to experience and explore the Goosebumps Horrorland, going on all 30 rides either alone or with friends.

Dreamkiller
System: Xbox 360
Price: $39.99
Genre: Shooter
Release Date: October 19, 2009
Premise: Not exactly Halloween-themed, but creepy none-the-less so it works. You guide a psychiatrist through her patients dreams and nightmares to help save them and make them better.

Editor’s Note: This article was updated October 14, 2009 at 1:13pm CST to add in the casual game Campfire Legends: The Hookman.

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