Developer: Illfonic
Publisher: Illfonic Publishing, Gun Interactive
Platform: PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S
Tested on: PC
Halloween: The Game – Review
As October approaches, so does Halloween, and with it come horror games and their iconic figures. This year, the spotlight falls on the star of John Carpenter’s Halloween: Michael Myers, finally featured in his own game, Halloween: The Game. Relive the known movies from an unseen POV as you play as the Boogeyman himself, and find your way back to Haddonfield to finish what you started back in 1963. Aside from the retelling, players can also choose to save the town from the slasher and work together to help other civilians escape.
Story
As mentioned earlier, the main story featured in Halloween: The Game within the solo campaign is that of the titular movie, told from Michael’s perspective. It begins with his escape from the asylum, all the way to getting back to Haddonfield and finishing Halloween night. Those who have seen the movie already know how everything plays out, but for those who don’t, we won’t reveal any spoilers. Fans of said movie franchise, however, will absolutely love seeing the canon events replay from this unseen POV, as it reveals new information and answers questions viewers may have previously had upon their first few watches. Seeing, and deciding, how Michael proceeds on his path to his hometown really adds a whole new flavor to the franchise as a whole.
Now, when playing co-op, there isn’t exactly a main storyline going on. Players who choose to play as civilians simply encounter Michael for the first time and are then tasked with finding escape routes and saving all the NPCs spread out on the map. Whoever decides to play as Michael can go on a stalking and killing spree, followed by avoiding arrest and escaping themselves. The lack of a storyline in the co-op mode isn’t an issue, as the focus here is more on the gameplay and general setting than reliving the movie’s events.
Graphics
Halloween: The Game features itself in a rather dark and cinematic 3D environment. Given how everything happens overnight, everything is either painted in cold blues, toned greys, or deep greens. By making use of a dark atmosphere, Haddonfield looks alive and lived-in; the asylum grounds are muddy and gross, and a greasy bar looks, well, greasy. Players will immediately notice how the setting of the game works well, being fully inspired by classic 70s suburban architecture and lifestyle.We have lots of polyester outfits, punk clothing, and voluminous hair options to further highlight the time period.
Compared to the gorgeous and detailed graphics of the game, the HUD is rather plain and simple, but that’s a good thing. Dyed in a charcoal and almost parchment-like color palette, icons and text on-screen are readable without ever feeling out of place. Items the player acquired are displayed in boxes with simple icons, objectives are properly lined up to the side, and a stamina bar barely takes up visual space when playing. Illfonic has really thought everything out, making sure that, despite the various objectives, the player never feels overwhelmed whilst playing.
Sadly, not everything about these graphics is great. During our play sessions, we noticed a few visual bugs or glitches that can easily pull you out of the game’s immersion. When we had to finish off a police officer, the flashlight they were holding decided to stay upright for the entire animation, likely still bound to the model’s hand even after it went limp. We also noticed that for gamers with less recent hardware, it can take a bit longer for models to properly load in during cutscenes or gameplay, leaving Michael chokeholding invisible civilians during solo gameplay.
Sound
As mentioned earlier, Halloween: The Game takes place in the 70s, and the soundtrack really wants you to know this. By using a mixture of piano and a synthesizer, the game instantly teleports you back to said time period. The benefit of having rights to an established franchise’s license is the free use of the already known soundtrack of the movies. The iconic theme of 1978’s Halloween returns, as well as a slight modernization of the movie’s other sound effects. One of our favorite callbacks to the original movie soundtrack was during the multiplayer mode, when the iconic stinger plays once you come face to face with the Boogeyman himself.
Furthermore, the voice acting was a real surprise as well. Reprising his role from the 2018 movie trilogy, Colin Mahan returns to give life to Doctor Samuel Loomis. Michael’s psychiatrist narrates the entire solo campaign and does this phenomenally well. The other main character, Laurie Strode, is voiced by Chelsea Krause, who does her best to match the original actress’s voice from the original movie. Every cutscene where either character speaks is like a love letter to the franchise’s established work, leaving no room for errors or out-of-place dialogue. Speaking of voice acting, Michael himself never speaks. Yet he feels so alive, with his intense breathing seeping into your headphones or speakers whenever he is near. Every playable civilian in the co-op campaign also has unique voicelines, bringing their personalities more forward, aside from their written lore.
Gameplay
When playing Michael, be it solo or in co-op mode, the player always has one main objective, which is to kill. Luckily, it isn’t a simple hack-and-slash mechanic, but rather one that is much more befitting for the beloved Boogeyman. Players have to utilize stealth and stalk their victims by lurking near them and keeping focused on said character. Once the stalk bar has been filled up, players can choose to approach and execute their target. A fun little addition is that this can be done either barehanded or through a weapon they are holding, or the environment characters happen to be in. Yes, unlucky NPCs can be executed by giving them a fatal swirly, albeit with the help of Michael’s boot. Aside from stalking and killing, Michael has a new ability called ‘Shape Jump’. This mechanic allows him to become invisible and travel through the shadows to jump-scare his next victim. This action gets countered by any light source, slowing down the otherwise fast movement speed of Michael.
Just as you have Michael’s side, there is a civilian’s side. These are only available in the multiplayer mode, and players get to unlock more characters by playing the main campaign or leveling up their profile through winning co-op matches. Our good guys’ main objectives are to spread awareness in Haddonfield of Michael’s return, as well as escorting unaware citizens to safety. This can be done in various ways, but all require finding multiple items and unlocking said escape routes. When engaging with NPCs, players need to successfully clear a few quick time events to come across as trustworthy. Once that is out of the way, they can instruct the NPC to hide, alert authorities, or escape if a route has been cleared. During all this chaos, players need to evade Michael, or risk getting stalked and grabbed themselves.
A fun little afterthought for players who weren’t stealthy enough is that by clearing minigames post-death, players can still help those who are alive by providing them prestige cards. These give little passive boosts to the player they are spectating, in order to rack up more points for the good guys’ side.
Conclusion
Halloween: The Game comes with two game modes and works as a gorgeous love letter to the franchise. Whether you’re a fan of the Boogeyman or simply are looking for a new horror game, players are bound to enjoy this new release. With an initially steep price of entry and an even pricier deluxe edition, we are more than convinced that the money is worth the effort put into this game. Aside from needing some visual patches, Michael Myers is guaranteed to deliver you and your friends a night you will remember.
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