October Gaming - Be Very Afraid

[Sharecrow]

Glad to hear you enjoyed Castlevania III, Shoemaker. It’s a great one. The first one is surprisingly good as well.

Am not the best advisor on which GBA or DS Castlevanias to check out - it’s been too long since I played any of them…

I bailed on Callisto Protocol for now…though I am going to go for collectibles someday despite the glitches. Even if I have to buy a disc. I’ve already picked out a theme song for the game for crying out loud. But it’ll be some time before I do it.

Last level in Bloodlines. That game is bananas! I think the two Castlevanias and Callisto Protocol are apparently my Halloween games this year as I got sucked into Persona 4 (again), Metal Gear is just around the corner and so is Star Ocean 2!

[Kong Wen]

Otherwise I'm thinking about trying some of the later Castlevania's. I know Symphony of the Night is well regarded, but I don't have access to that on a handheld oddly enough. Any recommendations between the GBA and DS games?

IMO Aria of Sorrow is the best game in the series, even beating Symphony of the Night. It's on GBA. Conveniently enough, it also has a sequel, Dawn of Sorrow, on DS.

[Claytone]

Realized I already own the arcade version of Splatterhouse on the Namco Museum Arcade Pac, so that should be super easy to breeze through in a single sitting with infinite quarters. Wish I could sink some time into something a little more substantial, but I'm just a bit busy this year. Still, it's a game I've always wanted to play through but never have, so it'll at least check one satisfying box in my brain.

[The Shoemaker]

Otherwise I'm thinking about trying some of the later Castlevania's. I know Symphony of the Night is well regarded, but I don't have access to that on a handheld oddly enough. Any recommendations between the GBA and DS games?

IMO Aria of Sorrow is the best game in the series, even beating Symphony of the Night. It's on GBA. Conveniently enough, it also has a sequel, Dawn of Sorrow, on DS.

Good to know! I have easier access to the DS games right now but ill hold off on Dawn until I play Aria.

Unexpected spooky game I got into in the last week - Inscryption.

I'm not into card games honestly, but this one has really hooked me. For those unaware of the premise, you're locked in a cabin with a "creature" that forces you to play a quasi D&D inspired card adventure against him. The game also incorporates puzzle elements by allowing you to interact with objects around the cabin that can help you progress in the card game.

It's bizarre, tough, but really addicting. It does a good job of always staying on the creepy side. For the most part you can't see the face of the "creature" you're in the cabin with, just the eyes peering through the darkness and it's hands as it interacts with the cards. The story takes a wild turn half way through as well. I haven't beat it yet, but I give it a strong recommendation.

[Claytone]

Realized I already own the arcade version of Splatterhouse on the Namco Museum Arcade Pac, so that should be super easy to breeze through in a single sitting with infinite quarters. Wish I could sink some time into something a little more substantial, but I'm just a bit busy this year. Still, it's a game I've always wanted to play through but never have, so it'll at least check one satisfying box in my brain.

Well, I did this! I beat Splatterhouse. It's pretty mediocre from a gameplay perspective, but I do think it has pretty graphics, fun monsters, decent bosses, and a couple pretty good tunes. Don't think I'll ever feel the need to revisit this one (even as short as it is), but I'm glad I was able to squeeze in a quick on-theme game before the end of the month.

[Sharecrow]

October is just a month away so it is time to start thinking about what horror or horror-themed games we might play. I'm leaning heavily towards Visage...a creepy and esoteric game that has gameplay that is reminiscent of some of my favorites (Gone Home, Don't Knock Twice, and Paranormal Activity). It's a tough puzzle style game and is supposed to stick with you even while you're not playing it which is great.

I'll probably also go ahead and boot Callisto Protocol as I have an un-updated version of it now so I can play it before they broke the game with updates. I think I'm down to one trophy if memory serves me correctly.

Post your plans and progress here! And, as always, feel free to start your game in September (and/or to play past October) if you want to!

[Kong Wen]

Post your plans and progress here! And, as always, feel free to start your game in September (and/or to play past October) if you want to!

Oh! I was thinking about what to play, and I have The Mummy Demastered! This is another Metcastlevania-style game that got surprisingly good reviews considering the property on which it's based. It's developed by WayForward, which helps make it make sense.

[Claytone]

I was thinking about this a couple weeks ago. May play through the arcade version of Ghouls 'n Ghosts (I've only ever beaten the Genesis version). Demon's Crest is also calling my name always. And there's loads of Castlevania games I've never finished. Maybe Splatterhouse: Wanpaku Graffiti. Lotta options! Looking forward to it. Loving y'all's ideas too.

[Sharecrow]

I posted elsewhere but wanted to note that I did get the last trophy I was missing in Callisto Protocol (due to bugs) and the platinum to go with it. It was quick and easy. As I noted last year, it's not a particularly scary game, but is well rendered and fun despite that.

Now I'm working on Visage off and on...you know you've picked a spooky October game when you find that most of the time you don't even want to play it....or you want to but you also don't want to. Sheesh...quite disturbing. Doing Outlast 2 in my odd spare moments when I need a break from it (LOL) - trying the Insanity run still.

I've got Fatal Frame 3 queued up too but that has the same problem as Visage. I want to play it while not wanting to play it...