Halloween is almost here and you may have already picked your annual costume and carved some pumpkins while waiting for October 31st to arrive. Even if you haven’t and have no intention of participating in the annual festivities to such a degree, this is always an apt time of the year to explore the horror genre or just try out some of the more unsettling games that are available for download from the Google Play Store. With that in mind, below you’ll find the list of the ten best Android games that are either Halloween-themed or are highly appropriate for playing in the run-up to the scariest holiday in the English-speaking world, regardless of whether you’re looking for casual time wasters or fully immersive hardcore experiences.
Distraint: Pocket Pixel Horror
Distraint: Pocket Pixel Horror will never win any best title awards but it’s an extremely captivating and intelligently designed game with an unsettling story, memorable characters, and an immersive world whose eerie atmosphere is extremely likely to draw you in before you even realize what happened. It’s also a relatively short title that you can try free of charge and see if its brand of horror sprinkled with some dark humor and wacky twists is the kind of entertainment you appreciate.
Spooky House: Pumpkin Crush
Spooky House: Pumpkin Crush isn’t really that spooky but it’s an extremely addictive and thematically appropriate game that can either serve as a simple time waster or entertain you for a couple of hours at a time, which is much more than can be said about many other mobile puzzlers available on the Google Play Store, especially Halloween-inspired ones.
Five Nights at Freddy’s
Five Nights at Freddy’s is only for the bravest Android gamers out there, with this particular title being the first in the critically acclaimed indie horror series which forever ruined animatronics for many people. So, if you’re looking for a good scare or simply want confirmation that animatronics are the creepiest things the toy industry ever created, this game should be right up your alley.
Sanitarium
Sanitarium is a cult classic that’s been scaring several generations of gamers for almost two decades now. The Android port of the game is stable, reliable, significantly improved in terms of core gameplay, and just as morbid and unsettling as the 1998 PC original. Sanitarium is a timeless recommendation for people who love point-and-click adventures and morbid tales and are willing to try out something completely different.
Pumpkins – Line Match 3
If you’re distraught after trying some of the aforementioned games and just want a Halloween-themed title that won’t scar you on an emotional level, Pumpkins – Line Match 3 is here to help. Being designed for short gaming sessions that will challenge your wits alongside some catchy Halloween tunes, this is a game that boasts a truly universal appeal, with its only shortcoming being a limiting energy system.
Scary Nights
Mobile horror games and original titles apparently don’t mix well but that doesn’t make Scary Nights any less terrifying. This is one of those creations that are best experienced in a dark room with headphones, though its very concept could still scare you on a sunny spring morning because no amount of birds chirping will prepare you for the monstrosities that await you in this game. If that sounds like your idea of a good time, enjoy yourself and good luck – you’ll need it.
Limbo
Limbo is neither a true horror game nor a Halloween-inspired one, yet its very subject matter is extremely apt for playing around a holiday centered around death. If you consider yourself a gamer and somehow still haven’t played one of the bazillion versions of Limbo that are already available on virtually all consumer electronics save for toasters and microwaves, you should really play the extremely polished Android port and just soak in the incredible atmosphere of this game which also features some highly unique platforming mechanics.
Slenderman: The Curse
Slender Man may not be the most topical urban horror legend anymore but that isn’t to say some Android games inspired by this creepypasta internet meme aren’t absolutely terrifying. Since absolutely terrifying is what Halloween gaming is all about, you’d do well to take Slenderman: The Curse for a spin and see if surviving a night in the woods haunted by a featureless homicidal maniac is something you excel at.
Eyes – The Horror Game
If you thought a list like this can exist without a deeply unsettling horror game set in an abandoned hospital, you thought wrong because something like that obviously isn’t possible. Eyes – The Horror Game may sound stereotypical together with its very title, but it’s a well-executed interactive horror experience that fans of the genre will truly enjoy. As an unexpected bonus, the game comes with a surprisingly solid multiplayer component that makes it one of the very few true horror titles with some actual replay value.
Dumb Deaths on Halloween
This year’s Halloween game list won’t end on a scary note as there’s plenty of those here already. Instead, we’ll recommend you install Dumb Deaths on Halloween, sit back, and just have a laugh at the Halloween-themed iteration of this long-running gag that actually started as a public safety campaign in Australia half a decade ago. Dumb Deaths on Halloween is hence a topical interactive method of educating yourself about how to live a long and happy life that won’t end on October 31st. You’re welcome.