Halloween And Aliens Aren’t The Only Horror Movies With New Games Debuting
As much as I love horror in general, I particularly enjoy the licensed horror games we've been getting for the past few years. Even when some aren't as strong as others, I find the mere attempt so exciting. There have been so many examples lately, and I've previously dug into why Hollywood keeps chasing video game horror. With Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 due out next week, and Halloween: The Game just behind it in early September, you may be similarly excited to have two more such examples of horror legends turned video games. But don't overlook the fact that we just got another new one: Creepshow has arrived.
Unlike Halloween, which is an asymmetrical multiplayer game (albeit with a solo story mode) and Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2, which is a four-player co-op PvE game, Creepshow is a straightforward single-player adventure game. I liken it a bit to a Telltale game; it's not gameplay-intensive, and it has a pen-and-ink comic-book aesthetic--though here you won't be making choices that send the story down new paths.
It doesn't have the name recognition of Halloween or Aliens, but Creepshow has been a horror mainstay for decades. Originally released in 1982 and sporting an incredible duo of director George A. Romero and writer Stephen King, Creepshow was a horror anthology with some comedic touches--how funny you find these stories today is up to your own taste, of course, though I appreciate them first and foremost as horror stories myself.
Five years later, it spawned a sequel. Creepshow was dormant for a long time before a 2006 threequel resurrected the series. Most recently, it's known as a Shudder-exclusive TV series that continues the anthology format. The show has been on my to-do list for some time, so I was excited to check out the new game in the meantime.
I find the game has some drawbacks. The animations are a bit basic and lacking, and the point-and-click gameplay doesn't excite me. It's clear the project isn't meant to compete with the other major horror IP games we're seeing as of late, but then again, Creepshow never was that anyway.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZPwt-lAlskWhere the appeal of this adaptation really lies is in the stories it tells. They feel classically Creepshow, with their gross twists and moral comeuppance like the EC Comics that inspired the series to begin with. Published by DreadXP, a label that has spent years chasing cool indie horror projects and helping get them to the finish line, I think it's really cool that this game even exists.
I won't spoil where the game's stories (or its framing story) go, but I'd say if you're looking for a piece of interesting horror history, an indie-spirited adaptation of a cult-classic horror series feels like at least an interesting counter to the bigger stuff like Dead By Daylight, and it's arguably a minor miracle that it exists at all.
It feels like horror has never been bigger than it is right now, and any fan of the genre can pick Michael Myers or the Xenomorph out of a lineup. Heck, I can't wait to play those games myself. But as GameSpot's most horror-obsessed editor, I felt it was my duty to flag this recent release as one not to miss if you want to see a very different side of the Hollywood-to-gaming pipeline.
Creepshow is out now on Steam.