A screenshot from “Halloween: The Game”
The Xavierite
Halloween has come early with IllFonic’s new “Halloween: The Game,” based off John Carpenter’s “Halloween” films.
In this multi-console game, four players play as civilians of Haddonfield while one person plays as Michael Myers.
The goal of the civilians is to save and protect the NPC (non-player characters) residents. This is done by finding ways to escape around the map, the easiest of which is a hatch that you use boltcutters or a key to open.
I found playing as a civilian to be pretty confusing at first. The game doesn’t really tell you what you’re supposed to do, and the story mode/tutorial only teaches you how to play as Michael.
After playing a couple of games I did end up getting the hang of it. Unlike most multiplayer horror games like “Friday the 13th” and “Dead by Daylight,” you’re not just looking out for your own survival but the NPC’s too.
“Halloween: The Game” has a lot of different mini games for doing tasks like repairing a car, talking to civilians, inserting fuses, and more.
These mini games make playing as a civilian a lot less repetitive, and you can even do mini games while you’re dead. Winning these games lets you give perks to your allies and possibly come back as a cop.
As Michael, your only objective—as you would expect—is to kill all the residents of Haddonfield. There are two types of residents: special residents and normal residents. The special ones give you more points if you kill or save them.
I found playing as Michael to be super fun.
You really want to stalk residents like he does in the movies, because doing this builds up his bloodlust meter which improves his strength and how much damage he can take. It gets you so immersed in the game, and one of the best parts is the proxy chat, which allows you to hear when you scare someone.
That really is the best part of this game: the roleplaying aspect.
I’m not saying you have to do a one to one recreation of the “Halloween” films, but getting into the role of a terrified Haddonfield resident or a horrifying serial killer makes the game ten times funnier and more cinematic.
I’ve been having a blast playing this game with my friends, but I will say it has been a bit buggy.
For instance, I was playing as a civilian and went to call the police during one game. When I tried to do so, I couldn’t turn my character around, and my character was stuck like that the entire game until Michael killed me.
I hope the bugs get ironed out as the game continues to be updated, but I’m a little worried that it will fall to the same fate as most movie horror games.
Games like “Killer Klowns from Outer Space,” “Evil Dead,” “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” and “Friday the 13th” were all based off movies, and they all fell to the same fate where they didn’t get enough content and had problems with the rights of movies.
My hopes are high for “Halloween: The Game,” because the rights for “Halloween” are handled a lot better than those of “Friday the 13th.”
As long as IllFonic keeps updating the game, giving more content, and hopefully adding more playable civilians, the game will live longer than most movie horror games.
You can play “Halloween: The Game” on Playstation 5, Xbox and on PC. I hope if any of you decide to pick up this game that you have a terrifyingly fun time.
**Correction: caption formatting adjusted 9/18/2026**
About Post Author
