Halloween 2021 is just around the corner – time to play a really spooky game together with buddies and buddies. But which horror games even offer a co-op mode? We provide five good answers.
In this country, too, there are now many ways to celebrate Halloween, which originally spilled over from Ireland. One of them puts on make-up as a lazy returnee and strengthens the ranks of the zombie walk, the other prefers to gawk at the elaborate Halloween parade of an amusement park. Occasionally there are even three-cheeses who love to disguise and chant “trick or treat” on the front doors in the shape of Count Dracula.
What then – none of this is for you? Then you might like the idea of supporting the local pumpkin growing areas from your PC. All you need is some cool horror games and, in this case, tough people to play with. Unfortunately, we cannot serve playmates, but we can provide five good tips for well-groomed co-op creeps. Here we go!
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Five co-op horror for the collective heart attack
Pacify
| For fans of: P.T., Paranormal Activity Systems: PC, Mac Price: 5 euros Can also be played alone? Yes |
That’s what it’s about: Basically, Pacify is a simple, but also quite fun survival horror number. In online co-op, up to four players must send an ill-tempered ghost girl into the afterlife by collecting nine procedurally placed puppets in an ancient villa and ritually burning them. However, this requires wood and fire, both of which can be found in the dark corners of the building. By the way, there is a small framework story that is told on notes.
This is particularly strong: Pacify’s antagonist is an ice-cold hunter who announces herself threateningly and can quickly float through the air. Even in the company of three other players, it hardly loses any of its horrors.
That is rather weak: Sometimes the persecutor suffers from cerebral insufficiency so that she sometimes gropes around impassively. We didn’t play a game online when we tested it, so you should meet up with others for a session.
Devour
| For fans of: Outlast 2, Project Zero Systems: PC, Mac Price: 4 euros Can also be played alone? Yes |
That’s what it’s about: Cultists shouldn’t have a problem with it if their leader wants to go to hell with the cult. But exactly such “cultists” are embodied here by one to four players. With a hardcore level of difficulty and the watch on their necks, the renegades have to collect some living ritual objects in order to be able to pronounce a spell against the boss. Cultists who are willing to doom and who summon demons act as opponents and become visibly angrier. As befits their status, the hunted cultists only have super picky UV flashlights.
This is particularly strong: The high level of difficulty makes Devour a welcome challenge, procedural elements, and a slightly chaotic AI increases the difficulty even more. An Asian spooky setting provides that extra portion of horror.
That is rather weak: The demons take it very literally with the hardcore mode and sometimes ignore the hidden status of the players, for example in cupboards.
Phasmophobia
| For fans of: Amnesia: The Dark Descent, Outlast Systems: PC (Early Access) Price: 14 euros Can also be played alone? Yes |
That’s what it’s all about: In Phasmophobia, up to four ghost hunters chug to haunted places in a special van. There they must first identify the respective pests and then scare them away with appropriate measures. The whole thing is linked to investigative puzzles, which means that every type of ghost reacts to other, certain stimuli. Some people like to scribble greetings or hate messages in a ghost book, while others can only be traced using an EMF measuring device.
The more the paranormal investigators learn about a soul, the more “eager to show” and more aggressive it becomes. This is bad since the ghost hunters’ special equipment doesn’t include a ghost vacuum cleaner. And the remaining Ghostbusters, with a total age of 215 years, are almost on the other side of the vacuum cleaner …
This is particularly strong: it is possible to chat with the ghosts using the microphone. You can ask about 140 simple questions in English, such as the age of the mind or how you can help it. Which restless soul can be found where is determined by chance.
That’s rather weak: Phasmophobia started as a one-man project in Early Access and is essentially an indie-typical Unity game with currently slightly smacked mechanics.
Home Sweet Home Survive
| For fans of: Dead by Daylight Friday the 13th Systems: PC (Early Access) Price: 5.70 euros Can also be played alone? No |
That’s what it’s about: Home Sweet Home, in a nutshell, would be “Dead by Daylight in Thai”. In changing horror scenarios, four players (“survivors”) have to escape the clutches of a villain from the universe of Home Sweet Home. He or she is controlled by a fifth player.
There are currently two hunters; a murderous deceased with a carpet knife and a monstrous bully in a mummy bat look. Both have special abilities such as temporary invisibility, but the hunted also know some nice tricks, including explosive door latches and spiritual barriers. The aim is to weaken the paranormal attacker by disrupting rituals and ultimately eliminating them.
This is particularly strong: HSH Survive is an elaborate co-op horror game that is not stingy with options, even in early access. The exciting thing is that survivors can use shortcut speech bubbles to instruct each other to do something. The role of the hunter is a bit like playing God – and we humans always like that very much.
That is rather weak: Not all mechanics will work properly in October 2021. When testing, for example, we had problems kicking doors in the role of mummy scrap.
The Dark Pictures Anthology
| For fans of: Until Dawn Amnesia: The Dark Descent Systems: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series Price: 30 euros each Can also be played alone? Yes |
That’s what it’s about: The Dark Pictures is a growing series of horror adventure games with independent offshoots. As of October 2021, there are three of them: Man of Medan, Little Hope, and House of Ashes. Unlike most other co-op horror games, this one is more about decision-making and the relationships between the members of a five-man hero group. There are also occasional quick-time events. So imagine the games in the series like interactive horror films.
This is particularly strong: The Dark Pictures is aimed at story fans and those who like to feel their decisions. Every member of the group of players is permanently mortal, which of course makes things even more interesting. Because every wrong decision can mean the death of a character.
That is rather weak: The average playing time is a little short, at around five hours per part. The quality of the stories varies from issue to issue.
Do you also have game suggestions for Halloween? We’d cut our legs off to hear them!
