Halloween is a beloved holiday among many, but perhaps horror fans in particular. Horror video games and horror movies are all the rage, and there’s not really a better time of the year to play them. There are several great horror games on PS4 and Xbox One to take advantage of this.
Interestingly enough, Games with Gold subscribers are getting the full Halloween treatment, complete with the horror, the macabre, and the intrigue. PS Plus, on the other hand, seemed poised to take the leap…just to potentially take a step back.
Xbox’s free games with gold are all Halloween-themed: Maid of Sker, Slayaway Camp, Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy, and Costume Quest. The first two may be right up the alley of many horror fans, as Maid of Sker takes a very intense, atmospheric approach that makes it the perfect new horror game for Halloween. Slayaway Camp may not be for everyone, but it is a puzzle game with strong slash movie vibes. This would be a good game to accompany a horror flick night.
Costume Quest falls on the sillier end of the spectrum, but it is literally set on Halloween. With an emphasis on trick-or-treating, it’s a good game to get many ready for Halloween night. Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy isn’t a horror game and it’s the furthest stretch that Microsoft makes, but since the game is based on the cursed mummy trope, it fits the theme as well as Costume Quest.
PS Plus games for October 2020 are Vampyr and Need for Speed Payback. One could look at the latter as yet another teaser for the Need for Speed Hot Pursuit Remaster, but of the two, it’s clear that Vampyr is the only one that fits the season. With Vampyr as one of the headlining titles, it’s clear that horror games are something that PS Plus considered. After all, last year, The Last of Us Remastered was offered via the service for October. Its emphasis on the infected makes it tie neatly into the horror of Halloween, even if it’s different from most horror games.
There’s a few reasons PS Plus may not have taken this leap. Just like last year where the second game was MLB The Show, it seems like the most plausible is that Sony doesn’t want to put its eggs in one basket. Releasing two games on the service and making them both horror games or games based on Halloween may be ostracizing for some, especially those who do not particularly enjoy the spooky season.
Another option is that it intended to but chose something else, namely Need for Speed Payback, at the last minute in lieu of something horror-based. There is a little potential proof for this, as Bloodborne was free on PS Plus for a very short time period this weekend. In other words, it could have been intended for the service and accidentally made available because of that. If the two games were Vampyr and Bloodborne, both games would be perfect for the season. However, it’s worth mentioning that the game has appeared on the service in the past and is part of the PS Plus collection on PS5, and it seems far more likely this was an innocent, unrelated mistake unrelated to PS Plus’ October offerings.
Looking back over past offerings in October, it seems that PS Plus has traditionally offered a horror or seasonal game but never really taken the full dive. This trend is unlikely to change, but it would be interesting to actually know why Sony plays the month like this. Whereas it seems Microsoft is willing to go all in for the spooky season with games, it’s hardly a change in operations for Sony. Not that it’s a bad thing, but the difference in approach between the two gaming giants is always an interesting point of perspective.
PS Plus subscribers get 2 free games every month, while Games with Gold subscribers get 2 Xbox One games and 2 older games.
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