With spooky season officially in full-swing, many gamers everywhere may be celebrating the season by playing some of their favorite survival horror titles. Games such as Silent Hill, Resident Evil, and Outlast all spring to mind whenever thinking of the month of October.
However, there are many who are not inclined to play horror games. As such, here are some of the best “spooky” areas of games that generally aren’t considered horror games, and can be appreciated and enjoyed by a much wider audience.
While it may be considered kid-friendly, Banjo-Kazooie and its sequel are well-known for their tough-as-nails difficulties and are a true challenge to complete. The original game is also filled to the brim with some rather spooky things, including the overworld of Grunty’s Lair, parts of the Bubblegloop Swamp, and the character of Clanker. But the spookiest part of the game has to be the seventh level, Mad Monster Mansion.
The entire level is Halloween-themed, with enemies consisting of walking tombstones, ghosts, bats, and even the reanimated dead. The level also consists of a haunted manor, a dark cellar, and an organ-playing floating hand. And on top of all that, Banjo is able to transform himself into a pumpkin. Fans of horror that don’t like getting too spooked would do well to take a look at this level from this Nintendo 64 classic.
The Spyro series has a handful of levels that could be considered “spooky,” including the first game’s nightmare-themed level Dark Passage to the sequel’s Hurricos, but the most fitting level has to be Spooky Swamp from the third game, Spyro: Year of the Dragon. Through the course of this level, Spyro must traverse the swamp while defeating a slew of creepy crawly creatures, while lighting the candles in order to bring light back to the dark swamp. While not exactly scary, the level certainly has some Halloween vibes to it, with it even containing a mini-boss fight featuring a magical wizard that conjures crocodiles and explosives.
Mario Party has always been all about having fun with friends, and Mario Party 2 is certainly no different. One aspect of the series’ second entry that separates itself from the rest of the series is the game’s use of character costumes, depending on the board that is played. In the game’s spooky-themed board, Horror Land, players dress up like wizards and witches and traverse a horror-themed board consisting of a grave yard, a haunted house, and several boo ghosts.
Additionally, one fun feature that set this board apart from others was its use of a day/night cycle, which later got re-introduced much later in Mario Party 6. For those who enjoy celebrating the spooky season with a group of friends, Mario Party 2‘s Horror Land is one of the best choices.
Super Mario 64 is widely considered to be one of the most important titles in video game history. Releasing back in 1996, Super Mario 64 brought the red plumber into the third dimension, and the its re-release on Super Mario 3D All-Stars for the Switch has introduced the character to a whole new generation. This game is largely very colorful and inviting for all ages, which is why Big Boo’s Haunt feels so out of place by comparison.
Unlike most of the other levels on this list, Big Boo’s Haunt is legitimately unsettling and scary. The music and sound feel as if they were cut straight from Silent Hill. Graphically, everything uses a dull gray, black, and brown color scheme. Both the Boo and Mr. I enemies are both a bit unsettling, though they pale in comparison to the haunted piano that Mario comes across later into the level. Overall, this is a deeply frightening level, especially if for children playing this title for the first time.
The most recent title on this list, A Hat in Time, set out to recapture the look and feel of old 3D platformers of the past. It succeeds in doing so with flying colors, delivering a fun and refreshing experience for all ages. But the game takes a very sharp turn in its third chapter, where Hat Kid meets the devil himself, signs her soul over to him, and is forced to complete a series of deeds in order to win her soul back. The entire third chapter of A Hat in Time could be considered “spooky” by most, but Act 4 Queen Vanessa’s Manor easily takes the cake.
The chapter starts with Hat Kid entering a seemingly empty house, only to discover that it is haunted by a ghost. The player must then hide from Queen Vanessa, who will instantly kill them if spotted. The level certainly delivers in both the horror department, while still being incredibly fun.
Out of all of the games out there, Pokemon seems the least likely to contain anything remotely scary. However, fans of the original games for the original Game Boy will remember that the game did, in fact, have an incredibly eerie section. Lavender Town, located between routes 10 and 12, is the home to the Pokemon Tower, a seven-floor graveyeard for trainers’ deceased Pokemon. The Pokemon Tower is filled with ghost Pokemon, and trainers which have seemingly been possessed by the ghosts of dead Pokemon.
The game’s dated pixel graphics only add to the eeriness of Lavendar Town, with both the town and its citizens having an unnatural purple hue to them. But a large part of what truly makes Lavendar Town so frightening is its incredibly dark implications. Lavendar Town essentially introduces the idea of death to the player, making the otherwise happy world of Pokemon feel much darker and sadder because of it.
While the Zelda series is certainly no stranger to adult themes (both Majora’s Mask and Twilight Princess are filled to the brim with dark imagery), the Shadow Temple from Ocarina of Time is probably the darkest of all levels from the series. For starters, the level’s score–similar to Big Boo’s Haunt from Super Mario 64— is incredibly unsettling, setting itself apart from the rest of the game. The level contains incredibly dark imagery, with some areas looking that they belong more in Amnesia: The Dark Descent than a Zelda game. One room in particular, dubbed as the torture room by fans, simply contains a medieval torturing device, surrounded by a pool of blood. It’s truly a wonder how this game managed to receive an E-rating.
With so many titles to choose from, these are only just a handful of spooky levels from non-horror games, but there are plenty more out there. With the horror season now in full-swing, several big-name horror games are releasing later this month, including Amnesia: Rebirth, Remothered: Broken Porcelain, and Under.
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