Best Halloween Video Games to Play

Quick answer: for a not-too-scary Halloween night, play Luigi's Mansion 3 or Ghost Trick. For a group, Phasmophobia or Lethal Company. For nostalgia, revisit the haunted levels of Super Mario 64, Banjo-Kazooie and Conker's Bad Fur Day. If you want proper fear, our ranked horror games list covers Resident Evil, Silent Hill and Alan Wake.

Most "Halloween games" lists are horror lists with a pumpkin on top. That is not what most people want on October 31st. Some want atmosphere without jump scares, some want to scream with friends, and some want to sit with a retro console and a bowl of candy. So this list is sorted by how scared you want to be, not by how scary the game is.

At a glance

| Game | Platforms | Fright level | Best for | |---|---|---|---| | Luigi's Mansion 3 | Switch | Cozy | Families, two players on one console | | Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective | Switch, PS4, Xbox One, PC | Cozy | A one-night mystery | | Costume Quest | PC, Xbox, PlayStation | Cozy | Trick-or-treating, literally | | Psychonauts 2 | PC, Xbox, PS4 | Creepy-funny | Weird and warm | | Little Nightmares II | PC, PS4, Xbox, Switch | Creepy | Short, tense, no gore | | Super Mario 64 (Big Boo's Haunt) | N64, Switch | Cozy | Retro night | | Banjo-Kazooie (Mad Monster Mansion) | N64, Xbox | Cozy | Retro night | | Conker's Bad Fur Day (Spooky) | N64, Xbox | Creepy-funny | Adults only | | Phasmophobia | PC, PS5, Xbox Series | Scary | 4 friends with headsets | | Lethal Company | PC | Scary-funny | 4 friends with headsets | | Left 4 Dead 2 | PC, Xbox 360 | Scary | Co-op zombie runs |

Cozy spooky: haunted, not horrifying

Luigi's Mansion 3 (Switch, 2019)

The best Halloween game for a mixed room. Luigi works through a haunted hotel one themed floor at a time with a ghost-sucking vacuum, and a second player can take control of Gooigi, his gelatinous double, on the same console. The ScareScraper mode adds team ghost-hunting for up to eight players. It is funny rather than frightening, and it is the rare game that a seven-year-old and a thirty-seven-year-old will both want to finish. Luigi's Mansion 2 HD (Switch, 2024) is the shorter, mission-based alternative.

Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective (Switch, PS4, Xbox One, PC)

You are a ghost with one night to work out who killed you. You possess objects, not people: a lamp, a guitar, a folding chair. Each scene is a chain-reaction puzzle to save someone else from dying. Capcom's 2023 remaster of the 2010 DS game is the version to play. It runs about 12–15 hours, and the story's last two hours are some of the best twists in the medium.

Costume Quest (PC, Xbox, PlayStation)

Double Fine's short role-playing game is set on Halloween night. Kids trick-or-treat around a neighbourhood, and in battle their cardboard costumes turn into the real thing: the robot costume becomes a giant robot. It is gentle, funny and finishable in a weekend, and few games are more literally about Halloween.

Psychonauts 2 (PC, Xbox, PS4, 2021)

Psychonauts is set at a summer camp, but its levels are other people's minds, and minds are strange places. The sequel is the warmer, more polished of the two. The original's Milkman Conspiracy level is still one of the most unsettling-yet-funny levels ever made. If you love the tone, our games like Psychonauts list has more of it.

Little Nightmares II (PC, PS4, Xbox, Switch, 2021)

A short side-scrolling game about two children, Mono and Six, in a world of grotesquely tall adults. There is no gore and no gun, only hiding, running and the feeling of being very small. It is the best "creepy but not traumatic" pick here, and it fits into one evening.

The spooky levels hiding in classics

Some of the best Halloween levels are tucked inside games that are not horror at all. These are worth replaying in October even if you know the rest of the game by heart.

Super Mario 64: Big Boo's Haunt

Course 5 is a haunted mansion full of Boos, with a merry-go-round in the basement and a piano that bites. It is the first 3D haunted house most of us ever explored. More 3D platformers in that mould are on our games like Super Mario 64 list.

Banjo-Kazooie: Mad Monster Mansion

A graveyard, a haunted church organ and a mansion. Mumbo turns Banjo into a pumpkin so he can squeeze through the pipes. Rare's spooky world is the best-loved level in the game for a reason. See games like Banjo-Kazooie for the collect-a-thons that followed.

Conker's Bad Fur Day: Spooky

The opposite of family-friendly. Conker's horror chapter has zombies that only stay down after a headshot, and a vampire count who turns Conker into a bat. It is crude, very funny, and only for adults. Our games like Conker's Bad Fur Day list keeps the same sense of humour.

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

Dracula's castle, upside down. The 1997 PlayStation game is still the gold standard for gothic atmosphere. It is playable today on PS4 as part of Castlevania Requiem. Our Castlevania guide covers the modern games in the same style.

Parasite Eve

A PlayStation horror RPG from 1998 that is technically a Christmas game: it opens on Christmas Eve at Carnegie Hall in New York. Its body horror makes it a solid October pick anyway. Games like Parasite Eve has the other late-90s horror RPGs.

Co-op scares for a group

Halloween is a social night, and the scariest thing in a co-op horror game is usually your friend's scream over voice chat.

Phasmophobia (PC, PS5, Xbox Series)

Up to four players investigate a haunted building with EMF readers, thermometers and a spirit box. They collect evidence to identify the ghost, then try to leave before it starts hunting. Talking out loud matters, because the ghost can hear you.

Lethal Company (PC, 2023)

Up to four contract workers scavenge scrap from abandoned moons for a company that does not care if they survive. It is genuinely frightening and constantly funny at the same time, largely because of proximity voice chat: you hear your friends only when they are close, so you hear them get grabbed.

Left 4 Dead 2 (PC, Xbox 360, 2009)

Still the best four-player zombie game. Its AI "director" changes the hordes and item drops each run, so no two runs play out the same. If it is your team's favourite, our games like Left 4 Dead 2 list covers its successors.

When you want to be properly scared

For the real thing, start with our ranked 15 best horror games. It splits survival, psychological and co-op horror and marks how intense each one is. Two picks with lists of their own:

• Alan Wake 2 (PC, PS5, Xbox Series, released 27 October 2023) — a horror story told across a writer's nightmare and an FBI investigation. See games like Alan Wake 2.
• BioShock (2007) — more dread than jump scare, in a ruined underwater city. See games like BioShock.

How we picked

Every game here is one we would put on in October ourselves. We sorted them by fright level instead of ranking them, because the "best" Halloween game depends on who is on the couch. Platforms are where each game can be bought or played today. We have left out seasonal in-game events, because they change every year.

FAQ

Q: What is a good Halloween game that is not too scary? A: Luigi's Mansion 3 on Switch is the best pick for a mixed group or for kids. Ghost Trick and Costume Quest are gentle choices for one player.

Q: What are the best Halloween games to play with friends? A: Phasmophobia and Lethal Company for up to four friends online, Left 4 Dead 2 for co-op action, and Luigi's Mansion 3 for two players on one Switch.

Q: Are there Halloween levels in older games? A: Yes. Big Boo's Haunt in Super Mario 64, Mad Monster Mansion in Banjo-Kazooie and the Spooky chapter in Conker's Bad Fur Day are the classic examples.

Q: What is the scariest game to play on Halloween? A: It depends on what scares you. Our ranked horror games list marks how intense each pick is, from atmospheric to nerve-shredding.