Gamasutra sister site IndieGames' co-created service Indie Royale offers up five spooky games for the holiday in the Halloween Bundle.
This ghoulish pack includes the full five-episode season of Telltale Games' spooky Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse; the exceedingly disturbing horror adventure, Home; the rare, macabre first-person adventure game from Ice Pick Lodge, Pathologic; and more.
The top purchaser for this bundle will also get the sold out physical Old-School Collector's Edition for Home which includes a map, game manual and game-universe artifacts.
First up in the Halloween Bundle is the full season of graphically rich adventure video game from Telltale Games Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse, available for Windows and Mac on Steam. This season is accessible to those who haven't played the first two seasons; each episode is a self-contained story that unravels the greater mysteries of the Devil's Toybox and Toys of Power.
Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse adds an interesting element to gameplay throughout the story due to Max's new-found psychic abilities which make for hilarious scenarios and aid with puzzle-solving. 1UP calls Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse a "better-looking, and -- most importantly -- better-playing adventure game."
Also featured is chilling psychological side-scrolling 2D horror adventure game from Benjamin Rivers, Home, available for Windows on Steam, Desura and DRM-free. Offering hours of gameplay, the 'choose your own adventure' game mechanic in Home impacts the story every time differently and encourages multiple plays to uncover additional mysteries. According to Indie Game Reviewer, Home "delivers top-notch storytelling in a manner that re-asserts the way in which games are unique as a medium. Immersive, intellectually and morally challenging, and yet simple to operate and grasp, games like this remind us why we got into the indie game business."
Next up is a creepy conceptual first-person adventure/action game, Pathologic from Russian developer Ice-Pick Lodge, available for Windows on Desura and DRM-Free. In this difficult-to-find cult title, players control one of three healers (the Bachelor, the Haruspicus and the Devotress) who arrive at a small town only to have an intensely merciless infection break out threatening to wipe out the entire town. The other two healers will go about their story in parallel allowing the players to interact with them at various points throughout. Rock, Paper, Shotgun calls Pathologic the "single best and most important game that you've never played."
Also included in this monstrous bundle is a comedy-puzzle-adventure about a werewolf, MacGuffin's Curse from Brawsome - available for Windows and Mac on Steam, Desura and DRM-free. As Lucas MacGuffin (magician turned thief turned werewolf), players embark on a journey through puzzles to clear his name and unbind him from the amulet that made him a werewolf in the first place while being chased by the police and a corrupt but powerful millionaire. MacGuffin's Curse offers witty dialogue, unique hand-drawn art, huge replay value, a lengthy game, and an engrossing storyline. Rock, Paper, Shotgun calls MacGuffin's Curse a "gag-laden brain challenger, with personality and smarts, that's a fantastic bargain."
Last up in this spooky bundle is a retro action RPG where players control the villain in Chaosoft Games' EvilQuest, available for Windows on Desura and DRM-free. The story revolves around Galvis - a dark knight who is obsessed with ultimate power and on a quest for revenge and destruction after being betrayed by his lieutenant and captured (only to escape weaponless and mercilessly bitter). EvilQuest offers typical SNES-style action RPG elements which include buying supplies from the town and clearing out dungeons with a twist in that everyone knows he is evil.
Finally, those who pay $8 USD or their currency equivalent during the Halloween Bundle will get a .FLAC/.MP3 album ($5 value!) that offers a fascinating blend of progressive rock and chiptune music from C-jeff: 'Preschtale'. Megabeep celebrates C-jeff, recognizing Preschtale for its "mature compositions (that) transcend mere musical acrobatics, wielding controlled complexity to specific and calculated dramatic effect. Every flourish, melody, and modulation is functional, directly contributing to the narrative development without wasting a note."
More information on the Halloween Bundle, including real-time statistics and its current price, can be found on its official website or via its Facebook and Twitter pages.
