October and Halloween are right around the corner, which means horror movies, books, and video games are now thrust in the spotlight. As usual, video game publishers are trying to release horror games in October to take advantage of the hype surrounding the Halloween season, and October 2020 is no exception.
For three weeks in a row, horror gaming enthusiasts can look forward to some big new releases in the genre, and all should deliver a different kind of horror experience. If these games live up to expectations, there should be something for all kinds of horror fans to play this year.
Here are three big horror games launching in October 2020.
Remothered: Broken Porcelain (October 13)
Remothered: Broken Porcelain was originally set to launch on October 20, but its release date was pushed back (for reasons that will soon be made clear). A sequel to Remothered: Tormented Fathers, Broken Porcelain is the second game in a planned horror trilogy, and serves as a spiritual successor to the classic survival-horror series Clock Tower. As such, Remothered: Broken Porcelain retains many gameplay elements that should be familiar to Clock Tower fans.
For example, Remothered: Broken Porcelain is a stealth-horror game, with players having to do everything they can to avoid the various enemies they will come across over the course of the story. Players have very little means of defending themselves in Remothered: Broken Porcelain, and are instead encouraged to hide and sneak around enemies. They will have to collect key items and solve puzzles at the same time, though, which is how Broken Porcelain ratchets up the intensity quite a bit.
Plot-wise, Remothered: Broken Porcelain will continue the story of Rosemary Reed, who is still investigating the disappearance of Celeste Felton. It will also allow players to take control of Jen, who is working as a maid at the creepy Ashmann Inn. The story is sure to be full of disturbing moments and unexpected twists, so horror game fans should make it a point to check out Remothered: Broken Porcelain when it launches next month.
Remothered: Broken Porcelain launches October 13 for PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
Amnesia: Rebirth (October 20)
Amnesia: The Dark Descent is one of the most critically-acclaimed and popular survival-horror titles of the last 10 years, and it can be given a lot of credit for actually revitalizing the genre. Considering this, it's no surprise that Remothered: Broken Porcelain changed its release date from October 20 to October 13, so now it no longer has to compete directly with Amnesia's highly-anticipated sequel, Amnesia: Rebirth.
Frictional Games is returning to its Amnesia franchise with Rebirth, which looks to retain the same core gameplay mechanics that made the original so popular. Fans can expect to manage resources, like matches and a lantern, while they explore mysterious ruins full of deadly hazards and horrific creatures. Set in an overbearing and dangerous desert, Amnesia: Rebirth is taking the franchise in some intriguing new directions, and it will definitely be interesting to see if it can live up to the high bar set by its predecessor.
Amnesia: Rebirth will launch for PC and PS4 on October 20.
The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope (October 30)
Supermassive Games made a name for itself in the horror genre with Until Dawn, an interactive horror game that earned rave reviews at the time of its release. While Until Dawn was a PS4 exclusive, Supermassive has started the horror anthology series The Dark Pictures so that it can release its titles on multiple platforms. The second game in The Dark Pictures series, Little Hope, is set to launch just in time for Halloween, and looks to be just as spooky as the first game.
Little Hope gives off serious Silent Hill vibes, letting players explore a mysterious, foggy town with dark secrets. Like the Man of Medan before it, Little Hope will play out like an interactive movie, with player choice having a direct impact on the plot and the fate of the characters. Hollywood's Will Poulter will have a starring role in Little Hope, and he will be joined by a brand new cast of characters who all have their own distinct personalities and motivations.
One of the defining features in Man of Medan was its multiplayer gameplay. Players could separate the different playable characters among themselves, which created a unique, cooperative/competitive element that isn't usually found in these types of games. Little Hope will retain this feature, so it should make for a great game to play for anyone that's getting people together for Halloween.
While October will have some major horror game releases, there's still exciting horror releases planned for later in the year as well. Observer: System Redux is set to launch alongside the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X systems, plus Bloober Team's The Medium is still planned for release this year as well. Needless to say, there should be plenty for horror gaming fans to look forward to for the rest of 2020.