RetroRealms: Halloween Review (PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Xbox One, Switch, & PC)

Michael Myers returns to star in his very own video game, and just in time for Halloween season, too. Also, while most film tie-ins of today have an affinity for asymmetrical online multiplayer—case in point: Dead by Deadlight, Evil Dead, etc.—the new RetroRealms: Halloween game treads new ground, opting for the 2D beat ‘em up side-scrolling genre instead. The result is a thrilling, blood-splattering affair maiming innocent bystanders and killer enemies alike. 

Indeed, WayForward and Boss Team Games have far outdone themselves, bringing their pixelated art arcade gaming and licensed film adaptation expertise into the new game. Still, if you’re inexperienced with tight retro platforming or are unsure whether purchasing the game is worth it, you can always scan through our RetroRealms: Halloween review that details all you can expect from the game.

Just Because You Can

If you’ve played arcade games before, then you’ll know profound storytelling isn’t their strongest suit. And even though RetroRealms: Halloween taps into retro sidescrolling with a modern take, it still remains mainly faithful to games of yesteryear. So, when you boot up the game to find a barebones story awaiting your first venture into Michael Myers’ world, it doesn’t feel disappointing in the least. 

In fact, it’s fantastic that you jump straight into the action without any unnecessary dilly-dallying. Briefly, RetroRealms: Halloween begins with Michael Myers committed to a prison cell in Smith’s Grove Sanitarium. We aren’t told why he’s been committed but can easily make our own guesses: he probably went haywire killing people and has already earned his moniker, The Shape. 

That assumption makes sense when a demonic Lovecraftian creature called the Overlord appears at the Sanitarium, causing chaos. He eventually reaches Michael Myers’ cell, offering him the chance to escape at the cost of doing his bidding. As always, Michael Myers remains wordless throughout the conversation, which Overlord takes as an acceptance of his offer. 

And so, the Overlord grants you Michael Myers’ iconic knife to kill anyone you come across in his name. Additionally, you gain the ability to jump between the real world and the Overlord’s Nightmare Realm. Onward, you’ll navigate five chapters, each having the option to switch between the two realms. 

Each chapter will further have unique items to collect, enemies to beat, and lots of platforming challenges. At the end of each chapter is a ruthless boss to take down, with, of course, the Overlord serving as the final big boss. At some point, you’ll fight yourself, too: a copy of Michael Myers, and that’s about as far as I can go with regards to the story.

Uphill Climb

The gameplay is pretty easy to grasp. All you do is forge onward as you slice through enemies’ flimsy bodies. The follow-up animation is a delight, with a sludge that feels satisfying, and blood splatter dotting your work. This is a very bloody game with every enemy kill wounding in sweet gore. The same goes for bosses who you tear up into chunky bits. 

However, enemies and bosses can tear you up in the same way. So, you must always be on high alert. Enemies are quick on their feet, dashing across the stages, rummaging into you, and draining your health with ease. They may stand atop ledges and launch near-endless bouts of poisonous spit. Dodging these is always tricky, whether spit or fireballs, and almost always, at least one will get you. 

In short, RetroRealms: Halloween is hardly an easy game. It constantly throws challenging fights and obstacles at you. You’ll feel overwhelmed by the sheer number of enemies coming your way. Meanwhile, you’ll need to keep track of moving platforms, spike traps, lava pools, and more hazards. 

Fortunately, the difficulty builds up over time. As a result, the first chapter will be relatively easy to clear. Afterward, the level of challenge will increase, whether in facing stronger enemies, observing tighter and more precise platforming, or knitting together upgrades and new abilities to conquer new challenges. 

Slash and Dash

Michael Myers starts off with straightforward traversal and combat moves. You’ll be able to crouch down, dash forward, and grab ledges to pull yourself up. You can also double-jump and wall-jump to reach higher platforms. The animation for the latter can look a little too goofy at times. However, it’s great that you can access a wide assortment of traversal options. 

Soon, your combat moves will expand, too. You can dodge incoming projectiles, though you have to do so at the right time or risk taking damage. In the first chapter, slicing enemies will feel sufficient as it often results in one-hit kills. However, enemies will grow stronger, creating the need for more powerful moves.

Thankfully, you can kill innocent bystanders, something you need to be keen on as they can often be too quick and get away from you. By killing as many innocents as you can, you’ll unlock new ranged weapons, from pitchforks to sickles. These allow you to launch them at opponents, killing any enemy caught in its way. 

However, ranged weapons have limitations. They can only be used a certain number of times. So, you need to prioritize their usage, preferably during boss fights where ranged combat often comes in handy. In addition to ranged weapons, though, you’ll unlock abilities such as combos, uppercuts, body slams, and more. 

Level Up

Furthermore, you can unlock upgrades like health boosts, more ammunition, and more time in the Nightmare Realm. You upgrade when you hunt down hidden collectibles and in-game currency in the real world and Nightmare Realm. Earned currency will let you buy better stats and unlock new moves. It’ll also let you buy iconic memorabilia like The Shape’s mask or overalls and display them at a first-person 3D open-world museum.

Since some upgrades are hidden in the Nightmare Realm, it encourages you to explore it from time to time. And even if the upgrades are little motivation, the level design of the Nightmare Realm may provide enough incentive. See, this realm opens up new shortcuts and obstacles. Its enemies—nasty Lovecraftian horrors—are far more challenging, too, with often needing multiple hits to kill. 

And even then, they may come back to life. The more time you spend here, the tougher combat and platforming get, with the idea being to get in and out as fast as you can. Once the clock runs out, though, it’s almost guaranteed to fail as enemies eventually overwhelm you. Still, you can’t stay away from the Nightmare Realm for too long, as even progressing through the chapters requires that you venture into it every now and then.

Chop Chop

In roughly two hours, you’ll have completed the entire campaign. However, completionists, and frankly, any gamer, will want to return for a second (and more) playthrough. Ultimately, RetroRealms: Halloween nails its combat and platforming graciously well. Its level designs are a joy to explore, with often challenging traps and foes to beat. 

Not to mention, you can replay the game as Laurie Strode and explore a host of new moves and abilities. For example, while Michael Myers can double-jump, Laurie can’t, which creates new challenges in navigating the already challenging platforming sections in the latter stages of the game.

What’s more? You can buy RetroRealms: Ash vs Evil Dead, which will set you back $50 bucks in addition to RetroRealms: Halloween, and play as Ash Williams in RetroRealms: Halloween. The core gameplay loop is the same.  However, Ash Williams has his own dialogue and story in RetroRealms: Halloween, which makes for the perfect excuse for a replay.

Verdict

It’s been a minute since Michael Myers starred in his own video game. The last Halloween video game was launched in the Atari 2600 era. Now, you can play The Shape in an all-new adaptation of the horror franchise. RetroRealms: Halloween does a great job of portraying Michael Myers’ universe in exciting pixel art. The level of detail and background props are impressive, as are the throwback music and memorabilia you can collect. Above all, the gameplay kicks ass, whether it’s slicing through enemy hordes with The Shape’s iconic knife or dodging nonstop projectiles in the Nightmare Realm.

WayForward and Boss Team Games have kicked off the RetroRealms franchise with flying colors. For now, the franchise has two 16-bit pixelated art beat ‘em up sidescrolling games you can play, namely Halloween and Ash vs Evil Dead. However, the intention is to add many more iconic horror film adaptations that will allow you to play either one of the protagonists in any of the universes in the RetroRealms collection. 

It may sound a bit all over the place, but Halloween and Ash vs Evil Dead have done a fantastic job of creating seamless interactions between them. Both games have the same big bad villain, the Overlord. However, the characters have unique stories coined for them in each of the games, as well as distinct skills and abilities, thus making for fresh replayability across the board. Feel free to buy both games for $50 bucks or separately for $25.