Dio's Favorite Games for the Spooky Season

Devotion (Red Candle Games)

Man oh man, did Devotion really worm its way into my heart since I first played last year. I've played through it at least 3-4 times since and every time I really enjoy it. The story of a father trying to do what he thinks is best for his family, as the family dissolves from fights and illness is a really touching and at times painful game. The statment on mental health in the 80s in Taiwan was also really strong. Red Candle Games got into a little hot water for hidden assets in the game criticising Xi Jinping, and so the game was delisted from Steam, but you can thankfully pick it up from their webshop , and with the soundtrack too, which has both beautiful music and regional music from Taiwan. Its got scores of jumpscares, but they peter out into a tragic story that ends ambiguously but no less tragic. Of all the games on the list I'm recommending, this is first because I love it so MUCH.

Detention (Red Candle Games)

Speaking of, I also recommend Red Candle's other game, Detention, which is a fictional story set during the very much real life period of martial law in Taiwan, known as the White Terror. I definitely recommend at least taking a read on this article on wikipedia to give you an idea of the dangerous political climate of the country when the game takes place. I'd purchased it on Switch when I was browsing for horror games, and since I've bought it more than once, which you can find on Steam or their own aforementioned website.

Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly (Tecmo)

I can't go through this article without mentioning my top all-time favorite horror game (next to Devotion). Crimson Butterfly has been my top favorite in the 7 games released (Not counting the cellphone game cuz we never got it XD;;), and was my first in the series. While the 5th game Maiden of Black Water is a realllll close second to Crimson Butterfly, this game gets played maybe twice a year because I love it so much. Sadly, it's not really widely available, so unless you picked it up on the PS3 shop waaaayyy back, or you were lucky and devoted enough to have bought them years ago on PS2 and Xbox (the first and second games had enhanced director's cut versions on Xbox), but if you come across them, you won't be disappointed. They're well worth the secondhand market price (if you're not paying double that is @_@).

I've always said I love the tragic horror stories the best and the plight of the twins Mio and Mayu is one of the best stories in the game. Tecmo never dispappoints in beautiful girls, and both the main characters and the ghosts don't disappoint. Doesn't mean there aren't some truely horrifying spirits (both Broken Neck Women are quite the sight). I sadly was not able to play the Wii remake (Decon would have been the closest since it was a Japan and Europe exclusive) but hopefully its on the horizon since Maiden of Black Water must have done well enough to get the Japan exclusive 4th game Mask of the Lunar Eclipse rereleased for current gen consoles next year (and you can betcher Camera Obscuras I'm buying that gem more than once XD).

Ib Remake (Kouri, published by PLAYISM)

One of the core RPG Maker indie games in the echelon of influential indie RPG games like Yume Nikki and Undertale, I've been wanting to play Ib for years since I first heard of it. I hadn't been able to run it until I got a PC last year and when this was announced and released, I immediately jumped on it for this year's Halloween streaming season. The story of a young girl lost in a nightmarish gallery with only a rose and the help of a young man named Garry was simple yet the game, while short in a speedrun, has complex hidden mechanics that can lead you to not only wildly different endings, but also different branching story beats that can change without you knowing. And that's part of not only the charm of Ib, but part of the craft and genius of the game. I've seen about 3 endings, and while I had a good idea of how to get the best, it still slipped through my fingers. It only makes me want to play it so much more to try to get the other endings, as well as fill the post game gallery, a tricky bonus for such a surprisingly deep game. If you're looking for a great retro styled, creepy RPG experience but you're short on time, Ib is perfect for periodic play over a longer time.

Spirit Camera: The Cursed Memoir (Tecmo, Nintendo)

This is for you DS owners, and a lot of people let this one slip by, which is a damn shame cuz I really love this spin off to the Fatal Frame series. It's the first toe into the motion control-based gameplay we'll come to expect in the Wii games Deep Crimson Butterfly and Mask of the Lunar Eclipse, and culminating in Maiden of Balck Water which IMHO, was best on the WiiU and Switch. Holding a camera and moving around trying to capture them seemed made for motion controls. Spirit Camera has you as the protagonist and assisting an amnesic ghost Maya in recovering her memories as you race to outpace the malevolent ghost haunting the urban legendary purple diary. While its the one game in the series that requires good lighting--as it was an AR game that required use of the diary--it really gave the fun feeling of the game's theme of "everyone scared together". The use of the AR tech was one of my favorite mechanics to the series, and the ability to also take fun 2d or 3d ghost pictures with the built in cameras was super fun. It gets a lot of flak but its unwarrented. If you can locate the game and diary, I recommend picking it up for the 3DS. A pretty revolutionary game for such a small package.