Retro Gaming for Halloween

The dropping temperatures outside make October the perfect month for curling up with a cozy blanket and some video games. Halloween is no exception and these five retro games are sure to boost your Halloween spirit.

If you're a fan of retro gaming you may be familiar with some of these titles, so if you've never played them, or haven't in a while, let this be your sign!

Year: 1987

Developer: Lucasfilm Games

Initially released for: C64, Apple II

Help Dave and his friends navigate a mad scientist's mansion in this point-and-click adventure game. Players have the option of choosing two out of six characters to accompany Dave through the mansion, each with their own special skills. This game was the first to use SCUMM (Script Creation Utility for Maniac Mansion), a video game engine made to help development on the game. It converted readable commands into byte-sized tokens that were then read by an executable interpreter. Maniac Mansion was originally released for C64 and Apple II, but later released on other platforms such as Amiga, Atari ST, and NES, to name a few.

Year: 1990

Developer: Gray Design Associates

Initially released for: DOS, Microsoft Windows

This parser based adventure game, designed by David P. Gray, follows Hugo as he navigates a haunted house in order to save his girlfriend Penelope. Players solve puzzles in the house and collect items needed for Hugo and Penelope to escape. Failure to collect some items can make the game unwinnable, but when the puzzles are completed successfully it can be beat in as little as 10 minutes. Hugo's House of Horrors was first published as shareware and can be played online via the Internet Archive.

Year: 1986

Developer: Konami

Initially released for: Famicom Disk System

Enter the castle to slay its owner, Count Dracula! This platform game has vampires, zombies, Frankenstein's monster, and plenty more creepy creatures to battle. Castlevania was first released in Japan for Famicom Disk System, but was later released on NES, Arcade, C64, Amiga, MS-DOS, Mobile phone, and Game Boy Advance. It was a commercial success and the start of the Castlevania series, which now has 30+ games.

Year: 1985

Developer: Capcom

Initially released for: Arcade

This platform video game was notorious for its extreme difficulty and many consider it to be one of the toughest games on NES. Players control Sir Arthur, a knight on a mission to save the princess from the Demon Realm, fighting zombies, demons, dragons, and other monsters along the way. Ghosts 'n Goblins was first released for arcades, but later ported to home platforms, including Amiga, Atari, C64, NES, and Game Boy Colour. The newest game in the series, Ghosts 'n Goblins Resurrection, came out in 2021 and is available for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, Xbox, and on Steam.

Year: 1984

Developer: Activision

Initially released for: C64

The Ghostbusters game, designed by David Crane, is based off of the 1984 film of the same name. The gameplay involves locating and driving to sites of ghost activity in the city in order to catch ghosts. Players are rewarded with money when a ghost is successfully caught. The game was made quickly in order to be released at the height of the film's popularity, resulting in over two million copies of the game sold by 1989. The game was targeted for C64 but was also released on other platforms including Apple II. 

Amy studies Computational Mathematics at the University of Waterloo and is the Computer Museum’s Fall 2024 co-op student. In her free time, she enjoys painting, collaging, and other forms of visual art making.