Talkin' 'Bout Tiny Games

Rapid-fire Recs, but for the Spooky Season

Well, I might be just under the wire for the Hallowe’en deadline, but under the wire still counts, so here we are. Here are some games I found interesting (and that are at least vaguely spooky*), and in the spirit of Hallowe’en and general spooks all around, my reccommendations will be a tad more… narratively obscure than usual.

*Additionally, none of these games contain jumpscares.

Glitchhikers

Driving at 3 A.M. with bleary eyes, with the entire world seemingly dead to your presence. The dark, shadowy forms of trees roll past your window in accordance with the glowing form of the moon, and a static-infused radio broadcast plays quietly in the empty space of your car.

Specifications

• Windows, Mac
• Free
• ~30 minutes
  

house

Staggered, minimalistic. A woven thread of story and rulebook. An unfolding story, room-by-room, of exploring a house you really shouldn’t.

Specifications

• Tabletop RPG
• $3.00 USD
  
• ~1-3 hours
  

Please Answer Carefully

You are given a survey that asks about your habits. Who wants to know the answers to the questions, though? And why?

Unfortunately, you might already know the answer to both.

Specifications

• Browser
• Free
• ~5 minutes
  

my father’s long, long, legs

An unwraveling of a childhood, via scattered recollections. A slow, glacial drift of dread and unease and distance. A home warped and molded into something alien.

Specifications

• Browser
• Free
• ~30 minutes
  

And one more: Blaseball

But you already reccommended Blaseball, you say. I don’t care, I reply. A lot has happened since I did that truly brought out Blaseball’s strengths of narrative. It lives up to its cosmic horror theming - and doing all you can in the face of an uncaring system that could crush you and those you care about by absent-minded whim feels awfully familiar.