What are you playing this weekend? Spooky Edition

Hello and happy Friday, Watchers! I wrote this on Halloween night, so it’s still spooky season here! To celebrate, this week we’re going to highlight some new releases that are spooky or have spooky settings within them, as is fitting for the season. Soon, Winter’s Veil will be upon us, as will Whamageddon – so let’s have one last go at this spooky thing!

Release of the Week: Dragon Age: The Veilguard

tl;dr – action adventure, newest title in the Dragon Age franchise

Dragon Age: The Veilguard may be the fourth title in the Dragon Age franchise, but don’t let that stop you if you’re a new player — your player character, Rook, is new to this story and the intro narration does a good job setting up the plot and stakes, so even newcomers can come in to the game and understand what’s going on. According to resident Dragon Age expert Liz, Veilguard leans more heavily into the action combat (something each game has leaned a little more in to), feeling more like a Mass Effect title. Either way, we’ve had ten years to prepare to kick Solas in his egg shaped noggin, so it’s time to finish this (at least until they announce Dragon Age 5: Dragon Harder).

Get Dragon Age: The Veilguard for $60 on PC at Steam.

Release of the Week 2: Vampire Survivors: Ode to Castlevania

tl;dr – action roguelite bullet hell, new DLC, rad Castlevania music and themes

Vampire Survivors lit the indie world on fire when it released in 2022, though they spent quite a bit of time having to dance around the fact that their game came very close to being a little too on the nose with it’s Castlevania inspiration, so much so that they had to revamp the sprites. That’s all in the past, as Konami has officially allowed the Vampire Survivors team to do a crossover DLC with the legendary franchise, giving us 20+ new Castlevania characters, Dracula’s gigantic castle as a new map, 40 new weapons, and 30 new music tracks including Castlevania favorites “Vampire Killer,” “An Empty Tome,” and “Bloody Tears.”

Get Vampire Survivors: Ode to Castlevania for $4 on PC at Steam.

Release of the Week 3: Blasphemous 2: Mea Culpa

tl;dr – 2D Souls-like, new DLC

Mea Culpa adds a new quest, 2 brand new large zones, an alternate ending, and 2 new bosses for those who weren’t ready to be finished with Blasphemous 2. The Game Kitchen, developers of Blasphemous, also released the “True Torment” update at the same time (for free!), expanding three of the base game zones, supplementing the connecting zones, then adding in a suite of new Quality of Life improvements. New Game+ was also added into the “True Torment” update, as well as giving everyone who owns the game a free copy of the soundtrack!

Get Blasphemous 2: Mea Culpa for $10 on PC at Steam.

Spooky Deal of the Week: Alien: Isolation

tl;dr – First person, survival horror

Remember at the start of Aliens when we find out that Ripley had a daughter that grew old while she was in cryo waiting to be picked up? In Alien: Isolation, you play as Amanda Ripley as she tries to unravel the truth behind her mother’s disappearance. Heading to the space station Sevastopol, things immediately go from bad to worse, leading Amanda to have to face the same terror that her mother encountered on the Nostromo. For real fun, go into the options and give the game access to your microphone. Trust me.

Get Alien: Isolation for $10 on PC at Steam.

Now tell us, Watchers — what spooky games are you playing to end October?