I have a series where I highlight licensed games that are actually good, but I thought this would be a fun twist. I wanted to spend the week trying out retro games that are based off of horror movies. Are they actually good? Most of them are not. I know there are newer Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Saw, Alien, etc. games, but I wanted to stick with retro.
Halloween (Atari 2600)
This game came out in 1983, 9 years before I was even born. You play as a baby sitter who has the unfortunate task of saving the kids from Michael Myers (at least I think that is supposed to be him). This game has you collecting points and advancing levels. You get points by saving kids or stabbing the killer. To advance a level you have to save 5 kids either or stab the killer twice and at each level he gets faster.
The game is okay. It is what it is though. An older licensed game released for the Atari 2600. I had a bit of fun playing it for ten minutes though. One thing that was kind of funny for me was how overexaggerated the blood and violence is. There is way more gore in this game than in the movie.
A Nightmare on Elm Street (NES)
This game is interesting. A good interesting? Sort of. You play as a teenager who is on a mission to collect all of the bones of Freddy Kreuger. Once you get them, you have to dispose of them in a furnace at the school. There is a sleep meter as well that is slowly going down unless you find cups of coffee. If you fall asleep, you are in the dream world and Freddy is more powerful.
The ideas in the game are great, but there are some downfalls. There is no health bar so you never really know how close you are to death. Also in classic NES fashion, some of the enemies are unavoidable. For some reason, there is a minotaur too? Maybe I missed that film that had that in it.
Evil Dead: Hail to the King (PS1/Dreamcast)
Have you ever watched Evil Dead and thought to yourself, “Hmm, this would be a cool take on a Resident Evil game”? If so, then this game is exactly that. With limited ammo and fuel for your chainsaw, pre-rendered backgrounds, and a fixed camera, it takes a lesson from Resident Evil, but does it pay off?
The game takes place with you, Ash, working at a grocery store and sparking up a romance with a fellow worker. Nightmares of Necronomicon still haunt you and you are soon visited by your old possessed hand who summons the evil book again and takes your new love. Sadly this game is not very good at all. It may be worth a shot if you like the movies though.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (Atari 2600)
Another Atari game, but this time The Texas Chainsaw Massacre! This game has you controlling the killer for once, playing as Leatherface as you try to murder people trespassing. It is another score-attack game with the game ending when you run out of fuel for your chainsaw. You can get more fuel after you murder 5 people.
This game is okay for what it is. When it was released, it had a lot of controversy as being way too violent, much like Halloween. It is still a fun little game to pick up and try though if you want something different to try and to play some Atari.
Friday the 13th (NES)
This game won our Game of the Week a few years back and I actually had a ton of fun with it, while some other people did not. You choose one of 6 camp counselors, which all have different abilities and things they are better at. Your goal? Find and defeat Jason Voorhees and defeat him three times.
You will be running around the map visiting different cabins, and looking for weapons. There will be an alarm going off that Jason is attacking children, so you must rush and save them and defeat him. The game is over when you survive and defeat Jason 3 nights. It is a fun little game worth a try.
What did you think of this article? Let us know in the comments below, and chat with us in our Discord!
This page may contain affiliate links, by purchasing something through a link, Retro Handhelds may earn a small commission on the sale at no additional cost to you.