What game from your HORRIFYING backlog should you play this Halloween? | Team Talk

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Every gamer has a list of games they've been meaning to get to, and what better time than the spookiest time of year (and we're not talking about tax time) – Halloween.

This is your call to stop putting it off and dive into something new, whether you have time to or not. Imagine if that game you've been making excuses about suddenly disappeared tomorrow…like a ghost?

We've got a few suggestions, but there are no doubt countless more – 2023 has been very generous, as high a toll as it's taken on the developers, in some cases. Why not share your pick on our Discord?

​by Team PTC

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@pass_controller

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Baldur's Gate 3 | James Parry

Even though my colourful, backlog-killing spreadsheet doesn't allow it, the obvious choice for me to dive into this spooky season is Baldur's Gate 3.

The ingredients are all there – an engaging storyline, a colourful cast of incredibly well fleshed-out characters, and a world filled with magic and adventure, pulled from the Dungeons & Dragons universe.

What more could a fantasy fan want?
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The scary thought of course is the sheer amount of hours and number of potential playthroughs this game opens me up to, but, for such a rich and beloved adventure, it seems like a risk worth taking.

So, any character build top tips?

Starlink: Battle for Atlas | Liam Andrews

My backlog comfortably extends into the previous generations of consoles (at least on Xbox and PS), but of all the titles I've been meaning to make time for it's Starlink on Switch.

My Switch backlog isn't actually too bad. I've recently polished off Metroid Prime Remastered, finished Skyward Sword and Pokémon Legends Arceus, and I'm making good progress on Super Mario Wonder. 

Bought on a whim when the starter set was going for cheap (I think it cost me £11) back in 2019, the reason it's been neglected for so long is that I forget I own it. 

Because of the starter kit's size, there's no space for it with my other stack of Switch games, so I had to stick it up high on top of a bookshelf where I occasionally spot Fox McCloud's Arwing model peering out at me through the plastic packaging. 

Perhaps now I've put it in writing I'll finally remember to give the game a go sometime.

DOOM Eternal | Chris Brand

Though it may not be a traditional horror game, DOOM Eternal still pushes my tolerance for anything vaguely scary to its limit. Something I often indulge in around this time of year.

During combat, I feel like an unstoppable killing machine, ripping and tearing through hordes of demons without flinching. The unwavering enemies and intense soundtrack work in tandem to assault multiple senses, instilling a need to keep moving, always moving, away from whatever the hell that big ugly thing is and towards the small area which appears to have the lowest concentration of passing bullets. No time to think and barely a moment to react, just keep moving and keep shooting, until everything has stopped. Breathe.

It's in those quiet pauses between that the fear creeps in. Surrounded by unknown horrors, alone, low on shotgun shells and trapped in a nightmarish alien world, I suddenly feel very stoppable. Vulnerable, even. Every sound causes me to jump. I find myself walking slowly, as if my footsteps could alert something that was somehow unstirred by the cacophony of screams and gunfire that seems to follow me around. The brief respite somehow amplifies the tension and, eventually, the fear wins.

I'd say I got roughly half way through on my first attempt, which is a testament to just how much fun DOOM Eternal is, other horror titles tend to scare me away long before I can make any real progress.