Halloween is a special time of year when the temperature outside is just right, the trees are displaying their full fall foliage, and pumpkin flavored everything can be found on your store shelves. In order to incorporate the holiday into Android gaming I have decided to hunt down some of the better horror-filled games released this year to give you all a fun holiday themed post that should get you in the mood for an enjoyable Halloween this Tuesday.

Stranger Things: The Game

Stranger Things: The Game was recently released on the Play Store as a free tie-in product for the acclaimed hit Netflix TV show that just launched its second season yesterday. Keep in mind the story of the game takes place in between season 1 and season 2 of the TV show. So for those who have not seen it yet, you may want to hold off on playing this release. For those of you that have watched season 1, you should jump into this game as soon as you can as the adventure gameplay found within offers a fantastic experience that absolutely shouldn't be missed.

Monetization: free / no ads / no IAPs

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The official game for Stranger Things from Netflix and BonusXP. Stranger Things are afoot again in Hawkins, Indiana. Join Hopper and the kids on a new, action-packed adventure.

It's 1984 all over again. Stranger Things: The Game is an action adventure game true to the games our heroes would have played back in the day.

Explore Hawkins and its surroundings. See your favorite locations like Mirkwood Forest and Hawkins Lab. Uncover exciting areas you've never seen before.

Solve puzzles with the unique abilities of each character. Lucas can nail anything with his Wrist Rocket. Nancy has a whole set of bats to swing this time.

Collect all the Eggos and Gnomes you can lay your hands on. You never know what they might unlock...

Slayaway Camp

Slayaway Camp is a voxel-based sliding puzzler that is filled to the brim with 80's slasher film gore. Like any quality puzzler, the gameplay is easy to grasp, though it's difficult to master. Of course, if the solid puzzle-filled gameplay is not enough for you, the mature theme of efficiently murdering your victims might just be the change in pace you are looking for. Even if the violence does not appeal to you, there is a toggle to choose a more PG version that is kid-friendly.

Monetization: $2.99 / no ads / IAPs from $0.99 - $1.99

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Become Skullface, a psycho slasher bent on slaughtering campers in this darkly comic ode to 80’s horror. A diabolical puzzle game that also happens to be a bloody tribute to the VHS era of videotape horror. No one is safe… no law enforcement enforces the law enough… and no animals or children are harmed… in the summer horror hit of 1984.

Death Road to Canada

Death Road to Canada is like a twisted version of Oregon Trail where you can bash zombies left and right once you get out of your vehicle. The premise has you and a pack of compatriots trying to make your way to the Great White North as it is rumored to be zombie-free. The trouble is, you have to survive long enough to get there.

Monetization: $9.99 / no ads / no IAPs

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Death Road to Canada is a Randomly Generated Road Trip Action-RPG. You manage a group of jerks as they explore cities, find weird people, and face up to 500 zombies at once. Everything's randomized: locations, events, survivor personalities and skills. There's a different story every time you play.

OXENFREE

OXENFREE is a port of the popular PC point and click adventure game that tells a story of a group of friends on a supernatural journey. If you are a fan of the hit Netflix show Stranger Things, I would say OXENFREE has pretty much the same feel and atmosphere. You can expect plenty of twists and turns in the plot and at times a frightening story that may just force you to turn all the lights on.

Monetization: $4.99 / no ads / no IAPs

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The critically acclaimed, mind-bending adventure comes to Android with custom touch controls. Oxenfree is a supernatural thriller about a group of friends who unwittingly open a ghostly rift. Play as Alex, a bright, rebellious teenager who brings her new stepbrother Jonas to an overnight party on an old military island. The night takes a terrifying turn when you unwittingly open a ghostly gate spawned from the island’s cryptic past. How you deal with these events, your peers, and the ominous creatures you’ve unleashed is up to you.

Lucius Demake

Lucius Demake is a point and click adventure game modeled after many of the classics from the 80's with a 70's horror movie twist. The 8-bit graphics help to get this point across while giving the game an old-school feel. Basically you take on the roll of the antichrist in his adventure of wreaking havoc within his own home. A unique premise for sure, considering there are very few games where you can play as the bad guy. So why not spend the leadup to this Halloween terrorizing your virtual family in this devilishly horrific title.

Monetization: $3.49 / no ads / no IAPs

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Acts and feels like a Point 'n Click adventure from the 1980's. It is a homage to the 1970's horror movies, where you get to experience the role of a true antagonist in a pure 2D pixel art form. When Lucius was born on the June 6th, 1966, nobody expected him to be anything other than a normal little boy but everything changed on Lucius’ 6th Birthday, when his true calling was revealed to him.

Card Thief

Card Thief is a stealth-based solitaire dungeon crawler with a spooky atmosphere. Your goal in the game is to steal as much treasure as you can while not getting caught. The gameplay is broken up into four different heists where each heist has a few different ability cards that you earn through the treasure you steal. These treasure chests can take a bit of time to open as there is a wait timer in the free version of the game. Once you can open a chest, the ability cards within can then be used during the game in order to help you gain an even higher score in the global leaderboard.

Monetization: free / no ads / IAPs $2.99 a piece

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Card Thief, the official follow up to Tinytouchtales excellent dungeon crawler Card Crawl, attempts to condense the classic stealth genre into a solitaire style card game. The game offers an accessible core gameplay with a deep layer of tactical planning and various risk reward mechanics on top. In 4 different heists you can test your skills against various enemy and trap types. By successfully completing heists you can unlock and upgrade 12 equipment cards each with a unique ability to improve your highscores.

Radiation City

Radiation City is the sequel to Atypical Games'Radiation Island. Just like the original, Radiation City is an open-world survival game filled with zombies. You can expect gorgeous graphics that bring this frightening world to life. It is your task to venture out into this radioactive city in order to find your missing loved one. While the story may seem pretty cut and paste, the action-packed gameplay is where titles like this shine.

Monetization: $4.99 / no ads / no IAPs

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Welcome to the world of Radiation City where a great survival adventure awaits you. Forty years after the unfortunate accident of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, destiny brings you to the area of carefully recreated city of Pripyat. Uncover the amazing story, untangle the mystery and try to save your loved one. This is not an easy task. It’s a huge open world area filled with dangers and anomalies. Hungry predators and sub-human creatures, they all want a piece of you. The elements, combined with radiation and unexplained phenomenon, make the lovely looking environment a place where you shouldn’t be. Yet, here you are.

Into the Dead 2

Into the Dead 2 is PIKPOK's sequel to their hit zombie auto-runner Into the Dead. This time around you can expect a heartfelt overarching storyline to tie together the numerous stages you spend running through fields of zombies. The simplistic tap controls feel pretty responsive, and the gameplay is pretty challenging. While the numerous loot boxes and in-app purchases make for a grindy experience if you play for free, there is still a lot of fun zombie-killing to be had if you choose to ignore them.

Monetization: free / contains ads / IAPs from $0.99 - $54.99

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The sequel to the hit zombie action game Into the Dead (70+ million downloads). Journey through the zombie apocalypse in a race to save your family. Arm yourself with an arsenal of powerful weapons and do whatever it takes to survive. Maim, mow down, and massacre the Dead - anything to keep moving. In a world where no one is safe, how far will you go to make it out alive?

The Deep Paths

Boy, do I ever love turn-based dungeon crawling RPGs such as The Deep Paths: Labyrinth Of Andokost. It reminds me a lot of the games I would play on my PC as a kid, which I am sure many of you can empathize with. This is a retro dungeon crawler through and through that is updated for the present day. That means plenty of high-quality art is included with this grid-based dungeon crawler. You can expect to find plenty of dangerous creatures to hinder your quest, which makes your journey all that much more scary.

Monetization: $3.99 / no ads / no IAPs

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The Deep Paths: Labyrinth Of Andokost is a first-person, dungeon crawling RPG, with traditional grid-based movement, and active turn-based combat. Players explore a vast labyrinth filled with dangerous creatures, and hidden treasures, to unravel an ancient mystery and deliver their city from harm’s way. Featuring rich, 3D environments with an old-school, retro feel, this huge adventure pays a modernised homage to classic 80’s and 90’s dungeon crawlers, such as “Dungeon Master” and “Lands Of Lore”.

The Frankenstein Wars

The Frankenstein Wars is a storybook adventure game that takes place during the Napoleonic Wars. Obviously, this is a tale of fiction, as the science behind the Frankenstein monster is used to create an army of the reanimated dead. The Frankenstein Wars offers a non-linear story, so that does mean multiple playthroughs will be different depending on the choices you make.

Monetization: $4.99 / no ads / no IAPs

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You direct two brothers who long guarded the secret to Victor Frankenstein’s resurrection technology... until the end of the Napoleonic Wars. It is a raw, epic, bloody, story-driven blockbuster. You direct both Tom and Anton Clerval, through a branching, non-linear storyline set on the revolutionary France with a backdrop of hellish war with the soul of humanity at stake -and you decide if the brothers become allies, or enemies.

Onirim - Solitaire Card Game

If you enjoy tabletop gaming or you find solitaire style games enjoyable, you are going to want to check out Onirim. The design of this digital release mirrors that of the physical base version. It uses the same art, design, and ruleset while adding in some animated tweaks to its dark and twisted presentation. It is your job to find your way out of a mysterious labyrinth before you become trapped forever.

Monetization: free / no ads / IAPs $0.99 a piece

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Onirim is a solitaire card game. You must work against the game to gather the eight oneiric doors before the deck runs out. You can obtain door cards either by playing cards of the same color three turns in a row or by discarding one of your powerful key cards when a door appears from the deck. In both cases, you will have to decide the best use of each card in your hand and carefully play around the Nightmares.

Zombie Gunship Survival

Zombie Gunship Survival is a game where you mow down zombies with your machine-gun equipped AC-130 aircraft. An ingenious premise if there ever was one. Primarily you are tasked with building up a zombie-free base while outfitting your aircraft with the latest upgrades. A standard free-to-play setup if there ever was one. Luckily it is so fun shooting zombies from a plane that the game's in-app purchases can be ignored for the most part.

Monetization: free / contains ads / IAPs from $0.99 - $149.99

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Survive a zombie apocalypse and protect the human race from the gunner seat of an AC-130 gunship. Engage in tactical operations and lead groups of military survivors on scavenging missions. Loot precious resources, bring them back to base and build your defenses to repel zombie assaults. Blow up the undead in this new instalment in the #1 top-grossing Zombie Gunship franchise.

Dead Age

Dead Age is a PC game that has been ported to Android. It is a turn-based post-apocalyptic RPG that is centered around a recent zombie apocalypse. The gameplay resembles that of the majority of survival games out there where permanent death is always a worry. That means your choices will affect the outcome and seeing that this release contains a non-linear story, the consequences of your actions are that much more important than your standard zombie game.

Ghosts'n Goblins MOBILE

Capcom has released quite a few classic games in the last year on the Play Store. Ghost 'n Goblins Mobile is probably one of the most recognizable. It most definitely is an improvement over the earlier Mega Man ports, so there should be little worry over any slowdown. Plus, the touchscreen controls work pretty admirably. Just keep in mind that this is a very difficult game and that the touch controls may not be accurate enough for some players. Sadly there is no HID controller support offered.

Monetization: $0.99 / no ads / no IAPs

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Ghost ‘n Goblins, the legendary side-scrolling action platformer is now available for smartphones. Enjoy Sir Arthur's original adventure anytime, anywhere. Return to the days of yesteryear in this famously difficult action platformer. As Sir Arthur, you must battle against demons and undead in order to rescue the princess Prin-Prin.

Ghouls'n Ghosts MOBILE

Ghouls'n Ghosts MOBILE is the sequel to Ghost 'n Goblins Mobile. It is also a ridiculously challenging 2D sidescrolling platformer from the CPS-1 arcade era. You play as Sir Arthur in his quest to restore all of the people killed by his enemy Lucifer. Just keep in mind that controllers are not supported in this just as they are not in the first title. That means you will have to play this game with the touchscreen controls, which are not as accurate as this style of game often demands.

Mini DAYZ - Survival Game

Apparently, someone has taken the gameplay from DayZ and made a top-down 2D recreation for Android. The thing is, Mini DAYZ - Survival Game retains some of the problems found in the main game. Hunger and thirst build up extremely quickly, even after you just ate something. But I suppose that is just part of its charm. So yes, the gameplay itself can be pretty fun, just keep in mind that there is still a lot of work that needs to be done to make the performance and overall experience better.

Monetization: free / contains ads / no IAPs

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How long can you survive in a post-apocalyptic world? Find out in Mini DAYZ now - an official pixel art rendition of the massively successful PC survival game - played by over 3 million fans. 100% free, without in-app purchases. It is you against the world in Mini DAYZ: explore a randomly generated map and scavenge for food, ammo and supplies. Use anything you find to craft advanced items. Protect yourself against aggressive infected and ferocious wolves.

Dead Ahead: Zombie Warfare

Ah, here we have another zombie survival game. In this particular instance Dead Ahead: Zombie Warfare is a title that has you building and managing a team of zombie killers in order to survive the zombie apocalypse. A definite tried and true setup for a survival game that still retains a lot of fun and charm thanks to the competent design and gameplay.

Monetization: free / contains ads / IAPs from $1.99 - $49.99

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Resist and defy the evil undead in this new tactical survival sequel of Dead Ahead. Fight for freedom and become a fearless slayer of the undead in one of the funnest survival games of the year. Kill raid after raid of zombies, collect supplies, look for survivors and most importantly... create your own legacy.

cityglitch

Henk Boom'scityglitch is a turn-based puzzler where your goal is to save a haunted city from spooks and dark things that skitter. You accomplish this task by lighting up special runes that banish your enemies, which is always easier said than done. It will take a lot of experimentation to solve each puzzle, and there is a total of 95 levels scattered throughout 7 glowing cities. This means that you will have a plethora of content to make your way through before you find any repetition.

Monetization: $2.99 upfront / no ads / no IAPs

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cities are glitching out. they need you, city witch. save the cities from their glitches. solve turn-based puzzles on haunted city rooftops. fly to haunted cities. land on rooftop puzzles. tap to move across tiles bewitch cats. dodge arrows. avoid city spooks and dark things that skitter. face monstrous bosses. light the runes to complete the ritual. release the glitch

All That Remains: Part 1

All That Remains: Part 1 is the first title in a room escape series from Glitch Games. It features a protagonist who is stuck in a bunker and must find a way to escape in order to help his sister who may be in danger. While the premise may be nothing new, the story along with the gameplay is considerably quite entertaining.

Monetization: $2.49 upfront / no ads / no IAPs

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Waking up in what appears to be his father’s old bunker, Campbell Price is confused. Last night was pretty crazy, but not THAT crazy. How did he end up here? Hearing a familiar voice over a 2-way radio, your sister says you’ve been put in the bunker for your own safety. Fearing for your sister’s life, who has also been locked up for her protection, you must escape the bunker and find her before it’s too late.

Anybody Out There: Dead City

Anybody Out There: Dead City is a text based game where you interact with an unknown stranger through a simulated SMS exchange. Essentially this is an updated form of a choose your own adventure book with a slight post-apocalyptic theme. It is your job to help a stranger find their way out of an evacuated area, and your choices will affect the outcome of their predicament. What will you choose to do?

Monetization: $0.99 upfront / no ads / no IAPs

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Is anybody out there? A message from an unknown number. Will you answer? Anybody Out There: Dead City is a game in which you emerge completely in an incredibly captivating real-time adventure. Your choice of response will determine the fate of a complete stranger and decide over life and death. He - or she - is reaching out for your help as the last straw. The only thing at your disposal: Your phone and the messenger application. And your wits and empathy.

Reporter

If you enjoy being trapped in confined spaces that are filled with terrifying creatures and jump scares galore, Reporter may just be for you. It is a puzzle game at its core, but it plays out much like a point and click adventure game with the added veneer of a horror plot. While the story is your basic, figure out why things are so out of hand, it is the journey that makes your time spent with the game worth it.

Monetization: $1.49 upfront / no ads / no IAPs

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All the story started in a small town. Once on a wonderful day, the town was shocked by series of horrible kills under terrifying and inexplicable circumstances. Police have tried to hide the facts, but some information leaked and was published by local press. Trying to understand what has happened there, you start your search for the truth. But suddenly, you become the part of the story that you'll remember till the end of your life. It all depends on you, will you unravel this plexus of horror and chaos and survive?

Alone Planet

Alone Planet is a beautiful looking monochromatic action puzzler that has you maneuvering your way through plenty of dangerous levels in order to solve some very challenging puzzles. I find what makes the game so striking is its use of the color red in each monochromatic environment. The majority of the game is colored in black and white, but it is the red highlights that make your surroundings really pop.

Monetization: $0.99 upfront / no ads / no IAPs

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Forsaken and alone, a boy must find his way home. After being trapped in a mysterious dark planet, the little boy must explore this eerie, somber world filled with deadly traps and terrifying monsters. Embark on a journey to unearth the hidden secrets of this ancient place, discover its truth and escape.

Be aware of sentries, stay away from traps and avoid lethal projectiles.

Take advantage of surrounding objects to solve intriguing puzzles and unlock new areas.

Pit your wits against the fearsome villains that lurk in the darkness.

Experience simple and clean visuals that bring this desolate planet to life.

DEAD PLAGUE: Zombie Survival

Top-down twin-stick shooters are pretty popular on Android. You could even say zombie-themed shooters have exploded on the platform. But can you say that zombie-themed twin-stick shooters are a dime a dozen? Yeah probably, but who cares when you are shooting down a horde of zombies? Oh, and if you couldn't quite tell, DEAD PLAGUE: Zombie Outbreak is exactly that, a twin-stick zombie shooter that coincidentally has some great looking graphics.

Monetization: free / contains ads / IAPs from $1.49 - $39.99

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A few months ago, the secret Research Center leaked a lethal virus "DEAD PLAGUE". The warm tropical environment spread the virus rapidly, turning people into enraged zombie mutants. An organization named “BIOCORP” stood out to prevent the virus from spreading. You have been assigned into their strike team to work in the dangerous infected areas to collect DNA samples and reveal the mystery behind the outbreak.

Skull Towers - Castle Defense

Skull Towers - Castle Defense is a twist on the tried and true tower defense gameplay where you actually play in a first person view. This makes the gameplay a bit more challenging and immersive as you will need to concentrate on aiming your attacks on the game's plentiful enemies. That means you will need to utilize plenty of strategy if you want to stop the thousands of armed skeletons coming your way.

Monetization: free / contains ads / IAPs from $0.99 - $26.99

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Skull Towers is a castle defense game where you should stop the attack of thousand of skeletons. Armed with magical bows and arrows you have to destroy the waves of enemies before they cross your lines! The perfect mix of strategy games, fps games and tower defence games. Are you the Marksman who will kill the vile skull warriors in this sniper RPG game?

Zombie Offroad Safari

Have you ever wanted to drive around exotic locales while shooting and running over zombies? If so, Zombie Offroad Safari should be right up your alley. You start out in a desert where you can equip your car with an assortment of different weapons and your goal will be to kill as many zombies as you can. As you progress you will move on to different locations but you will also be free to do what you like as this is an open-world sandbox game.

Monetization: free / contains ads / IAPs from $0.99 - $49.99

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Leave the urban area behind and explore a dangerous world packed with zombies, challenges and loot. Take the wheel of 4x4 off-roaders, Monster Trucks, Six Wheeled Gas-Guzzlers and climb the
highest mountains where no man has gone before. Deadly weapons await you in this post-apocalyptic open world off-road sandbox game. Do what you please: explore massive landscapes, complete challenges, smash zombies, find secret locations, unlock and upgrade cars and weapons, it's up to you.

Kill Shot Virus

Kill Shot Virus is Hothead Games sequel to their popular first person shooter Kill Shot Bravo. This time around you will be gunning down zombies through 100+ missions. By completing these missions you will earn a wide variety of apocalyptic gear to collect and equip. While the gameplay contains your typical FPS action, it is the graphics that set this title above and beyond most of its competitors.

ZOMBIE AnnihilatoR

ZOMBIE AnnihilatoR is a wave-shooter where you stand in one place and shoot at your enemies. Much like an on-rails shooter, but you simply never move. This type of gameplay, of course, lends itself well to stage-based rounds. This way, after each round's completion, you can unlock all new weapons to rain down destruction. The gameplay is pretty enjoyable, but the free-to-play aspects keeps ZOMBIE AnnihilatoR from greatness.

Monetization: free / contains ads / IAPs from $1.99 - $20.99

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The World has been highly infected with the Z Virus. You are the last hope to stop the endless zombie swarm and get a cure for the remains of humanity. Choose your favorite unique weapons - sci fi, modern, explosive and more - and take care of the zombies lurking around everywhere. Survive more and more days and earn heavy bucks to upgrade your weaponry and supercharge your power ups to have the greatest zombie obliteration time ever.

The Walking Dead: March To War

The Walking Dead: March To War is a clear Game of War clone with a Walking Dead skin, though I do find the 2D artstyle is actually pretty great. And sure, the gameplay retains all of the trappings you would expect out of any free-to-play clone on the Play Store, but you may just find some fun while building up your base and venturing forth into the game's zombie-filled world.

Monetization: free / no ads / IAPs from $4.99 - $99.99

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THE WALKING DEAD: MARCH TO WAR is an all-new intense free-to-play multiplayer strategy game set in the world of the beloved The Walking Dead comics by Robert Kirkman. Players are survivors in the ruins of the nation’s capital now overrun by walkers. Potential allies and enemies lurk around every corner. Real-time competitive play and a shared need for crucial resources drive players to cooperate with and compete against each other in an all-out war for survival, and compete where the whole world is loaded gun pointed at the player

The Mummy Dark Universe Story

The Mummy Dark Universe Stories is a free-to-play game that somewhat follows the plot of the Tom Cruise reboot for Universal's planned Dark Universe franchise. The gameplay offers a storybook experience that gives you control over what happens thanks to its choose your own adventure style of play. And as a free release there are worse options out there. Plus you have to admit that the art direction is pretty fantastic.

Monetization: free / contains ads / IAPs from $0.99 - $19.99

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The legend of The Mummy continues in this globe trotting supernatural mystery that picks up where the movie leaves off. Choose your fate in an immersive visual tale filled with dynamic comic book style illustrations that spin you through an action-packed adventure. Unlock hidden secrets in every interactive episode as you trigger unique puzzles and uncover multiple endings. Every spellbinding turn reveals a high-stakes decision that changes the outcome of the storyline.

Clue

Last but not least we have an updated version of the classic board game Clue. While I am sure many of you should be pretty familiar with Hasbro's whodunit game, it is nevertheless considered a classic. As you would expect this is a title where you and your opponents are all trapped in a mansion with a murderer, and it is your job to figure out through guesswork and luck who murdered whom, in what room, and with what weapon. What's really nice though is the fact that all of this is presented to the user with pleasant artwork that has enough detail that you are never left wondering what to do next.

Monetization: free / no ads / IAPs from $0.99 - $29.99

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Clue is the classic mystery game. Now you can play the beloved Hasbro family board game on the go. WHO, with WHAT weapon and WHERE? Download the official app and crack the case. Join Miss Scarlet, Colonel Mustard, Mrs Peacock, Mr Green, Dr Orchid and Professor Plum on a night of murder and mystery in Tudor Mansion. Use the innovative logic-assisted virtual Clue Sheet to take notes and eliminate red herrings. Make brilliant deductions and solve the crime first.

And that is the entirety of the list folks. I hope that you have found a few appropriate games to play in the leadup to this year's Halloween. I have tried to list out an assortment of titles, so no matter if you are looking for a paid game or something that is offered for free there should be something listed here that fits your personal interests.

Comments

20 out of 30 have a completely fair pricing model. Not sure where you pulled that "half" assumption from. And maybe, just maybe, there are those that don't want to pay for their games upfront, which is why there are 10 games included in the list for them.

Régis Knechtel

Fair enough.

Funem

Nice list Matt, thanks. I have got quite a few of these and will probably play these while watching a good Halloween film on TV on the 31st, whilst eating the sweets I should be giving out to trick or treaters.