t’s that time of year when things go bump in the night. Spooky
things, obviously, rather than just your partner/neighbour/cat thumping
the wall in anger when they fail at a Candy Crush Saga level, which is a
year-round thing.
Yes, Halloween
is here with its army of ghosts, witches, werewolves, zombies, vampires
and monsters – all knocking on your door demanding chocolate with their
parents hovering apologetically in the background.
There are apps for that too (Halloween, not hovering apologetically)
with a range of games and apps offering suitably spooky thrills. Here
are 10 worth trying out. Ghost Lens (Free + IAP) iOS You
might think an app to make your photos and videos look like they’ve got
ghosts in them is a niche, yet this one has been downloaded more than
8m times so far. It’s neatly done: you choose from a selection of
backgrounds and filters then shoot your own mini ghost clips or shots.
Basic features are free with others unlocked by in-app purchases.
Ghost Lens.
Minecraft Pocket Edition (£4.99 + IAP) Android / iOS / Windows Phone Alright yes, surely
now everyone who wants Minecraft has got it, given its 70m sales across
all platforms. Yet just in case, Halloween might be the perfect time to
pick up Mojang’s wonderful sandbox. Not only does it come with zombies,
skeletons and eerie Endermen as standard: it’s just added a Halloween
Costumes skin pack as a 79p in-app purchase to spook up your character.
Minecraft: Pocket Edition.
Five Nights at Freddy’s 4 (£2.29) Android / iOS If
you’re new to the Five Nights at Freddy’s series, you may want to start
with the first game and work your way through. The fourth and final
game was released this year, and is arguably the best. All see you
pitting your wits against horrific-looking animatronic toys – initially
in the shop where they’re installed, but in this game, the action moves
to your own house.
Five Nights at Freddy’s 4.
Zombies, Run! (Free + IAP) Android / iOS This
is part game, part story and part fitness app, and it remains one of
the most inventive ideas on the app stores. It’s an app to get you
running in the real world, with the carrot (or stick) being a horde of
zombies chasing after you – at least, according to your headphones. But
there’s also a proper story here from novelist (and – disclosure – Guardian columnist) Naomi Alderman to keep you interested. Read this interview for more on how this app has evolved.
Zombies, Run!
The Hunting Part 1 (Free) iOS Has
mobile found its Blair Witch Project? The Hunting is one of the apps
hoping to fulfil that role: “the world’s first interactive zombie movie
app” as the blurb puts it. It’s a film shot from a first-person view,
which sees you deciding what to do in order to survive. There are plenty
of frights, and while this first part is short, it’s a free taster for
the second and third episodes.
The Hunting Part 1.
Toca Boo (Free - £2.68) Android / iOS Here’s
an app for anyone who’s ever run around their house with a sheet over
their head giving it their best “woooooo” – i.e. everyone. This
children’s app from developer Toca Boca gets kids to control Bonnie, a
little girl who dresses up as a ghost and floats around her house
stalking family members then jumping out at them from behind the
furniture. It’s great fun.
Toca Baco
The Walking Dead: No Man’s Land (Free + IAP) Android / iOS With
The Walking Dead back on TV screens for a new series, this brand new
tie-in game is providing fans with a new way to put themselves into the
story. It’s an absorbing roleplaying game (RPG) with a mixture of
turn-based battles and careful team management. Weekly challenges
promise to keep you playing beyond the current TV season too.
Deathless: The City’s Thirst (£2.33 - £2.49) There’s some fascinating stuff happening around the interactive fiction genre – see this recent roundup of book-apps
for examples – with publisher Choice of Games one of the leading
lights. This is a suitably-spooky sample of its work: a 150k-word novel
by award-winning author Max Gladstone with all manner of undead,
necromantic goings on. Your choices drive the story, but this is
something you’ll enjoy reading as much as playing.
Deathless: The City’s Thirst.
Audio Defence: Zombie Arena (£1.49) iOS Somethin’
Else is the company responsible for the Papa Sangre audio-only games,
which were critically acclaimed on iOS in their day. Audio Defence used
the same technology, with you playing a blind warrior caught in the
midst of “Dr Bastard’s zombies” – fighting them off by moving, swiping
and tilting. “It’s oculus thrift!” claims the developer, but this is
anything but cheap.
Audio Defence: Zombie Arena.
Skullduggery! (£2.29) Finally,
the best action game featuring “semi-organic autonomous skulls” that
money can buy on the app stores. Admittedly, it’s the only one. But this
is a well-crafted game blending action and puzzles, as you ping your
skull through a series of platform levels by stretching its brain out
and then letting it go. It works beautifully on the touchscreen, and
while it’s not specifically a children’s game, my two sons (aged six and
eight) enjoyed it as much as I did.
Skullduggery!
That’s the 10, but what have I missed out? Telltale Games’ excellent
narrative adventure based on The Walking Dead would have been a
contender, but is temporarily absent from the app stores.
Should either of the Plants v Zombies games have lurched onto this
list? What other apps deliver genuine chills and thrills? The comments
section is open for your recommendations.
Skullduggery!
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