Top 5 Arcade Games to Play this Halloween...

We countdown our favourite Halloween-themed arcade games…

1. Ghosts ‘n Goblins Series

When it comes to horror games, Ghosts n Goblins (or one of the games sequels) is the first game that comes into the mind of any retro gamer. The exceedingly difficult game involves a knight named Arthur who is on quest to save his beloved, Princess Prin Prin, and to defeat her kidnapper – Satan. The games feature some ghoulish characters such as zombies, ogres, dragons and demons (and that’s just to name a few!). Moreover, one of the reasons the game has such a tense and chilling atmosphere, is due to the pure difficulty! The player will lose a life after only being hit twice, so to an unexperienced player who does not know the ins and outs – it can be quite daunting.

2. House of the Dead

What more could a gamer want on a spooky Halloween evening than to play a classic shooter with zombies and mad scientists? In Sega’s hit arcade hit, up to two players can fight zombies using light-guns, giving an immersive experience. Be prepared to fill the shoes of Thomas and ‘G’ to defeat the evil, mad-scientist Dr Curien and enjoy this gory and terrifying experience facing creatures such as the Hangedman, Chariot, Hermit and Magician.

3. Carnevil

Possibly one of the scariest games to play this Halloween – Carnevil. Often cited for its graphic content, life-like violence and black humour, you will face bosses such as Krampus and even a giant, deformed baby.

The story is set in a town called Green Valley which is infamous for a great legend that if a gold token is inserted into the gravestone of ‘Ludwig Von Tokkentakker’ then a haunted amusement park will rise from the ground. There are four areas to the game, with their own respective boss characters… In the Haunted House you will come face to face with Evil Marie, a ghoul-like woman who is covered in blood. When venturing into Rickety Town, Krampus will attack. The Freak Show area will force you to defeat Junior, an evil, giant and deformed baby. (On some copies of the game instead of Junior, you will face Deaddy – a demonic teddy bear). Finally, you will face the evil ringmaster – Tokkentakker himself.

4. Chiller

Chiller is the perfect horror game to play on Halloween, being so violent that vendors in the USA refused to buy the machine upon release. In the game, you will play as a torturer and must maim, mutilate and murder enemies in a dungeon. The challenging aspect of the game is trying to kill as many people in the fastest way possible.

There are four levels in Chiller, and each has been criticised for ‘senseless violence’ as well as for ‘encouraging torture and the murder of innocent, helpless people’. The levels include a Torture Chamber, Rack Room, Haunted Hallway and the Graveyard. Within these levels you will have to murder your enemies using gruesome methods such as suspending people into a river of blood to feed a hungry alligator or using a head-crusher… And even encounter openings in the ground which lead to hell! Making it the perfect gruesome and gory game to play this Halloween.

5. Splatterhouse

Splatterhouse is the ultimate slasher arcade game to be played on Halloween. The game takes obvious inspiration from horror films such as Friday the 13th and Evil Dead II, and it shows as the plot plays alike a film.

You will follow the story of two college students, Rick and Jennifer, who have taken refuge in an infamous house called ‘Splatterhouse’ to keep out of a storm. It is rumoured that the house is haunted due to the fact that evil and missing parapsychologist –Dr West, had previously owned and experimented within it. Rick wakes in the house with the ‘Terrormask’ which then goes on to attach to his face and transform him into a monster with superhuman strength. You will control Rick through his rampage of the house, killing monsters of all kinds along the way; at one point even Rick’s girlfriend Jennifer who has been transformed into a giant-fanged monster. Furthermore, see Rick as he advances through the house to the womb as he discovers the secrets that Splatterhouse holds and the true side of the Terrormask…

If you're after some frighteningly good Arcade machines you've come to the right place, so be sure to check out our cabinets.

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