Welcome to the ninth installment of Gayme Corner, a biweekly column in which I talk about games, all types of games, and the ways we play them. It’s almost Halloween, y’all! I am not, strictly speaking, a Halloween person — something about compulsory costumes makes me squirm, even though I thoroughly enjoy costume/dress-up events every other day of the year. I’m not a total hallow-grinch, though, and the idea of staying in with my friends to play some Halloween-themed games sounds perfect to me this Saturday.
If you feel the same, or if you still need to get into the mood, I’ve assembled a list of vaguely gothic (in the literary sense) to right-on witchy games to play during these lengthening autumn nights:
1. Her Story
An interactive, immersive detective game, with all the classic elements of gothic mysteries: a hidden identity, a lurking danger, an unsolved mystery, a bordering-outlandish-yet-ominous conclusion.
2. Long Live the Queen
Becoming a queen is hard and often grisly business. Will you survive? Or will you meet one of really, seriously, many gory ends that the game has plotted for you?
3. The Tell Tale Heart
It’s a game based on Poe stories, which is about as cheerful, un-murderous, and lacking in paranoia as you’d think.
4. Gloom
via Atlas Games
A card game about an eccentric, misfortune-attracting family with illustrations that look distinctly Gorey-esque. You win if your character is the most miserable!
5. Witch Girls Forever!
via channelm
A multi-chapter RPG all about young witches, the powerful enemies they must defeat, and the manifold challenges of baby-sitting and spell-learning. The publishers are going through some technical difficulties, according to their website, but you can get a whole bundle of Witch Girls Adventures at Drive Thru RPG.
6. Be Witching
via anna anthropy
A game that was played at QGCon, Be Witching is a competition to win the Witch Fashion Ball, with a design and a Q&A portion. You can chose your witch from a variety of beautifully rendered base cards. Be Witching creator Auntie Pixelante (aka Anna Anthropy) consciously included “trans bodies, non-binary bodies, amab bodies and disabled bodies. (also a furry body).”
Dude, Her Story was so unexpectedly good! I was like “ugh, this acting is terrible” at the beginning and then it was on purpose and aaaaaaaaaa. Being pleasantly surprised is great. Long Live the Queen is also great, albeit near impossible to complete. That cutesy artstyle tricks you into thinking it won’t be that bad until you keep getting poisoned over and over and again and you forget what lessons you’re supposed to take to pass this event. At least you get cute outfits.
Undertale is also great and deserves to be as hyped up as it is on video game interwebs right now. Plus, in order to get the true ending you need to set this lesbian couple up. YOU LITERALLY NEED TO SET THESE TWO GIRLS UP OR THEIR WORLD WILL BE DESTROYED. Proof that femslash is magic. We Know The Devil is also supposed to be good, though I haven’t personally played it myself.
I am so into Undertale right now! My thesis is about violent masculinity and nerd culture, so obviously I’m obsessed with Undertale.
oh dang now I HAVE to play! I’ve got a whole backlog of games that I need to finish. Fast-tracking Undertale to the top of it
Long Live the Queen is great! I finally figured out how to survive till coronation, and I felt so proud. Now when I play I try to go for all the other achievements (like falling in love with a commoner or facing an uprising!).
I have no idea if this old game will fit here, but it is indeed witchy and gothy
http://forthedead.net/fairies/list.php
There’s many more up to date games I know of where you don’t have to drag and place the items, but none as witchy and well crafted as this.
I’ve still not managed to finish Long Live The Queen! Hoping to play Gloom tonight for Halowe’en!