This month’s October, which means it’s Halloween season. Depending on your place and conditions, hanging out at a crowded costume party or going trick or treating from house to house with friends might prove impossible to do. Nevertheless, for cases like this, video games always come to the rescue. And you don’t need a console or beefy PC to have some spooktacular fun, either. Either braving through the horrors alone or with co-op partners, here are the top 10 free-to-play Android and iOS games that will surely spice up your Halloween night.
10) Eyes
- Download: Google Play Store / Apple App Store
In this horror escape game, you play as an urban explorer who broke into an abandoned mansion to explore it. But as you can expect, there’s something else inside the place, and scary stuff ensues. Eyes provide many levels that you can unlock, like a hospital and haunted house map, different game modes, as well as offline support, and global leaderboards to add much-needed replay value to this kind of game.
9) Granny 3
- Download: Google Play Store
The game does look rough, but that’s pretty much how it goes with free-to-play games on mobile. Hey, as long as it still provides an intense and spooky experience for Halloween, right? A continuation from the two previous Granny titles, here you have to escape from Granny’s dilapidated mansion to save your life. However, this time around, Granny is bringing her family to hunt you down. Grandpa, who can’t hear very well but will shoot anything he sees with his trusty shotgun, and her granddaughter Slendrina (probably unrelated to Slenderman, though), who randomly shows up from time to time. Can you safely navigate the house and get out of there without a scratch?
8) Dungeon Nightmares Free
The full Dungeon Nightmares game is a paid title that you can buy just for $1, but the free version also exists. Every night you go to bed, you end up waking up in a dungeon full of unspeakable horrors. Thankfully the dungeon is littered with items to help you survive each night and find more clues about this mysterious nightmare. But be warned, with each night, the game gets progressively more challenging, and there’s a “dynamic AI system” that will adapt to your playstyle. The sequel, Dungeon Nightmares II, is now available to buy for Android and iOS devices as well.
7) Emily Wants to Play Too
Are you tough enough for ghosts, zombies, and crazed maniacs? Good, because in this one you have to deal with creepy, homicidal dolls. In this survival horror game for Android and iOS, you play as an unlucky sandwich delivery guy who’s stuck inside a warehouse full of living deadly dolls. Look for clues and escape the place as fast as you can — before they start playing with your life.
- Download: Google Play Store / Apple App Store (iOS version costs $3)
6) DEAD TRIGGER 2
Of course, talking about Android and iOS free-to-play horror games, we have to mention zombie games as well. From the creators of the Shadowgun mobile sci-fi, the FPS series comes a horror shooter Dead Trigger. Its latest entry so far features 33 different areas for both the story and quick play missions, where you’re tasked with collecting supply crates or killing a certain number of zombies in the area. You can use 70 weapons to mow down the walking deads, from brutal melee weapons like swords and bats to rifles, rocket launchers, and miniguns. Powered by NVIDIA Tegra 4 engine and Unity, even though this game was released in 2013, the visual still holds up pretty well. The game also supports touch control, a virtual joystick, and a Bluetooth gamepad.
5) Into The Dead 2
Unlike Dead Trigger, this zombie game doesn’t let you roam the game maps freely and play like an endless runner instead. But unlike most free-to-play horror games on Android and iOS, this game can be played offline. Here you can run through 60 stages from seven action-packed chapters complete with different locales, including rural farms and military bases, and face off against a variety of challenges, including Daily and paid VIP challenges.
4) Dead Effect 2
Sure, sure, the title is a blatant rip-off and a silly amalgamation of Dead Space and Mass Effect. But if you’re looking for the best “zombies, but in space!” experience on mobile, then this is one game you shouldn’t miss. In Dead Effect 2, we’re tasked to clean up Professor Wagner’s failed experimental virus, the titular Dead Effect, that ends up creating an army of zombies on board a spaceship. The game features RPG elements where you can upgrade the main character’s abilities using more than 100 skills and 40 available weapons. You can use customizable touchscreen input or a gamepad to play it.
3) Identity V
Aside from single-player spooktacular experiences, mobile gaming is a decent platform for some good old multiplayer fun too. The first game on this list that you can play together with friends (or randoms) is Identity V from NetEase, an asymmetrical 1vs4 PVP with a Gothic visual like the 2009’s 9 animated film. Aside from the typical Hunter vs. Survivors game mode, it also has additional modes like Duo Hunters, where two Hunters team up against a group of eight Survivors; Blackjack, where one player is randomly selected as a Hunter with each round; Tarot, two teams composed of three Survivors and one Hunter must eliminate the other team’s Hunter; and Chasing Shadows, where six players have to race against each other in an obstacle course. A pretty popular title in Asia, the game has crossover with many anime and Japanese video game franchises, including Danganronpa, Persona, The Promised Neverland, Death Note, and Case Closed.
2) Dead by Daylight Mobile
If you prefer something less cartoony, Dead by Deadlight is now also available on mobile. Although it has several gameplay differences compared to the original PC/console version, such as per character upgrade system, more visual indicators, and shared inventory, the mobile game still features a similar selection of Killers and Survivors, including Left for Dead’s Bill, Leatherface, Michael Myers, Ghost Face, and Silent Hill’s Pyramid Head and Cheryl Mason. It’s a decent alternative when your group doesn’t want to turn on console or PC just for a few matches.
1) The Ghost – Co-op Survival Horror Game
And for the last one for this free-to-play list is The Ghost: Co-op Survival Horror Game. As you can expect from the title, this is yet another 1vs4 asymmetrical multiplayer game. But this time, you and your friends have to face off against a murderous ghost inside two different classic horror maps: an abandoned hospital and school. Although billed as a PVP game first and foremost, you can play it offline against AI.
Those are the 10 best horror experiences you can try on your mobile devices. Happy Halloween, and stay tuned for more nerd and gaming updates at The Nerd Stash.
