Halloween is a beloved holiday among many, but perhaps horror fans in particular. Horror video games and horror movies are all the rage, and there’s not really a better time of the year to play them. There are several greathorror games on PS4 and Xbox Oneto take advantage of this.

RELATED:Best Horror Games on PS4 and Xbox One Day 3: The Vanishing of Ethan Carter

xbox free games october 2020

Games with Gold October 2020

Xbox’s free games with gold are all Halloween-themed:Maid of Sker, Slayaway Camp, Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy, and Costume Quest. The first two may be right up the alley of many horror fans, asMaid of Skertakes a very intense, atmospheric approach that makes it the perfect new horror game for Halloween.Slayaway Campmay not be for everyone, but it is a puzzle game with strong slash movie vibes. This would be a good game to accompany a horror flick night.

Costume Questfalls on the sillier end of the spectrum, but it is literally set on Halloween. With an emphasis on trick-or-treating, it’s a good game to get many ready for Halloween night.Sphinx and the Cursed Mummyisn’t a horror game and it’s the furthest stretch that Microsoft makes, but since the game is based on the cursed mummy trope, it fits the theme as well asCostume Quest.

Article image

PS Plus Free Games October 2020

PS Plus games for October 2020 areVampyrandNeed for Speed Payback.One could look at the latter as yet anotherteaser for theNeed for Speed Hot Pursuit Remaster, but of the two, it’s clear thatVampyris the only one that fits the season. WithVampyras one of the headlining titles, it’s clear that horror games are something that PS Plus considered. After all, last year,The Last of Us Remasteredwas offered via the service for October. Its emphasis on the infected makes it tie neatly into the horror of Halloween, even if it’s different from most horror games.

There’s a few reasons PS Plus may not have taken this leap. Just like last year where the second game wasMLB The Show, it seems like the most plausible is that Sony doesn’t want to put its eggs in one basket. Releasing two games on the service and making them both horror games or games based on Halloween may be ostracizing for some, especially those who do not particularly enjoy the spooky season.

Another option is that it intended to but chose something else, namelyNeed for Speed Payback, at the last minute in lieu of something horror-based. There is a little potential proof for this, asBloodbornewas free on PS Plusfor avery shorttime period this weekend. In other words, it could have been intended for the service and accidentally made available because of that. If the two games wereVampyrandBloodborne, both games would be perfect for the season. However, it’s worth mentioning that the game has appeared on the service in the past and is part of thePS Plus collection on PS5, and it seems far more likely this was an innocent, unrelated mistake unrelated to PS Plus' October offerings.

Looking back over past offerings in October, it seems that PS Plus has traditionally offered a horror or seasonal game but never really taken the full dive. This trend is unlikely to change, but it would be interesting to actually know why Sony plays the month like this. Whereas it seems Microsoft is willing to go all in forthe spooky season with games, it’s hardly a change in operations for Sony. Not that it’s a bad thing, but the difference in approach between the two gaming giants is always an interesting point of perspective.