Frighteningly bad, mediocre and frighteningly good!!!

Of Aditya Deshbandhu

Halloween is my favorite day of the year. There’s something about wacky costumes, innocent pranks, unexpected creepiness and sudden bursts of fear that create an adrenaline rush that feels just right. As I decide to spend Halloween with video games, I’d like to give you the scariest things of all – my thoughts!

I’d like to start with Gotham Knights, a game that at this point seems almost unnecessary on every level. Is it better than its predecessors (Arkham Knight & Arkham City) – no. Does it offer a newer and more nuanced combat system – no. Is there a new direction in terms of the narrative that looks promising – no. Is it better to just replay the Arkham classics – Yes.

I just haven’t gotten along with Gotham Knights; the grind seems unnecessary and at times looks like it was conceptualized as a free-to-play game that was suddenly asked to grow up and emulate a flagship game. It lacks the polish, purpose and direction that characterized the Arkham games. Maybe stay away from this one?

The other one I’m looking at is Bayonetta 3, a game that was shrouded in controversy when the voice artist who lent her voice to the titular character talked about not being paid enough to reprise her role. The gameplay is quite fun and the action sequences are spectacular. However, the narrative seems a bit ordinary to me, as Bayonetta opens up a separate multiverse with this game.

For a game coming eight years after the last entry, I expected something more poignant. Multiverses are a dime a dozen these days. However, the struggle is worthwhile and Bayonetta 3 is a worthy sequel. All in all, as I noted in my 2017 review, even today this is the only game where you can shoot bullets from your stilettos.

The last game on this list is one that is yet to be released and will officially be available to players only from November 9th. Most gamers will tell you how God of War Ragnarök is the most anticipated game of the year. I can personally confirm that the reason I bought my PS5 was to play Ragnarök and the next Last of Us. As it stands, my excitement levels couldn’t be higher, and from what I’ve seen so far, Ragnarök will have a lot more open world dynamics like side quests and exploration.

This is God of War taking further steps into territory that was once unknown. Personally, I like the switch from the classic hack ‘n’ slash linear style, and I think the open world will give the game’s story room to flesh out what kind of father Kratos is to Atreus and vice versa. I’m looking forward to the showdown between Thor and Kratos, and I’m just like my nephew tells me, a little worried about Kratos this time.

Finally, news reports indicate that the connectors on some of Nvidia’s RTX 4090s have caught fire. I personally think that for a card that costs over $1500, you should be able to take a bullet and walk away unscathed. So this is a little disappointing. Save $1500 anyone? I want my own GPU Diwali.

There it is, the Halloween round of video games. If you want to be scared to play a game, I can’t recommend Until Dawn enough.