I’d be lying if I said this series wasn’t fun to do, so I’m going to do something even more fun and continue delivering a busload of horror or horror related games on a weekly or bi-weekly basis based on my workload. This particular series will close for now on a few scary-ish notes starting with one of the best (and hardest) games I’ve played all year which just so happens to win the “Most Improved Via Patching” crown. Okay, I don’t have a crown for that. But you know what I’m talking about.

SLAIN: Back from Hell: Brutally savaged upon its initial release by critics and gamers (many of the latter who never played the game, but merely hopped on the flaming hate wagon because that what the Internet does to people who need to feel as if they’re part of a “thing”), SLAIN seemed destined to die on the vine before it got a fair shake. Thankfully, developer Wolfbrew Games (Andrew Gilmour) picked himself up, shook off the ashes and like Dr. Frankenstein after a few fresh pots of coffee, a ton of classic metal music and a few too many monster movies, set to reviving his baby and making it a better experience overall. Did he succeed? Take a look for yourself:

Yep. It’s not only back, it’s brilliant, visually rich and chock full of so many tweaks that it’s definitely worth buying even if you have to pay someone with better reflexes to finish it for you. The game isn’t easy at all, but it’s hard to stop playing thanks to the visuals dropping in something fantastic to look at in every stage. The old school stuff (knockback deaths, enemies spawning at the wrong time, many deathtraps, cheap bosses) may tick off casual gamers or those who never “got Gud” at classic 8 and 16-bit games something fierce. But for those who like it rough, Slain says “Welcome home, now go die!” and you’ll keep coming back for more. Oh, and it’s on PS4 and Xbox One, so you have no excuse not to play this if you own either console.

BEHOLD!: Wow. I just saw this tonight after waking up from my post-jury duty nap-fest and bought it because it was a bargain and yeah, it has a Beholder in it. Two bucks for a fun slice of not quite D&D but still fun action where you play as a monster caught between two warring armies. Hey, YOU’D fight your way out too, I bet. Anyway, the game is so new that it’s not yet got a web site or YouTube channel, so you’ll have to go by the Steam page and hope that developer Toster 12D3 gets enough love and loot to get a bigger presence online.

As twin stick shooters go, it’s not bad and in fact, the simplicity helps in my recommendation although you may or may not get some input issues. But this one’s got legs, er… eyes? Oh, just buy it – it’s only two bucks!
 

Book of Demons: Think Trunk’s love letter to Blizzard’s classic ARPG is another one of the biggest surprises of 2016. How they NAILED the atmosphere and made paper cutouts work so darn well is amazing enough. But the game’s addictive nature, card battle elements, and great sense of humor (the Archdemon boss bathes in flames, but has a rubber duckie!) borders on perfection and the new added content makes this Early Access game a must-buy. There’s a demo out that I very highly recommend and don’t be surprised if you find yourself up way too long and ready to buy after it gets its hooks into you.

This one’s going to get covered in greater detail shortly, so forgive the short tease. Just go give it a try and you’re welcome. this one’s totally worth your time and money. Okay, let me shut up here and post this as pumpkin hour is approaching and I need to go back to sleep. Jury duty tomorrow is NO treat is all I’m saying, civic duty and all…

-GW