October Spooktacular '23

This monthly round-up is going to be a little longer from normal since I celebrate Halloween all month by watching a spooky piece of media (movie/tv show) each day! I'll detail all my thoughts on what I saw.

But first: some personal news. 2023 continues to be a struggle, and with the game industry as a whole not doing so well, my partner was laid off from his game design job near the end of the month. If anyone has an opening or knows a potential opportunity in gaming - be it game design (overall game, technical, level, content), or something 2D art-related (full illustration, character/prop design, turnarounds, animation) - I would deeply appreciate if you sent it my way in a direct message on one of my socials!! I'll also be doing a lot more art-related works to help keep us afloat, including handmade Holiday cards (similar to how I make personal Valentine's cards - keep an eye out for those VERY soon), more designs in my shop, more streaming on Twitch, and potentially opening commissions if my energy allows it. Huge thanks to anyone who supports either of us during this hard time.
There have been spots of sunshine - a day trip where we had a grand food experience in the mountains, enjoying handmade artisans' works at small maker markets, FINALLY finishing my 3-month-long medical appointments journey - moments like these are what keep me going through the rough patches of life, and I'm grateful for every moment of joy. I hope to provide comfort for those who may also be having it tough with what I create... and speaking of creating:

Projects

Chris solo developed a new game called within and it's unlike anything I've played before!! Experimental, unique, and filled with hope, it's an experience that only takes about 5-10 minutes to complete with 3 endings (and some secrets!). It's free to play, or if you pay $2+ you gain access to all the SFX & music he created from scratch and his devlog. He worked so hard on this for weeks, and I'm proud of him for creating such an awesome thing!!!

The logo Chris made is SO COOL!!!!

I made a new design for my shop called "Howdy Boo" in the spirit of the season, though I personally believe this good lil' ghostie makes a fine friend any time of year.

Fun Fact: This ghost is actually a character from some of my & my partner's game ideas!

Games

Chris played If On a Winter's Night, Four Travelers the first day of the month, which was a perfect way to start off our celebration of spooky media. Beautiful scenes and interesting storytelling from a tag team of two devs, I especially enjoyed looking at the art/devlog PDF after we finished the game to understand the pieces that went into this stunning tale. It's not for the faint of heart, but if you can digest macabre content I highly recommend it, plus for a "name your own price" product you get so much bang for your buck!!

Brand new indie Cavern of Dreams looks just like something I would have adored growing up. You play as little dragon Fynn embarking through the mysterious titular Cavern of Dreams to find his lost siblings, and every world is imaginative, playful, and enticing! Despite the gameplay being a little finicky when using the special moves at times, this game's charms and appeal are off the charts, making it well worth playing.

I especially cherish how cute the characters are in this game!

The demo for upcoming Crow Country was a joy to traverse! I appreciate that there's both a "survival horror" and "exploration" option that make it approachable for anyone interested in the game but may not be too keen on dealing with monsters (though the monsters look like they're going to be pretty cool!!) I loooove the aesthetic they went for and hope to pick it up on its release next year.

New release Detective Pikachu Returns was just as easy and hand-holdy as the first game, but it was so adorable I don't care!! I loved the portions where you play as Pikachu to interact with other Pokemon - it gave the game so much personality, and it was fun to see the world from their perspectives. I love the idea of Pokemon also giving their trainers nicknames! It may not be a game for everyone's taste, but I liked it.

After owning it for many years, I finally made time to sit down and play Silent Hill 4. I can see why the SH fanbase is so divided on it - Team Silent tried many new ways of making the gameplay stand out from previous entries, though it didn't work for an appealing play (why would you make half the game an escort mission???). Even with the game's strange decisions, I enjoyed it overall - it was cool seeing the "room" safe space become something unsettling, and I liked the callbacks to the other games. Though I won't be replaying this anytime in the forseeable future, it was worth it (it helped that I got the best ending on my first try!)

Funny that it's called "The Room" when it's a full apartment...

We played Yarudora Double Cast for the first time and I was impressed with how well they made the anime-style cutscenes work with the choices you pursue in its story! We only got a handful of the many, many endings, but that was enough to satisfy what I wanted from the game.

Our final new release pickup for the month - Sonic Superstars - was unfortunately disappointing. I was super excited to have a new Sonic game that actually supported co-op so my partner and I could enjoy it together, but it felt like co-op was an afterthought... add the immense amount of glitches, annoyingly long boss battles, uninspired music, and weirdness of switching between characters with the main camera, and it makes for an unfun experience all around. I'm wondering if I'll feel differently playing it on my own, but for now another playthrough is on the backburner.

At least they looked good... I hope whatever Sonic's in next can bring back my hope for the franchise since I still love it dearly.

Spooky Media!!!

Time for a speedrun of all the Halloween-y things I watched!

Cronos: Del Toro's first film, and while it was an interesting take on vampires, it didn't inspire me in any way. Fine enough.

M3GAN: It was silly and not as bad as I expected, but I doubt I'll watch it again.

Halloween is Grinch Night: Yes, the Grinch is actually meant for Halloween! Short, simple, good if you want something quick to get you in the Halloween spirit.

Halloween Tree: I appreciate that it talks about worldwide traditions around Halloweentime, though the animation in the movie leaves much to be desired.

Zodiac: About the real-life series of cases. Didn't really feel suspenseful like they were probably going for, and was a little disappointing.

Death Becomes Her: The humor didn't land and I didn't like how mean everyone was. Won't be watching again.

Haunted Mansion: The new one was so fun! I really liked it, I'm glad they made this version. Sweet characters and pleasing story.

Smile: Not a fan of all the ways they talk about people with mental illness... I also don't think the story played out very well. Won't be watching this one again.

Jacob's Ladder: Really good!! I can see how it influenced the early Silent Hill games. The way the story played out was cleverly disorienting.

A Tale of Two Sisters: I didn't like it nearly as much as the US version of the story (The Uninvited). Too drawn out, poorly paced overall.

Renfield: Dropped pretty quickly, I didn't like the relationship between the main characters.

The Scream Team: Very dopey, but in a boring kind of way. The best part was a kid weraing an obviously iron-on "dead people rock" shirt.

Happy Death Day and Happy Death Day 2U: Enjoyable and silly slasher film, I enjoyed the first movie's premise and the character development that happens throughout the movie. The sequel wasn't necessarily needed, but it did things a little differently.

Scooby Doo and the Ghoul School: Always a silly and fun choice when I want something to get ready for Halloween.

I See You: An alright thriller, though only off and on interesting. The ending made it worth watching.

Friday the 13th: I saw the 2009 remake on the actual Friday 13th! Even though people regard this remake as awful, I personally prefer it to the original (though that doesn't make it good by any means).

The Invitation: I liked it a lot! The characters (especially the protagonist) felt real, and I like that any awful treatment was called out by the protagonist without reservation. Cool plot twists as well.

Frankenweenie: It's fun to see the stop motion in action, but isn't a super interesting movie.

Dark Shadows: I knew not to expect much, but sheesh. Boring plot and characters and overall very blah. Never again.

Cat People: I saw the original from 1942 - Boring!! I know older suspense is different than today's standards, but this wasn't interesting to sit through.

Nightmare Alley: Really good! I was engaged the whole time despite it being a longer watch. I liked how things connected in the story.

One Cut of the Dead: I was a little bored with this one so I skimmed through most of it. Meh.

Twitches and Twitches Too: Very silly Disney Channel movies, the first is much better quality than the second. The first one's good for when you want something family-friendly and not terribly obnoxious to play in the background.

Five Nights at Freddy's: I liked the animatronics a lot!! I didn't like how mean the characters were to each other though. I like the games enough, but the movie was just alright.

Dr. Terror's House of Horrors: I really like its concept, but the outdated terms and depictions of people kind of soured my view of this one... and it was overall kinda boring. Dropped halfway.

The Devil's Backbone: I really like how the ghost was depicted in this! The movie overall was decent.

A Haunting in Venice: Perfect for Halloween night and enjoyable to watch! Artsy camera angles, good costuming, and a good old fashioned murder mystery make for a good time.

The Last of Us (HBO series): Really well-done and faithful adaptation of the game with added backstory that helped flesh out the world and its characters. I'd be interested to see the second game done this way as well.

Interview with the Vampire (series, 1st episode): Much better than the movie adaptation. I don't know if I'll continue watching, but it was interesting to see the story through a more modern lens.

Stage of the Golden Witch (EP1): This stage play is an excellent take on Umineko!! The costumes and staging were so well done, and it felt like they covered more minute details than the anime. Very enjoyable, I hope we can find a subtitled episode 2 eventually.

Boogiepop Phantom: This anime is super different in tone from its sister series Boogiepop and Others, and I love how dark and creepy it is. The opening also slaps!!!!

Onward into November!

Phew, this was a lot to read through - if you made it this far, thanks a lot!!! I'd love to hear how you celebrated Halloween, as well as any thoughts you have on the media I talked about! Hopefully when I do my next round-up I'll have good news to report on!