Sinister Halloween Review

*Contains Spoilers*

An Amusing Indie Horror Experience

First and foremost, I would like to thank the developer, Celeritas Games, for sending me a code for Sinister Halloween. While I do have a VR setup, I have some technological limitations which prevent me from enjoying the game with my headset, so for this review, I will be evaluating the PC version of the game. 

Sinister Halloween is a single player horror experience with a several part campaign. The story, I must admit, was lost on me. You begin the game in a neighborhood, gathering people to go to the cemetery, vandalizing homes and jack-o-lanterns, trick-or-treating, and avoiding the neighborhood serial killer. As a whole, it’s just a fun, quirky experience with intermittent jump scares. Fun as it may be, the game is not without its problems.

When I first loaded the game, I immediately encountered some optimization issues, so I was forced to reduce the graphic settings to prevent lag. After adjusting the settings, the game played smoothly but would still stutter on occasion.

Graphically, the game looks nice (especially before I was forced to reduce my graphic settings). However, I did encounter several glitches where floors, walls, and other parts of the environment just disappeared (this could be due to the fact the game was intended foremost for VR). I could see a man wielding a chainsaw through several walls and barriers would just appear out of nowhere. These glitches did not prevent me from playing the game, but they did tend to break the immersion.

The sound design is fitting for this kind of game. Spooky growls, chainsaws, and screams keep you on edge but the voice acting is silly enough to remind you that  the experience is meant to be fun one. 

Overall, the game is a silly, fun experience for anyone looking for some mild scares during spooky season and a humorous addition to your Halloween gaming lineup. See the video of my playthrough here: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/517335676

[Lady played Sinister Halloween on PC with a mouse and keyboard]