Five VR Party Games Perfect For Your Upcoming Halloween Bash

These Halloween-themed multiplayer VR games are the perfect party-starters. 

With Halloween right around the corner, many of us are in full party mode as we prepare this year’s spooky festivities. If you’re big into the holiday season, you may even have your very own party planned for All Hollows’ Eve. 

So while other hosts fall back on tried-and-true entertainment like costume contests, carving Jack-o-Lanterns, and bobbing for apples, why not set yours apart with one of these extra-creepy VR party games guaranteed to send a shiver down the spines of your guests.

HIDE & SPOOK

• SteamVR
• 1 vs. 2 local multiplayer
• Free

Originally released back in 2016, Hide & Spook is an incredibly unique asymmetrical VR party game in which one headset user attempts to locate a series of ghosts, played by two non-VR players, before they snuff out the flames of several candles scattered around a dimly-lit room.

The ghost players each hold a single motion controller which vibrates as they grow close to a candle, allowing them to complete their objective without the need of an HMD. If the VR player is able to spot both floating specters before the flames are snuffed, however, then it’s game over. While not the most polished title on the list, Hide & Spook’s one-of-a-kind game mechanics more than make up for its lack of depth.

Hide & Spook is available free via SteamVR and requires an HMD as well as two motion controllers to play.

ACRON: ATTACK OF THE SQUIRRELS – HAUNTING HORRORS UPDATE

• SteamVR, Oculus, Windows MR, PSVR
• 1 vs. 2-8 local multiplayer
• $19.99

If you’re familiar with our past coverage, you’re more-than-likely aware of our unhealthy love for Acron: Attack of the Squirrels. Arguably one of the most unique and easily-accessible multiplayer titles available in VR at the moment, this asymmetrical competitive experience pits a team of squirrels, controlled via iOS and Android smart devices, against a single VR player playing the role of a towering tree. 

The rules are simple: using a variety of special abilities and items, the squirrels use whatever means necessary to retrieve the golden acorns located at the base of the massive tree and return them to their home base. Meanwhile, the tree player uses their motion controls to toss rocks, balls of sap, and other useful projectiles at the invading squirrels to prevent them from capturing all the acorns before time runs out. 

With the ‘Haunting Horrors’ update, players are introduced to a spooky new level complete with a creepy tree enclave, cemetery, and mausoleum, among several other Halloween-themed elements. You can also pick up a new Haunting Horrors skin pack, which includes a collection of classic Halloween costumes for the squirrels, including a werewolf, jack-o-lantern, Dracula, and mummy. 

Acron: Attack of the Squirrels is available now on SteamVR and Oculus for $19.99. You can pick up the Halloween-themed skin pack for an additional $1.99. The new Haunting Horrors level is available free to all players. 

FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY’S VR: HELP WANTED

• SteamVR, Oculus, PSVR
• Single-player (spectators) 
• $20.99

Okay, so this might not technically be a multiplayer experience, but it’s still one of the most terrifying VR games on the market and its simplistic, yet highly engaging gameplay makes it a perfect “over-the-shoulder” experience for any spectators in the room.

Much like the original Five Nights At Freddy’s games, Help Wanted tasks you with providing overnight security at Freddy Fazbear’s haunted pizza establishment. Using a control board to switch between different security cameras located throughout the building, you must keep an eye out for the haunted animatronics lurking in the darkness and prevent them from reaching your security station. You can activate lights, change security feeds, and close certain doors. However, each action you perform will drain your power supply; run out of juice before the sun comes up and its lights out, figuratively and literally. 

Seeing as most of the action takes place in one location and much of the excitement comes from jump-scares, Help Wanted is one of the few singleplayer VR experiences that can actually be quite enjoyable to spectate. So throw that puppy up on the big screen and watch as an entire room of people scream at the sight of a disfigured animatronic bunny rabbit. 

Five Nights at Freddy’s VR: Help Wanted is available on SteamVR, PSVR, and Oculus for $20.99.

BEAT SABER 

• SteamVR, Oculus, PSVR
• Singe-player (spectators)
• $29.99

Yes, technically this qualifies as yet another single-player experience. But as Reddit user SlotTraveler demonstrated in a video released last week, the Beat Saber experience has the potential to be so much more. By syncing his Philips Hue smart lights to his VR setup, SlotTraveler managed to create a Beat Saber-powered club inside his own bedroom, offering spectators a taste of the rhymic chaos from without the need for a headset. In the video you can see the various smart bulbs quickly alternate in color as the user slashes different blocks in-game, creating a kaleidoscope of neon colors throughout the room. 

While Beat Saber does not include any Halloween-themed music per se, the player community has been hard at work composing their own spooky levels. These include holiday favorites such as Bobby Pickett’s Monster Mash, Danny Elfman’s This is Halloween, and — of course — Michael Jackson’s Thriller. So for the ultimate Halloween dance party event, sync up those Philips Hue lights, download some spooky tunes, and watch a drunk Teletubby butcher their way through Ray Parker Jr.’s Ghostbusters Theme.

Beat Saber is available for $29.99 via SteamVR, Oculus, and PSVR.

REIKO’S FRAGMENTS

• SteamVR, Oculus, Viveport
• 1 vs. 1-8
• $14.99

Keeping in line with Japan’s ongoing obsession with horrifying ancient spirits, Reiko’s Fragments is an asymmetrical multiplayer VR experience in which one VR user attempts to locate a mysterious artifact hidden within the confines of a haunted house; all the while avoiding the clutches a vengeful ghost roaming throughout its decrepit halls. The good news is the specter is blind and can only detect your presence based on noise. Tossing items around the environment allows you to redirect her focus, letting you sneak past undetected. 

The bad news is several human players on smartphones can possess noisy objects around the home to attract the attention of the evil spirit. Smartphone users can join existing VR games by heading to the official website and entering the room number presented to the VR player. Using a top-down blueprint of the two-floor home, they can then select various objects, such as a dining room table, grand piano, washing machine, and various other objects and trigger various noises as the player grows closer.

For the best possible results, throw your most-easily frightened friend into the headset and enjoy an evening of ruthless jump-scares. 

Reiko’s Fragments is currently 34% off ($9.89) on SteamVR, Oculus, and Viveport.

Feature Image Credit: Resolution Games

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