Haunted Halloween '86 : The Curse of Possum Hollow (PC) Indie One Shot

 

One thing that has been picking up traction over the last handful of years have been homebrew games for older consoles. These games are built under the hardware restrictions of whichever console they're being built for, and some of the time they end up seeing a digital PC release as well. Such is the case with Haunted Halloween '86, the sequel to another homebrew game Haunted Halloween '85. Now, I haven't been able to play the original game, so I'm not horribly familiar with the back story, but I am aware that in the previous year/game Donny (the main character) single-handedly saved his hometown from doom by beating off zombies and ghouls.

One year later, on the same night, it seems like events will be repeating themselves. Everyone is talking about something mysterious happening lately, and egging Donny on to go and investigate. He is weary, but some of the egging comes from his girlfriend who wants him to prove how tough he really is. Against his own will, Donny sets off and quickly learns that things are in fact repeating themselves. Once again, Donny must come to the town's aid and fight off the horrors that spreading around them.

Haunted Halloween '86 is a classic side-scrolling, beat-em-up adventure. There are some elements of platforming as well, but it leans just a bit more towards the beat-em-up side of the fence. Equipped with nothing more than the ability to jump and punch (and swing a sweet uppercut), the game very quickly lends you a helping hand. As soon as the game starts, you find a piece of a scroll that ends up teaching you an extra move to help you on your journey. You can choose between a double jump, charging your punch attack to make it stronger, and a handful of other things.

You start off with some extra lives, called Serum Soda's, more of which can be found within the games levels, as well as smaller doses of syrup which can heal Donny a small bit. Crouching and using the attack button will allow you to pick up an object (if an applicable one is close enough) and throw it with your next move. Normal things like crates appear quite a bit for you to use, but you can also pick up and throw the heads of zombies after you've killed them which is pretty awesome to do.

The one detail that I wish I had realized a lot earlier in the game was that from the start, you actually are a duo of characters. This time, Tami accompanies Donny on the journey and she's playable as well at any moment. What makes her even more valuable, and is the reason I kicked myself after learning this, is not only do they come with their own separate stats...they have their own health as well. That's right, so if one of them is a single hit away from death, swap to the other one and get a free mulligan.

A health bar is not present in this game, and how well your character doing is instead represented by the character themselves. Or, more specifically, the coloring of the character. As you take hits, your color deteriorates, changing slowly to a pale white, and eventually a light green before finally a dark shade of green and a meeting with the death screen. The death screen ends up displaying a couple stats, like the number of kills you've gotten and how many lives/Soda's you have left over.

While it might not be for everyone, Haunted Halloween '86 is a really great game, and an excellent throwback to the older gaming days. So whether you grew up in the NES generation, or are a more modern gamer, definitely give this game a look. The Steam version of the game is a direct reflection of the cartridge version of this game, so whether you pay $9.99 on Steam, or shell out a bit more for the physical version, this game is a blast  from the past that you won't want to miss.

Rating : 7.5/10
Developed and Published by : Retrotainment Games